Pros & Cons
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- Free
- Original shows
- Live TV
- Affordable premium channel options
- Mobile app doubles as a TV remote
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- Premium Howdy tier is only available on Roku devices
- Library feels haphazardly put together
- No offline downloads
- Limited control over video quality
The Roku Channel Specs
| Ads | |
| Anime | |
| Concurrent Streams | Unlimited |
| Live TV | |
| On-Demand Movies and TV Shows | |
| Original Programming | |
| Starting Price | Free |
For countless entertainment seekers, Roku serves as a highly accessible gateway to video streaming. Whether it’s through a Roku media streaming device or Roku software directly built into your TV, Roku is the platform for quickly accessing favorite video services. Roku also has its own free video streaming service, The Roku Channel. In terms of entertainment value, it doesn't surpass paid Editors' Choice winners Hulu and Netflix, or our top free pick, Tubi. Still, The Roku Channel's ad-supported service is worth checking out, and a new paid option gives the platform additional appeal.
Plans and Prices
The Roku Channel is free. You don’t even need to make an account to view content. However, as with Tubi, you must watch ads. Peacock no longer offers a free tier, but its cheaper paid plans start at a reasonable $7.99 per month (and contain ads).
(Credit: Roku/PCMag)The Roku Channel has always let you pay extra money to subscribe to optional premium channels from partners like Allblk and Paramount+. These networks also sell premium channels on other subscription services, like Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV+, or offer entirely standalone streaming subscriptions. You don't need to go through Roku to get them, but it's nice to have Roku act as a central hub. The prices vary depending on the channel.
Roku now offers its own exclusive premium channel option called Howdy. For just $2.99 per month, Howdy removes commercials and grants access to a streaming library with more recognizable movies and shows. Despite the separate branding, Howdy exists inside The Roku Channel platform and leverages its features.
As you might expect, you can access The Roku Channel on anything with Roku's name on it, including HDMI dongles, smart TVs, and Roku's Android and iOS apps. You can also watch The Roku Channel through a browser or on your desktop via an app. Non-Roku owners can view programming through Amazon Fire TV or select Samsung Smart TVs. However, unlike Tubi, there's no Roku app for video game consoles. Currently, you can only access the premium Howdy content on Roku hardware, Roku mobile apps, or by going to The Roku Channel on a web browser.
(Credit: Roku/PCMag)What Can You Watch on The Roku Channel?
The Roku Channel has more than 10,000 free shows and movies. This puts it behind free streaming competitor Tubi (50,000 shows and movies) but ahead of Crackle (around 1,000 free shows and movies). Free video services tend to take a more grab-bag approach to entertainment, offering up whatever licenses the companies can score. Although The Roku Channel spans decades and genres, its library feels random, whereas services such as Hulu and Netflix feel comprehensive.
TV show content includes Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the 1950s Dennis the Menace, Miami Vice, 2 Broke Girls, and Xena: Warrior Princess. You can watch Ace Ventura or the first two Shrek films on The Roku channel, and then put on Man on Fire or Snowpiercer when you’re in a serious mood. Its trashy reality hits include Hell’s Kitchen and some good, old-fashioned daytime court TV. You can even watch dubbed anime, such as Bleach and Naruto. That said, RetroCrush and Crunchyroll are better free anime streaming services.
Much of The Roku Channel's acquired content is a bit dated, but Roku has original shows, too. The wild thing about these shows is that Roku actually purchased them from the ill-fated Quibi. That dead service spent a lot of money on serious star power to convince people they wanted to watch "quick bite" videos on their phone. As a result, these rechristened "Roku Originals" are surprisingly impressive. They include the Punk’d and Reno 911 reboots, Will Smith's stand-up comedy reality show, and a program where Christoph Waltz hunts Liam Hemsworth for sport. Still, as funny as it is to see Rachel Brosnahan talk about her precious golden arm on Roku, Peacock has a superior backlog, as well as more exciting original shows, like its Bel Air reboot featuring a deliciously evil Carlton.
