Roku Announces 'Premium Subscriptions'

Roku has announced the addition of 'Premium Subscriptions' to The Roku Channel, letting users watch both ad-supported and paid premium content.

In addition to 10,000+ free ad-supported movies and TV episodes already available, The Roku Channel will soon offer users the option to add 25+ Premium Subscriptions from providers such as SHOWTIME, Starz and EPIX. Users will be able to discover new services from Premium Subscriptions partners, browse their entire catalogs and then sign-up for at least a seven-day free trial using their existing Roku account information. Premium Subscriptions are only viewable within The Roku Channel. Additionally, search within The Roku Channel will be expanded, allowing users to easily search for keywords within the channel. The Roku Channel will make subscription streaming easy for users by providing one destination to watch premium entertainment from more than 25 providers with a single monthly bill and simple account management.

“We’re focused on making it easy to find great entertainment of all types on the platform and adding Premium Subscriptions is a natural evolution for The Roku Channel,” said Rob Holmes, Vice President, Programming and Engagement, Roku. “As a top five channel by active account reach, The Roku Channel is already a great source for free, ad-supported entertainment and provides significant user engagement. By making it easy for users to discover, subscribe to and watch Premium Subscriptions, we believe this offering will result in increased subscriptions and user engagement for our subscription partners and an even better user experience.”

Highlights:
● Free for all users: The Roku Channel will continue to include thousands of free, ad-supported titles available without a subscription and is available on a range of devices; users do not need any subscriptions or memberships in order to access quality free, ad-supported content
● Wide variety of subscription partners: Premium Subscription partners at launch include SHOWTIME, Starz, EPIX, Baeble Music, CollegeHumor’s DROPOUT, CuriosityStream, FitFusion, The Great Courses Signature Collection, Hopster, Magnolia Selects presented by Magnolia Pictures, MHz Choice, NOGGIN, Smithsonian Channel Plus, Tastemade, Viewster Anime and more
● One-click subscriptions: Customers will be able to start a free trial or subscribe to new Premium Subscriptions with one click using their existing Roku account information once they visit the subscription page
● Free trials: All premium content can be trialed for at least seven days
● Trial reminders: A reminder will be sent before each free trial expires and billing starts
● Single bill: Subscriptions will be managed directly from my.roku.com. Customers will receive one monthly bill for all premium subscriptions on The Roku Channel

Roku has also announced that its mobile app will soon allow users to watch content from The Roku Channel. The app will allow users in the United States to watch content without a Roku device.

Availability
Premium Subscriptions and search capabilities on The Roku Channel will begin rolling out to select Roku devices in late January, with a phased rollout planned for early 2019. The Roku mobile app update will also begin rolling out to iOS and Android devices in late January.


You can purchase a Roku device starting at $29.98. The 4K Streaming Stick+ is $59.99.