Best Buy Will Be The Exclusive Retailer Of Roku's First Smart TVs

The streaming video company Roku announced Thursday that it would sell the first smart TVs designed and built by the company exclusively at Best Buy and the website of the retailer.

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A number of Roku's hardware items, such as streaming players and sound-amplifying devices, have historically been the most money-losing parts of its business. There are also branded televisions that are sold at a variety of retailers under the brand names of Westinghouse and Hisense that are made by third parties.

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During a recent interview with Trade Algo, Roku CEO Anthony Wood expressed optimism about the new TVs' sales.

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The company's new sets will provide "more choice for customers" and will help to boost the number of active accounts, Wood said earlier this week at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference.

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"It also enables us to have direct contact with the customer, which allows us to accelerate the innovation cycle even further," he added. As far as Roku is concerned, it will also allow us to continue to move upstream faster in terms of the kind of higher-end customers that we look for."

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Earlier this month, Roku announced its fourth-quarter results, posting a smaller-than-expected loss compared to the results it announced in February. Analysts, however, remain concerned about the streaming and hardware company as advertisers pull back their spending on the company.

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Since the close of the market on Wednesday, Roku shares have risen by more than 55% year-to-date. There is an estimated market value of $8.86 billion for this company.

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The company, which has 70 million active U.S. accounts, also announced that it will be releasing platform-wide updates for its operating system shortly, according to the news release.

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There are a number of new features coming to Roku devices in the U.S., including the introduction of Local News, which allows users to customize live news channels according to their location and can stream live channels from major cities in the U.S. Apparently, the recommendations will be based on artificial intelligence, as stated by Roku's announcement earlier this week.

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Among the new features of the TVs will be Roku's voice remote pro, Bluetooth private listening, automatic brightness, and local dimming capabilities.

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A new update for Roku's mobile app is also being announced today, including an expanded Account Hub, a simplified home screen interface, as well as a Live TV Channel "Guide" button.