Media-streaming technology expert Roku (ROKU 5.41%) is ripping another page from the Netflix (NFLX 4.17%) playbook as the company moves into its original content production. The first genuinely original Roku title will be really weird. In my eyes, that's a good thing.
The first original Roku production is a big joke
Roku's first foray into original content (not counting the short-form content it acquired from mobile video platform Quibi a year ago) will be a humorous biopic, co-produced by Tango Entertainment and online comedy studio Funny Or Die. WEIRD: The Al Yankovic Story starts filming in early February, starring Harry Potter thespian Daniel Radcliffe in the titular role with support from an ensemble cast of thousands.
Alright, the massive cast thing was a joke, but that's just on-brand for this announcement. The press release is crammed full of puns and jokes, as in this quote from Colin Davis, Roku's head of original scripted programming.
"There clearly aren't enough biopic movies about famous musicians and we were excited to shine a light on the incredibly true, unexaggerated story of Weird Al."
Given the recent releases of Elton John biopic Rocketman and Freddie Mercury title Bohemian Rhapsody, it's fair to assume that the Weird Al story will stretch the objective truth in hilarious ways.
Image source: Getty Images.
But wait -- this is serious business, too!
This biopic may look like a strange choice as the first title in an ambitious content production effort, but I think it's an inspired gamble.
Weird Al's career spans four decades, five Grammy awards, and record-breaking album sales. Keep all of that in mind while considering the big business bets other companies make on comedy performers with dinkier credentials. For example, music-streaming veteran Spotify (SPOT 11.41%) spent $60 million on rights to the personal advice and comedy podcast Call Her Daddy from Alexandra Cooper last summer. Standup comic Dave Chappelle reportedly pocketed $24 million from Netflix for a single standup special in October.
Don't get me wrong -- Spotify and Netflix are gaining plenty of subscribers from these comedy-flavored investments. Still, I'd rather bet millions on Mr. Yankovic than on any of these lesser lights.
So Roku's media production efforts are off to a weird start indeed, and I don't have a problem with that. Just imagine the polka-laced commercials you'll see the company cover the media landscape in as it gets the promotional engines running.
As a consumer, I can't wait to see the undeniably accurate inside story of Weird Al's career, ranging from My Bologna to the Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour of 2018. As an investors, I'm excited to see Roku's original content strategy getting off to a strange but promising start.
Remember, Netflix wouldn't be the media powerhouse it is today if it hadn't started to create an in-house content portfolio way back in 2012. Lots of people doubted the wisdom of that move 10 years ago, when Miami Steve Van Zandt played a mafioso under witness protection in Norway. I hear echoes of Lilyhammer in Roku's Weird Al production. Netflix shares have gained 3,660% since that strange debut. Roku could certainly have picked a worse role model.
