Roku on Monday began its phased rollout of premium channels, giving users the ability to sign up for premium video services directly within The Roku Channel.
As announced earlier this month, users can sign up for Showtime, Starz, and Epix, and also try out a 30-day free trial of the services. See below for a full list of the current premium partners (HBO is notably absent).
Right now availability is limited to the Roku mobile app for iOS devices, with an update with support for other devices slated to roll out in the coming weeks. Roku said the update will first be pushed to Roku players and then Roku TV models. Android device support is expected to launch in mid-February.
Subscribers will have all subscriptions in one bill from Roku, rather than spread across multiple providers. Amazon Prime video also offers customers a la carte premium channel subscriptions, including Showtime, CBS All Access and HBO.
“We’ve made subscription streaming easy for our customers and are putting them in control. Now there is one place on the Roku platform where users can seamlessly access both free and premium entertainment, with one click sign-up, easy subscription management and a single monthly bill,” said Rob Holmes, Roku Vice President, Programming and Engagement, in a statement. “The Roku Channel already delivers a great, free ad-supported experience for our users and a valuable distribution opportunity for our content partners. With the addition of Premium Subscriptions, The Roku Channel will be a better experience for our users and even more valuable for our partners.”
Here is a list of Roku’s premium subscription partners (with more expected to be added): Starz; Showtime; Epix ;Baeble Music; CollegeHumor’s DROPOUT; CuriosityStream; Fandor Spotlight; FitFusion; The Great Courses Signature Collection; Grokker; Hi-YAH!; Hopster; Lifetime Movie Club; DOX, LOLFlicks, Monsters and Nightmares, Magnolia Selects, and Warriors & Gangsters presented by Magnolia Pictures; MHz Choice; NOGGIN; Shout! Factory TV, Smithsonian Channel Plus; Stingray Karaoke; Tastemade; Viewster Anime; and ZooMoo.
