Roku adds free content channels
The Roku folks are at it again.
Just a few days ago they announced a super Roku HD-XR ($130) and a standard-definition Roku SD ($80) in addition to the $100 Roku HD device that we’ve grown to love.
But, this family of clever boxes is only as good as the content they can serve-up so Roku is now getting into the content game.
Roku’s Channel Store went live today. Following a quick and painless software upgrade (just press a button on the remote and the Roku does the rest) and you can now choose from ten, free new programming offerings for your Roku box.
Pandora (offering personalized music streams), Facebook Photos (your pix as well as your friends’), Revision3 (online shows such as Diggnation and Tekzilla), Mediafly (personalized, online content), TWiT.TV (interesting netcasts to choose from), blip.tv (original Web shows), Flickr (publish and browse your photos online), FrameChannel (photos plus more than 1,000 content channels), Motionbox (your videos online) and MobileTribe (your favorite social networks) all now available on the Roku player.
All of that is in addition to Roku’s (currently) three premium channels: Netflix, Amazon Video-on-Demand and MLB.com (much better to watch during the baseball season).
That’s a big leap from 3 pay-to-view channels to thirteen channels overall. And that’s not all. According to Roku there are more channels on the way:
“These first 10 channels are just the beginning for Roku. Many other developers are working on Roku Channels now, and Roku expects additional developers to adopt the Roku platform over time. New channels will appear in the Roku Channel Store automatically as they become available.”
The other interesting fact to note is that by creating their Channel Store, Roku becomes the first open platform designed specifically for your television.
Roku’s founder and CEO, Anthony Wood, believes that content producers and distributors, whether single person shops or billion-dollar corporations, can deliver their content directly to consumers without having to go exclusively through cable operators, satellite networks or TV affiliates.
The best part of it all is that installing the new Content Store on your Roku box is easy. The new firmware will be delivered as an automatic, free upgrade to all existing Roku customers over the next two weeks.
New customers will automatically be upgraded when they first install their Roku player. To browse/use the new service customers will be prompted to create an online Roku account. Existing customers who do not want to wait for the automatic update can do so manually ASAP.
Yesterday three channels. Today thirteen. I wonder what the Roku Content Store will look like a year from now!