Roku Launches Free, Ad-Supported Movie Channel

Roku has unveiled The Roku Channel, a new streaming channel on the platform specifically dedicated to giving customers free access to a collection of top films and more.

Customers will enjoy award-winning movies and big-screen classics at no cost. The offering is ad-supported and expected to have, on average, approximately half the advertising per programming hour as compared to traditional ad-supported linear TV.

The Roku Channel will feature films such as Ali, The Karate Kid, Legally Blonde and many others from studios such as Lionsgate, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. Publishers participating include American Classics, Fandor, FilmRise, Nosey, OVGuide, Popcornflix, Vidmark and YuYu, with others expected to be added over time.

“We’re always looking for ways to add value and make TV better for our customers,” said Rob Holmes, the VP of programming at Roku. “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 for our customers.”

“There is a tremendous opportunity for our content to be viewed on the Roku platform,” added Danny Fisher, the CEO at FilmRise. “Now with The Roku Channel launch, Roku is offering its customers even greater value by giving them free content while enabling publishers like us to benefit from simple discovery that drives greater engagement.”