The Roku Channel includes over 500 free channels,[6] more than 80,000 free movies and shows,[7] and access to paid content. The service is available throughstreaming devices, such asFire TV,Apple TV,Android TV, onsmart TVs by Roku as well as other brands, such asSamsung,[8][9][10] with the Roku mobile app,[11] andweb browsers running on PCs, tablets or mobile phones.[12] As of 2025, the channel ranks as the fifth most-watched streaming service in the U.S., gathering over 6% of all U.S. TV streaming time.[13][14][15]
The Roku Channel was launched in September 2017 as a free, ad-supported streaming television service ("FAST"),[1][16] available to viewers in the U.S.[17] Roku's CEOAnthony 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".[18] 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.[12][19] In August 2018, The Roku Channel was also reported to have signed content licensing deals withSony Pictures,Warner Bros.,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,Lionsgate,Disney andParamount Pictures. Additionally, the service offered content from existing partners including American Classics,FilmRise, Nosey,OVGuide,Popcornflix,Vidmark and YuYu.[19] On August 19, 2019, The Roku Channel added its Kids & Family section, with content from partners includingHasbro'sAllspark,DHX Media,Lionsgate,Mattel Television andMoonbug Entertainment.[20][21]
April 2020 saw the launch of The Roku Channel in the UK.[22] In January 2021, Roku announced that it had acquired theoriginal content library of the defunct mobile video serviceQuibi for an undisclosed amount, reported to be around $100 million, for availability on The Roku Channel.[23][24] The content was rebranded asRoku Originals.[25] In August 2021, The Roku Channel was reported to addCBC,AccuWeather Now,FilmRise True Crime,Haunt TV andIGN for free streaming.[26]
By March 2022, The Roku Channel included news services such asABC News,Bloomberg,Cheddar,NBC News,Newsy,People TV,Reuters,USA Today,WeatherNation andYahoo Finance, all available for free streaming.[27][28][29] In October 2022, The Roku Channel was launched in Mexico.[30] According toDeadline Hollywood, October 2022 also saw Charlie Collier, previously the CEO ofFox Entertainment, join Roku as the President of Roku Media to manage ad platform business and content for The Roku Channel and more.[31] Later, in December 2022, Roku announced that it would sign an agreement with the Miss Universe Organization to broadcast the70th (2022) and71st (2023) editions of theMiss Universe beauty pageant in the United States, making the first time the pageant would broadcast on streaming television, after several years on linear television.[32]
By the end of 2022, The Roku Channel was offering premium subscriptions for over 50 services includingDiscovery+,Paramount+,[33]MGM+,Showtime,Starz,[34]HBO,[35]AMC+,Shudder andAcorn TV.[36] Moreover, The Roku Channel was reaching U.S. households with a total population of 100 million, in Roku's estimates.[37][9] The Roku Channel was also reportedly the most popular FAST service in the U.S. in 2021 and 2022.[38][39][40]
In August 2023, it was reported that The Roku Channel was adding several NBCUniversal services as free, ad-supported options. These includedNBC News Now,Dateline,Today All Day, NBC local stations, regionalTelemundo news channels,Universal Action,Alfred Hitchcock Presents,Sky News International,The Rotten Tomatoes Channel and a Universal Crime channel.[9][42][43] Further, The Roku Channel became available onGoogle TV and otherAndroid TV OS devices, in addition to Roku-branded streaming devices and smart TVs,Amazon Fire TVs,Apple TV and Samsung smart TVs.[8][10][44] Moreover, a report byVariety in September 2023 stated that The Roku Channel offered more than 80,000 TV shows and movies and access to premium content.[45] 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 oncable TV.[46]
In January 2024, Roku announced an agreement withFormula E to air all but 5 races per year. Roku was slated to also airRecharge, a studio program aired 24 hours after every race.[47] According toThe 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.[48] Roku also announced an agreement with NBA to air more than 40NBA G League games during the 2024–25 season.[49] In May 2024, The Roku Channel secured a multiyear rights agreement withMajor League Baseball to stream live the league'sSunday Leadoff games for free.[50]
In June 2024, measurement firmComscore found The Roku Channel to be the most popular among all free, ad-supported streaming television (FAST) streaming services in the U.S.[51][3] In the same month,Lifewire stated that The Roku Channel could be watched using the Roku mobile app, available for bothiOS andAndroid, and allowed switching among free content, premium subscription services and live TV.[11]
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 fromMLB Sunday Leadoff,Formula E and theNBA G League and live studio programming fromThe Rich Eisen Show andGMFB: Overtime.[52] In February 2025, Roku announced it was launching a women's sports studio show,Women's Sports Now, featuringRenee Montgomery,Sarah Tiana andSuzy Shuster.[53] In May 2025, Roku announced that The Roku Sports Channel would now stream onSamsung TV Plus as well.[54]
The Roku Channel was the most watched U.S. based FAST service in November 2024, as perNielsen's TV viewership data.[4] It reached households representing nearly 145 million people by the end of 2024, in Roku's estimates.[5] According to Nielsen in July 2025, the channel ranked as the fifth most-watched streaming service, trailingYouTube,Netflix,Disney-owned services andAmazon Prime Video.[13][14] The service accounted for over 6% of all U.S. TV streaming time in September 2025.[15]
Sci-Fi:The Asylum, ClassicDoctor Who, DUST, FilmRise Sci-Fi, MGM's Free Sci-Fi Movies & Series, UnExplained Zone and Warner Bros. TV Mysterious Worlds[55]
The Roku Channel offers viewers to watch a selection ofadvertising video on demand (AVOD) content for free, requiring no subscription fee.[70] This content includes movies fromHollywood studios such asLionsgate,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Sony Pictures andWarner 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.[71] 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 includesOn Becoming a God in Central Florida (Showtime),Godfather of Harlem (Epix),America: The Story of Us (HISTORY Vault),Heartland (Dove Channel) andMiss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (Acorn TV).[72]
145 million people (2024)