More "free TV" for Bert...
But can he bring himself to use the "colluding" Roku box to watch?
Regards
Craig
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/roku-is-launching-its-own-free-ad-supported-movie-channel-2017-09-06
Roku is launching its own free, ad-supported movie channel
Trey Williams
Streaming device maker Roku Inc. on Wednesday said it has launched its own
channel on the Roku platform.
Roku’s streaming devices (a la Apple Inc.’s Apple TV, or Amazon.com Inc.’s
Fire TV stick) generally support streaming apps from other companies, such as
Netflix Inc., Amazon, Time Warner Inc-owned HBO and AT&T Inc.’s DirecTV Now.
Roku will now have its own branded service available on Roku devices for free.
Roku has capitalized on the rise of cord-cutting and an intensifying streaming
TV landscape. The company filed for an initial public offering with the
Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday, seeking $100 million in funding.
In July, the company said it had reached 15 million monthly active accounts.
Roku’s new streaming channel will feature a collection of Hollywood films with
no subscription, fee or logins required. Roku plans to make its money with an
ad-supported model, much like watching a movie on TNT. But Roku says it plans
to have, on average, about half of the ads per programming hour compared with
traditional TV.
“With the Roku Channel, we’re responding to consumer demand and helping content
publishers deliver content through a new experience that makes finding free
entertainment easy,” said head of programming at Roku, Rob Holmes.
In the company’s news release announcing the new channel, it highlighted “Ali,”
“The Karate Kid” and “Legally Blonde” as featured films. The channel is
expected to host films from some of the major studios, including Sony Pictures
and Warner Bros.
Roku said the channel will also feature content from some of its publishing
partners such as American Classics, FilmRise and Popcornflix. The Roku channel
should help increase their profile, as well as provide some advertising revenue.
Roku told Tech Crunch that its in-house ad sales team will sell ads against
content on the channel, and made it clear that there was a revenue share with
its partners.
“There is tremendous opportunity for our content to be viewed on the Roku
platform,” FilmRise Chief Executive Danny Fisher said in a statement. The Roku
channel should allow publishers like FilmRise to benefit, he said.
