Happy7User
New member
The fish tank on your Roku goes away on December 1, and for once the reason is not an ad deal or a cost cut. The artist pulled the licence himself. Jim Sachs, who built Marine Aquarium through his SereneScreen company and licensed it to Roku as Aquatic Life, told Cord Cutters News he withdrew it because he is unhappy about Fox buying Roku.
What got me is what he says this costs him. Licensing money from Roku has been a main source of income for roughly a decade, and he expects real financial hardship from walking away. He also went out of his way to say it had nothing to do with ads in the screensaver, an idea Roku looked at years ago and later dropped. You do not see many people give up that kind of cheque on principle.
The deal is not even finished. It is valued at approximately $22 billion, shareholders of both companies approved it in mid-October, and the DOJ second request is still open, with closing projected for the first half of 2027. So a feature people liked has already gone over a merger that has not closed.
The practical bit is the fallback. Devices set to Aquatic Life switch to Roku City, which is the scene carrying promotional elements and advertising. The calmest thing on the platform gets replaced by default with the one that sells you things. The Theme Store still has Jungle, Nautical and others, so if a bedroom TV runs the fish overnight, pick the replacement yourself before December rather than meeting Roku City at 2am.
What got me is what he says this costs him. Licensing money from Roku has been a main source of income for roughly a decade, and he expects real financial hardship from walking away. He also went out of his way to say it had nothing to do with ads in the screensaver, an idea Roku looked at years ago and later dropped. You do not see many people give up that kind of cheque on principle.
The deal is not even finished. It is valued at approximately $22 billion, shareholders of both companies approved it in mid-October, and the DOJ second request is still open, with closing projected for the first half of 2027. So a feature people liked has already gone over a merger that has not closed.
The practical bit is the fallback. Devices set to Aquatic Life switch to Roku City, which is the scene carrying promotional elements and advertising. The calmest thing on the platform gets replaced by default with the one that sells you things. The Theme Store still has Jungle, Nautical and others, so if a bedroom TV runs the fish overnight, pick the replacement yourself before December rather than meeting Roku City at 2am.
