The Roku Channel will be the exclusive U.S. streaming home of the X Games Aspen as well as a summertime X Games event.
The news marks the latest step in Roku’s efforts to build a portfolio of live sports rights. The company has recently streamed weekly Major League Baseball games, the NBA G League and electric racing circuit Formula E. It also has invested in live sports talk with GMFB: Overtime and The Rich Eisen Show.
The X Games were created by ESPN in the 1990s in an effort to lure young viewers with an Olympics-like showcase for sports then known as “extreme,” including motocross, skateboarding, freestyle skiing and snowboarding. Winter and summer events became mainstays on ESPN, reliably filling out the linear schedule even if they never delivered the blockbuster ratings of more established sports. In 2022, ESPN sold the X Games to private equity firm MSP Sports Capital.
Along with the Aspen winter competitions and the upcoming summer event, Roku is also launching an X Games TV FAST channel and will set up the X Games Zone, a destination for fans.
“This partnership with X Games is the perfect marriage between content and distribution—more than half of The Roku Channel’s monthly FAST audience are between the ages of 18 and 49, and the X Games have built a lifestyle brand that sits right at the intersection of sports and youth culture,” said Joe Franzetta, Head of Sports, Roku Media.
X Games Aspen is slated for January 23 to 25 in Aspen, CO. Details about the summertime X Games will be announced at a later time, according to an official announcement.
“As the new CEO of X Games, I’m thrilled to announce this partnership with Roku, a platform that shares our commitment to delivering the best possible experience for our athletes and fans,” X Games chief Jeremy Bloom said. “This collaboration ensures that the world’s premier action sports events will reach a broader audience, while celebrating the brilliance, creativity, and passion of the incredible athletes who make the X Games the ultimate stage for action sports.”