DOJ seeks more information on Fox's $22B Roku deal

Fox’s $22 billion plan to buy Roku has hit a new hurdle: the Justice Department sent the companies what’s known as a “second request” on Tuesday, asking them to turn over more data and documents as it examines the deal more closely. Semafor first reported the investigation. A second request is a fairly standard step in a major antitrust review, but it also signals that regulators had more questions than the companies’ initial filings could answer — and that they want a much closer look at how the deal could affect competition and consumers before deciding whether to clear it.

There’s plenty to examine, as the deal is believed to be more than just a typical media acquisition: Fox owns a large collection of news, sports, and entertainment content, plus its free ad-supported streaming service, Tubi, while Roku operates one of the biggest platforms sitting between viewers and that content — its operating system is built into millions of TVs and streaming devices, giving it significant influence over how consumers discover and watch streaming services. That raises questions for Roku’s competitors: whether a Fox-owned Roku would give Fox’s services more prominent placement, whether Fox would use Roku’s data to strengthen its advertising business, and whether rival streaming services would be pushed lower on the home screen or otherwise treated less favorably. Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch has tried to reassure competitors that he expects the two businesses to operate separately.

The investigation also comes as the DOJ has faced criticism over how it handles major mergers, including questions about political influence — Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery drew similar criticism because Paramount CEO David Ellison’s father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, has close ties to President Trump, with critics arguing that deal’s approval raised questions of political favoritism. How the DOJ handles Fox-Roku, given the Murdochs’ own ties to Trump, could show whether the agency is scrutinizing politically connected companies as closely as anyone else. The deal is expected to close sometime in the first half of 2027.

Why it matters

The review is a test case for whether antitrust enforcement holds the same bar for media deals involving people close to the White House as it does for everyone else.