I ditched my Roku after Fox's $22 billion acquisition, and my media server is doing things streaming apps can't

At a glance:

• Fox Corporation announced a $22 billion acquisition of Roku, pending closing in the first half of 2027.
• The author finished a Jellyfin media server to avoid ads and corporate tracking after the deal.
• Jellyfin offers a single, ad‑free library but requires upfront setup and network configuration.

The decision to finish Jellyfin

The news that Fox had agreed to buy Roku for $22 billion sent a ripple through the streaming ecosystem. Even though the deal is still in the approval stage and is not expected to close until the first half of 2027, it was enough to push the author—who has been treading water on a half‑finished Jellyfin server—to finally put the finishing touches on the project. The author has long been frustrated with the advertising model that Roku employs, and the prospect of Fox owning the platform made the idea of a fully private, ad‑free home media server even more appealing. He also cited lingering anger over Fox’s cancellation of Firefly and other controversies as reasons to distance himself from the conglomerate.

Setting up the server

Jellyfin was originally set up as a niche solution for anime, but the author expanded its scope by installing Sonarr and Radarr to automate TV and movie downloads. A handful of community plugins were added to create a more cohesive experience, and the author configured the library structure to match his personal organization. The process was front‑loaded: setting up network permissions, configuring the media folders, and troubleshooting occasional plugin conflicts required a significant time investment. Once the initial setup was complete, the server runs largely unattended, but the upfront work can be intimidating for users who are not comfortable with networking or command‑line tools.

Using Jellyfin with Roku and future plans

For now the author uses his old Roku stick to launch the Jellyfin app, because the Vizio smart‑TV interface is “a nightmare” and the convenience outweighs a small privacy trade‑off. He acknowledges that the Roku device can still collect data on how long he stays in the app and what he watches, but plans to switch to a dedicated streaming box that is not part of the Roku ecosystem. This stop‑gap solution allows the author to enjoy the content immediately while keeping an eye on the long‑term goal of full control over the hardware.

Ad‑free privacy

One of the biggest selling points of Jellyfin is that it is completely ad‑free and does not log viewing habits. When the Jellyfin app is loaded on the TV, there are no banner ads or pop‑ups, and no external company can build a profile from the data. The author notes that the only caveat is that the Roku stick still gathers usage statistics, but this will disappear once a non‑Roku streaming device is deployed.

Content organization

Before switching to Jellyfin, the author’s streaming experience involved hopping between HBO Max, Prime Video, Apple TV, and Netflix for different shows. With Jellyfin, all movies, TV shows, and anime reside in a single library, organized into folders that the author can rename or restructure as the collection grows. The flexibility of the library structure is a key advantage for users who want a unified view without the fragmentation of multiple apps.

Trade‑offs and future plans

Roku’s plug‑and‑play simplicity is hard to beat for the average user, and many people are comfortable with the trade‑off of corporate data collection for free content. Jellyfin, however, demands a higher upfront investment in time and technical knowledge, and it is not a one‑size‑fits‑all solution. The author stresses that the choice is personal: he has already removed Google services and many subscription streams, and he sees no reason to return to the ad‑laden ecosystem. The long‑term plan is to maintain a fully private media server and a dedicated streaming device that respects privacy and gives him complete control over his viewing experience.