Alongside its on-demand content, The Roku Channel provides free live TV. There are news channels like ABC and NBC, but also themed channels. You'll find ones for Lifetime movies, Bob the Builder, Project Runway, or The Asylum's glorious "mockbusters." These are nice perks to enjoy alongside the on-demand shows and movies, but if you’re primarily interested in free live TV, Pluto TV might carry the channels that you seek.
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Paying for premium channels gives you more to watch, and The Roku Channel's library also expands even further if you subscribe to Howdy. The larger library boasts nearly 10,000 hours of content. The mainstream movies and shows cover all genres and age groups. The top Howdy movies include Elvis, Mad Max: Fury Road, and The Iron Giant. As for TV, you'll find Kids in the Hall, Nurse Jackie, and Weeds. Even with this extra firepower from Howdy, the Roku Channel can't fully compete with Netflix, but at a fraction of the price, it doesn't have to.
(Credit: Roku/PCMag)Streaming the Roku Channel on the Web and Mobile
Roku users will be familiar with the dark purple-and-black color scheme that dominates The Roku Channel. The website displays a big splash image for a featured program before listing other shows and movies in densely packed rows. The categories include whatever shows you’re already watching, as well as themed categories. Browse new trending shows or shows that are just about to leave the service. Catch movies that aren’t on Netflix. Get a free taste of premium channels. See what's only on Howdy. Or let Roku recommend content it thinks you’ll enjoy. You can also directly search for content and save it to your list. Selecting a movie gives you a synopsis, the rating and genre, and cast photos. Shows also include a list of every episode in a given season.
The video player itself is decent enough. You can skip back 15 seconds and turn on the picture-in-picture mode. However, you can't adjust the video quality (or even see a stream's video quality). Free video services typically don't support 4K streams, but viewers should still know that information. The stream quality also depends on what you’re watching. If a show isn't in widescreen, it's also probably not HD. Although playback was largely satisfactory over my home Wi-Fi connection (60Mbps download), some shows would struggle at first before smoothing themselves out and improving picture quality. This happened a lot with live TV streams.
The mobile experience is largely the same, except you can choose between vague Auto, Low, Mid, and High video quality options. The real perk for mobile users is that the Roku app also serves as a remote for any Roku device. So, you can use your phone to control your TV, quickly type text searches, or issue voice commands. As a free service, Roku lets you simultaneously stream The Roku Channel to as many devices as you want without hitting a limit. However, you can't download videos to your mobile device for offline viewing, even with the paid Howdy tier.
(Credit: Roku/PCMag)Accessibility and Parental Controls
Free services are especially tough for parents to police because there’s virtually no barrier to entry. Any kid with an internet connection can watch whatever they want without spending money or even making an account. That said, The Roku Channel has ratings for all its shows and movies, and lets you create a PIN number to restrict access to mature content if you have an account.
As for accessibility, you can turn English subtitles on or off. You can also adjust several subtitle display options, such as text color, font size, and window opacity.
Can You Watch the Roku Channel With a VPN?
It's one thing to watch a streaming service without paying money, but what if you could watch a streaming service without exposing your private life online? VPNs are vital tools for online digital security because they spoof your location to another part of the world. However, they tend to clash with streaming services and their regional licensing deals.
I tested The Roku Channel with a Windows PC connected to Proton VPN, and the results were disappointing (but expected). I could stream video while connected to VPN's US-based servers, but I got locked out if I virtually went overseas. Oddly enough, live TV worked with the active VPN, but that might change in the future, given how quickly streaming services move to block VPN traffic.
Final Thoughts
(Credit: Roku)
The Roku Channel
The Roku Channel won't replace your favorite video streaming service, but it offers free, ad-supported classic movies, original shows, and live TV alongside an inexpensive paid option.