Lachlan Murdoch's empire just hit a pothole. According to TechCrunch, the Justice Department has sent Fox and Roku a "second request" for more documents and data, signalling regulators aren't ready to approve the $22 billion deal.
This isn't just one media company buying another. Fox owns a sprawling empire of news, sports, and entertainment content, plus Tubi, its free ad-supported streaming service. Roku controls the operating system sitting inside millions of TVs and streaming devices worldwide. That's the core issue.
The DOJ's caution is straightforward. If Fox owns Roku, nothing prevents them from demoting competitors like Netflix, Disney+, or Amazon Prime Video on the Roku home screen. They could use Roku's user data to boost Fox's advertising business. These are the exact questions regulators are now demanding answers for.
Murdoch has promised that Fox and Roku will operate separately. But a second request means the department has read his initial filings and decided the answer was insufficient. That's regulatory-speak for "we're taking this seriously."
TechCrunch notes the DOJ has faced mounting criticism over how it handles major mergers, with questions about political influence, particularly after Paramount's Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, where CEO David Ellison's father has close ties to President Trump. The Murdochs' own relationship with Trump means this deal has become a test case for whether regulators can scrutinise politically connected moguls fairly.
The DOJ cannot afford to look soft on Fox without inviting accusations of favoritism. That puts Murdoch in a tougher spot than he bargained for.
The deal is still expected to close in the first half of 2027, but expect this investigation to drag. Second requests rarely lead to swift approvals, and with the political stakes this high, the DOJ is unlikely to wave this through quietly.
