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The Roku Channel

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The Roku Channel
DeveloperRoku, Inc.
Key people
TypeOver-the-top media service
Launch date
  • September 2017; 7 years ago (2017-09)
Platform(s)
List of platforms
StatusActive
MembersIncrease 120 million viewers (2023)
Pricing modelFree with ad support, Optional paid subscriptions
AvailabilityUnited States, Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom
Websitetherokuchannel.roku.com

The Roku Channel is an over-the-top video streaming service available in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the U.K. It was launched in 2017, and is owned and operated by Roku, Inc.[1][2] As of 2023, the service leads U.S. viewership for free ad-supported streaming television (FAST),[3][4][5] reporting 120 million viewers.[6]

The Roku Channel offers over 400 free live linear TV channels, more than 80,000 free movies and shows,[7] and access to paid content. The service can be streamed using streaming players and smart TVs from Roku as well as other providers,[8][9][10] or using web browsers running on PCs, tablets or smartphones.[11]

History

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2017–2019: Launch in North America

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The Roku Channel was launched in September 2017 as a free, ad-supported streaming television service ("FAST"),[1][12] available to viewers in the U.S.[13] Roku's CEO Anthony Wood stated in the same month that the channel was a "way for content owners to publish their content on Roku without writing an app".[14] By August 2018, the channel had expanded to Canada,[8] and a website version of the service was launched, allowing it to be accessed via any web browser.[11][15] In August 2018, The Roku Channel was also reported to have signed content licensing deals with Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Lionsgate, Disney, and Paramount Pictures. Additionally, the service offered content from existing partners including American Classics, FilmRise, Nosey, OVGuide, Popcornflix, Vidmark, and YuYu.[15]

2020–2022: Expansion into the U.K., Mexico

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April 2020 saw the launch of The Roku Channel in the U.K.[16] In January 2021, Roku announced that it had acquired the original content library of the defunct mobile video service Quibi for an undisclosed amount, reported to be around $100 million, for availability on The Roku Channel.[17][18] The content was rebranded as Roku Originals.[19] In August 2021, The Roku Channel was reported to add CBC, AccuWeather Now, FilmRise True Crime, Haunt TV, and IGN for free streaming.[20]

By March 2022, The Roku Channel included news services such as ABC News, Bloomberg, Cheddar, NBC News, Newsy, People TV, Reuters, USA Today, WeatherNation, and Yahoo Finance, all available for free streaming.[21][22][23] In October 2022, The Roku Channel was launched in Mexico.[24] According to Deadline Hollywood, October 2022 also saw Charlie Collier, previously the CEO of Fox Entertainment, join Roku as the President of Roku Media to manage ad platform business and content for The Roku Channel and more.[25] Later, in December 2022, Roku announced that it would sign an agreement with the Miss Universe Organization to broadcast the 70th (2022) and 71st (2023) editions of the Miss Universe beauty pageant in the United States, making the first time the pageant would broadcast on streaming television, after several years on linear television.[26]

By the end of 2022, The Roku Channel was offering premium subscriptions for over 50 services including Discovery+, Paramount+,[27] MGM+, Showtime, Starz,[28] HBO,[29] AMC+, Shudder and Acorn TV.[30] Moreover, The Roku Channel was reaching U.S. households with a total population of 100 million, in Roku's estimates.[31][9] The Roku Channel was also reportedly the most popular FAST service in the U.S. in 2021 and 2022.[3][32][5]

2023–present: Viewership growth

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In February 2023, BGR reported that Roku announced the addition of nearly 2000 hours of on-demand content to The Roku Channel. This content included offerings from HBO, HBO Max, Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Warner Bros. Television. Moreover, this content would be available to stream for free.[33]

