Usually it is done in desperation to conserve cash...
Roku being publicly traded and having to appease their shareholders with regular increases in profit is the largest reason.
They also lack the capital/R&D, vision, and competence to grow as a company, so they're doing what's much easier, "quality fade."
There are two kinds of shareholders: those who chase revenue growth and those who focus on EPS (earnings per share).
The ones who value revenue growth are rare. It's well known that investors reward profit metrics over long-term growth.
This is common in the industry and has ruined companies, and none of them actually care, because what's more important than profit they can't "guarantee" as easily in the future, is short-term profit they can bet on.
They used their capital smartly to launch with good products and software and now they consider the bulk of the work out of the way.
They want their investment to sit back and profit, running on a skeleton crew.
I want to have hope for Roku. But I have extensive experience with failing companies and this stinks to high heaven.
