Roku's Aquatic Life screensaver, a looping aquarium of swimming fish, goes away on December 1. The cause looks less like corporate cost-cutting than one artist's objection to the new owner.
Fox closed its $22 billion acquisition of Roku on November 6. Roku users have since seen an alert warning that their fish are leaving. Jim Sachs, who created the screensaver, said in an interview that he chose not to renew his annual $80,000 licensing agreement after learning of the deal. He said it was his primary form of income. "I can't be part of the Fox world," he said, pointing to Fox News and its reputation.
On December 1, anyone still using Aquatic Life will be moved to Roku City, the default screensaver and a native ad placement. Roku has not publicly commented on fan requests to bring the aquarium back.
Some fans guessed the ad-free screensaver was costing Roku money. That theory has some footing: Roku's annual earnings reports have cited the "high-visibility placements" of device advertising, including on screensavers. But Sachs says Roku asked him to renew, which cuts against the idea that the company pushed the fish out. And $80,000 a year is well under a thousandth of one percent of the deal price, so the license fee is hardly a line item that would drive strategy.
Sachs said he will not return until Fox abandons what he called its "rage-based business model" and takes responsibility for its harms. That is a condition about Fox, not a higher fee, which makes it a harder one for Roku to meet with a bigger check.
It also shows a quiet risk of building a beloved feature on a single outside licensor. Roku City, which the company has stocked with viral easter eggs and pop culture references, is entirely its own. For now, Aquatic Life survives only as a download for Windows, macOS, iOS and Android, or through alternatives on Roku's channel store.