In August 2023, it was reported that The Roku Channel was adding several NBCUniversal services as free, ad-supported options. These included NBC News Now, Dateline, Today All Day, NBC local stations, regional Telemundo news channels, Universal Action, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Sky News International, The Rotten Tomatoes Channel, and a Universal Crime channel.[9][34][35] Further, The Roku Channel became available on Google TV and other Android TV OS devices, in addition to Roku-branded streaming devices and smart TVs, Amazon Fire TVs, Apple TV, and Samsung smart TVs.[8][10][36] Moreover, a report by Variety in September 2023 stated that The Roku Channel offered more than 80,000 TV shows and movies and access to premium content.[37] Variety also reported that U.S. FAST services, including Roku, Pluto TV, Samsung SmartTV+, and Vizio WatchFree+, had “commercial loads” of about 8 to 9 minutes per hour, compared to 15 to 17 minutes per hour on cable TV.[38] The Roku Channel reported 120 million viewers by the end of 2023.[6][39]

In January 2024, Roku announced an agreement with Formula E to air all but 5 races per year. Roku was slated to also air Recharge, a studio program aired 24 hours after every race.[40] According to The Wrap in February 2024, The Roku Channel offered over 400 free live linear TV channels and distributed content from over 250 partners.[7] In April 2024, National Basketball Association (NBA) announced a partnership with Roku to launch "NBA Fast", the first FAST channel from NBA, on The Roku Channel.[41] Roku also announced an agreement with NBA to air more than 40 NBA G League games during the 2024–25 season.[42] In May 2024, The Roku Channel secured a multiyear rights agreement with Major League Baseball to stream live the league's Sunday Leadoff games for free.[43]

In June 2024, measurement firm Comscore found The Roku Channel to be the most popular among all free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) streaming services in the U.S.[4][44]

In August 2024, Roku launched a new FAST channel, Roku Sports Channel, to be made available on The Roku Channel. At launch, the sports channel would show live events from MLB Sunday Leadoff, Formula E and the NBA G League and live studio programming from The Rich Eisen Show and GMFB: Overtime.[45] Later, viewership data from Nielsen for November 2024 showed that The Roku Channel gathered 1.9% of all U.S. TV use and ranked as the sixth most-watched streaming service, trailing YouTube (10.8%), Netflix (7.7%) and Prime Video (3.7%).[46] The Roku Channel also held the highest share among all U.S. FAST services, including Fox’s Tubi (1.8%) and Paramount’s Pluto TV (0.9%).[47][48]

Content

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Free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST)

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Below is a partial list of live TV channels included in The Roku Channel for free streaming:

Advertising video on demand (AVOD)

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The Roku Channel offers viewers to watch a selection of advertising video on demand content for free, requiring no subscription fee.[64] This content includes movies from Hollywood studios such as Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Sony Pictures and Warner Brothers, and videos from publishers such as American Classics, Fandor, FilmRise, Nosey, OVGuide, Popcornflix, Vidmark, and YuYu.[1] The channel also delivers about 2000 hours of content from Warner Bros. Discovery’s TV series and movies, including content from HBO, HBO Max, Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television and more.[65] Moreover, it offers for free a part of the "premium content" from Showtime, MGM+, Cinedigm and Acorn TV, with no subscription or trial required. The offering includes On Becoming a God in Central Florida (Showtime), Godfather of Harlem (Epix), America: The Story of Us (HISTORY Vault), Heartland (Dove Channel), and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (Acorn TV).[66]

The Spanish AVOD titles free to watch on The Roku Channel include Hernan (A+E Networks), Hunting Ava Bravo (Wild Sheep Content, Top Dead Center Films, Chollawood Productions), A la Mala (Lionsgate), Enamorada (Cisneros), Amor Comprado (Cisneros), Seasons 1-3 of El Señor de los Cielos (NBCUniversal Telemundo), El Chema: Edición Especial (NBCUniversal Telemundo), Seasons 1-2 of Señora Acero (NBCUniversal Telemundo).[63]

