Benzinga | Aug 17, 2021 09:04AM EDT

Roku Reports The Roku Channel Adds New Linear Channels To Its Lineup

Popular programming such as AccuWeather Now, Baywatch, CBC News, El Rey, IGN, Real Madrid TV, The Only Way is Essex, Tribeca Channel, and more available to viewers for free;

Kids & Family on The Roku Channel celebrates its two-year anniversary with launch of The Wiggles

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROKU) today announced its linear lineup has expanded to more than 200 channels, with a total of 17 all-new channels launching this week on The Roku Channel. Starting today, users will be able to watch 16 linear channels spanning across a wide variety of genres. Additionally, as a special treat for streamers, a new linear channel dedicated to The Wiggles will go live on August 19, in celebration of Kids & Family's second anniversary.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210817005339/en/

The Roku Channel (Photo: Business Wire)

"Roku is rooted in creating better streaming experiences for our users, using our brand pillars of ease, value and choice to guide us," said Ashley Hovey, Director, The Roku Channel AVOD. "The demand for free, quality programming continues to be of importance to our streamers. We've seen linear streaming explode over the last year and we're very excited to offer an all-new lineup of great channels with some of the most-recognized franchises to our users."

The Roku Channel first launched live/linear programming in 2018 and today it is a core part of The Roku Channel experience. Since its launch in 2019, Kids & Family experience on The Roku Channel has seen exponential growth. In Q2 2021, Kids & Family programming on The Roku Channel was streamed by more households than any other AVOD kids and family stand-alone channel on the Roku platform.

New Free Live/Linear Channels

The Roku Channel now features more than 200 linear AVOD channels spanning a broad range of free content including news, sports, kids and family, lifestyle, Spanish language entertainment, and more, will be available to users in August. Starting today, the new linear channels available on The Roku Channel include:

* AccuWeather Now * IGN * Baywatch * Mega Noticias * CBC News * RCN Ma's * El Rey * Real Madrid TV * Estrella Games * So...Real * FilmRise Horror * The Only Way Is Essex * FilmRise Kids * Tribeca Channel * FilmRise True Crime * The Wiggles powered by Loop Media, Inc. * Vivaldi

Launched in 2017, The Roku Channel is the home for free entertainment on America's No. 1 TV streaming platform based on hours streamed (Hypothesis Group, April 2021). The Roku Channel saw robust growth with streaming hours more than doubling year-over-year in Q2 2021. The Roku Channel licenses and distributes content from more than 175 partners and features an expansive library of 40,000+ free movies and television programs. In addition to Roku devices, The Roku Channel is available on Web, iOS and Android devices, Amazon Fire TV and select Samsung TVs and can be accessed internationally in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

For more information, visit https://therokuchannel.roku.com.