Most people know Roku for itsstreaming hardware. The company makes all sorts of streaming sticks, boxes, and even TVs. Its devices let you access Netflix, Hulu, Max, YouTube, and almost every streaming platform you can think of.
But Roku also offers something called The Roku Channel, which isn’t a piece of hardware. What is The Roku Channel? We’re here to help you figure that out and decide if it’s something you should be interested in or a waste of your time.
What is The Roku Channel?
The name Roku Channel is a little deceiving because it’s not a traditional channel. It’s not on cable with channels like ESPN, HGTV, and FOX, and it’s not a single stream of content like a channel. Instead, it’s an extensive collection of free content from Roku. It has live TV channels, on-demand movies and TV shows, and even original content you won’t find elsewhere.
The best way to think of The Roku Channel is as a streaming service like Netflix,Peacock, or Max, but it’s free. A more direct name would be The Roku Free Streaming Service, but that doesn’t flow off the tongue as smoothly as The Roku Channel, so I can see why they went with that name instead.
What can you watch on The Roku Channel?
The Roku Channel is one of the most content-rich free streaming services out there, so there’s a lot to watch. It has over 350 live channels streaming everything from local news to sports.
Outside of the constantly streaming live content, there are also lots of popular shows you can watch on-demand, so if you’ve been meaning to catch up on shows like 2 Broke Girls, Mountain Men, The Mentalist, or Young Rock, you can do it from The Roku Channel.
You’ll also find plenty of movies to watch. There aren’t as many new releases as paid streaming services, but there’s still some quality content if you want to watch something from a few years ago. Gems like Rio, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Terrifier, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, The Devil’s Rejects, Kung Fu Panda 2, Apocalypto, and plenty of others are there if you’re willing to dig. The horror section is particularly packed with entertaining B movies if you want to watch some low-budget spooky films.
It’s important to note that Roku says the content on The Roku Channel is constantly changing, so things on the service can vary from day to day. That means if you see something you’re interested in watching, jump on it because it could go away at some point to be replaced by something else.
Where and how can you watch The Roku Channel?
The Roku Channel is available on almost every streaming device, so you don’t have to own a Roku player to enjoy the content. You can install The Roku Channel app on Samsung smart TVs,Amazon Fire TV devices, Google TV, iOS, Google Play, Roku streaming devices, and the web.
Unfortunately, The Roku Channel is only available in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on Roku streaming devices, the web, and mobile. In Mexico, you can only watch it on Roku streaming devices. Other countries are left out of the fun, at least for now. Licensing content in other parts of the world can be messy, which is likely why Roku limits its service to these four countries.
How much is The Roku Channel?
As mentioned previously, The Roku Channel is free. All of the content mentioned above is available without spending a penny.
you may add premium subscriptions to your Roku account to watch them through The Roku Channel, but these are other streaming services billed through Roku. You can get Starz, MGM+, Paramount+, Discovery+, AMC+, and many other premium subscriptions on The Roku Channel.