The Roku Channel also includes original content, including that in Spanish, in form of Roku Originals.[67][68] Content creation partners for the Roku Originals include Cisley Saldaña, Liz Jenkins, Mariel Saldaña, Paul Hollywood, Prue Leith, Rich Eisen, and “Weird Al” Yankovic.[69] Spanish-language content creation partners include Jennifer Lopez, Juanpa Zurita and Jaime Camil.[68]

[edit]

The Roku Channel offers paid subscriptions for various services including Discovery+, Paramount+,[27] HBO,[29] MGM+, Showtime, Starz,[28] Cinemax,[70] AMC+, Shudder, Acorn TV,[30] Fuse Plus,[71] and Vix Premium.[72]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Roettgers, Janko (September 6, 2017). "Roku Veers Into Programming With Launch of Ad-Supported Movie Channel". Variety. Archived from the original on July 30, 2022. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  2. ^ Lacoma, Tyler (November 3, 2022). "What is The Roku Channel? Content, cost, and how to use it". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Roth, Emma (April 29, 2023). "These are the FAST services you need to know about". The Verge. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Keys, Matthew (June 11, 2024). "The Roku Channel is most-watched FAST platform, Comscore says". The Desk. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Abarinova, Masha (October 28, 2022). "Consumers use nearly 10 streaming apps, as AVOD and FAST rise: Tivo". www.streamtvinsider.com. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
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  7. ^ a b Manfredi, Lucas (February 5, 2024). "David Oyelowo's Mansa Teams With Roku on Black Culture Channel | Exclusive". TheWrap. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
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  40. ^ Weprin, Alex (January 11, 2024). "Roku and Formula E Bet Big On a New Type of Sports Rights Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
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  46. ^ Porter, Rick (December 10, 2024). "Streaming Hits Another High in November as Overall TV Use Climbs". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
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  53. ^ Keys, Matthew (July 26, 2023). "Free streaming channel FIFA Plus debuts on Roku Channel, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV". The Desk. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
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  56. ^ Bouma, Luke (March 19, 2024). "The Roku Channel Adds 4 New Free Channels For March 2024". Cord Cutters News. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  57. ^ Kasule, Melissa (February 23, 2024). "FITE by Triller 24/7 launches on The Roku Channel in Canada". digitaltveurope.com. Retrieved April 18, 2024.
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  61. ^ Bouma, Luke (October 24, 2023). "The Roku Channel Adds Over 15 New Free Live Channels, Including Content From Fox Sports, NBC Sports, BBC, PBS, & More". Cord Cutters News. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
  62. ^ Hayes, Dade (August 7, 2020). "Latino Streaming Service VIX Launches Linear Channels On Roku, Xumo, Vizio & More". Deadline. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  63. ^ a b Siegal, Jacob (June 6, 2022). "The Roku Channel adds a Spanish-language hub with over 50 free live channels". BGR. Retrieved March 30, 2024.
  64. ^ Heinzman, Andrew (July 27, 2023). "What Are AVOD Streaming Services, and Why Should You Use Them?". How-To Geek. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
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  66. ^ Gruenwedel, Erik (October 1, 2019). "Roku Offering Free Premium Content on Ad-Supported Channel". Media Play News. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
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  68. ^ a b Flam, Charna (April 20, 2023). "Roku Expands Slate of Spanish Originals, Including Jennifer Lopez's 'Un Millón de Gracias'". Variety. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  69. ^ Petski, Denise (May 2, 2023). "Roku Bolsters 2023-24 Slate With Content From Charlie Puth, Reese Witherspoon, Zoe Saldaña, Jessica Alba & More – NewFronts". Deadline. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  70. ^ "Roku adds premium and over-the-air channels to its live TV programming guide". TechHive. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  71. ^ Keys, Matthew (May 30, 2023). "The Roku Channel starts offering subscriptions from Fuse Plus". The Desk. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  72. ^ Lafayette, Jon (May 25, 2023). "Roku Adds ViX Premium To Roster of Subscription Channels". NextTV. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
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