Roku announced exciting news on Wednesday, which will change the way its users watch premium TV shows and movies. While the move may assist in boosting ad revenue for the company, it’s a move Apple also plans to make. The Roku Channel, a separate section from the Roku user interface on TVs with Roku software and Roku products, will soon allow users to subscribe to paid content from Showtime, Epix, Starz and a handful of other, lesser-known networks.
Not quite sure what shows and movies are those platforms? No worries as customers will be able to view all shows and movies available on these said platforms before choosing to subscribe. In addition, customers will be able to access the movies and TV shows from other devices such as phones and tablets. Another awesome perk is the capability of paying for all services you’ve subscribed to via one bill to Roku, rather than a separate bill from each service.
While these new changes will give Roku’s media partners the opportunity to include ad content inside of the Roku app, there’s still a lot of popular missing content in Roku’s new offering. HBO, Hulu and Netflix will not be available, though those apps are still accessible outside of The Roku Channel, which users will need to navigate to the home screen to find.
CNBC reported in October 2018 that Apple plans to mix its free original content with subscription channels inside of the TV app as well, which is available on iPhones and iPads. CNBC also notes that Apple “may introduce its service as soon as this year.”