In mid-2017, Roku launched an ad-supported channel with free movies which was available on all of its devices in the US. Now, it’s announced that this channel will be coming to Samsung Smart TVs as a downloadable app later this year.
The Roku Channel features movies from big studios such as Lionsgate, MGM and Sony as well as Roku-specific publishers like American Classics and Popcornflix. Given that the channel is entirely free, you shouldn’t expect to find an abundance of brand new releases on there but there are some classics and flicks that were blockbusters in their day.
Roku is able to offer the channel for free because it’s ad-supported but the company points out that there are far fewer ads here than you’d see on an ordinary television broadcast.
Roku branching out
The Roku Channel app won’t be available on every Samsung TV, just select sets, and Roku has yet to confirm which models will have access to the app. It has, however, said that the channel will be available by the summer in the US.
Considering the Roku Channel is a top 20 channel on the Roku platform, this is likely to be a popular move and unsurprisingly Roku has said that it’s planning to bring it to more third-party devices in the future. Speaking to Variety, a spokesperson said “We are looking at a variety of distribution opportunities but don't have anything specific to share today.”
Though the Roku Channel doesn't have the latest and greatest releases, we imagine it'll be a welcome free alternative when we've worked our way through everything good on Netflix and Amazon Prime.
