There are a lot of choices when it comes to free streaming services. Many people have cut the cord on cable over the past decade and have focused on paid streaming services, either with live TV or without, and free streaming platforms to satisfy their entertainment needs. Some people don’t mind watching older movies and TV series rather than the newest ones.
With free streaming platforms like Tubi and Pluto TV, you get free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels as part of the lineup. These are channels dedicated to genres or specific shows entirely that have ads, just like cable does, but are free to stream on streaming devices. For my money, The Roku Channel is the best of the bunch because of the totality of what it offers.
The Roku Channel approaches streaming a bit differently
It’s more comprehensive than others
Many times, when you’re looking for live TV on a free streaming service, you’re not getting exactly what you think. You can click on channels like The Walking Dead Universe on Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, or fubo Sports Network on Tubi, and you’ll get the programming that was on those channels in the past day or so. It’s not really live TV, as this is what’s being broadcast live on a cable package.
Then again, when you think about it, live programming on a cable package is really just what the network wants you to watch anyway. Unless you’re watching a live show, such as something with breaking news, something that’s premiering for the first time, or a sporting event, you’re not watching something live. This is what you get when you watch free streaming services: a lot of channels that are “live” but not really.
Many of these streaming services only offer these kinds of channels. You’ll get some that focus on crime movies or insane car stunts, and you get to enjoy shows that fall under this category. But, if you want to watch seasons of TV series or enjoy paid streaming service content, Roku lets you do that too. Oh, did I also mention you can watch live sports?
Add-ons for subscription services all in one place
Add your shows to The Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is one of the many free channels available on Roku. It has partnership deals with a lot of streaming services like Howdy, Paramount+, AMC+, STARZ, and more. This means that you can enjoy these services through The Roku Channel’s interface. Similar to how Prime Video allows you to add some streaming services to its package, and you can stream those channels and platforms on Prime Video, The Roku Channel offers the same thing.
The catch is that the Roku Channel is free. So you don’t already have to have a subscription to use The Roku Channel. Anyone with a streaming device can get The Roku Channel. Of course, The Roku Channel is installed on Roku TVs and Roku streaming devices, so you don’t even have to download it.
One of the most exciting things about this premise is that The Roku Channel even helps you get deals on these streaming services. Right now, there’s a Black Friday Deals section of the menu on The Roku Channel that offers a ton of great deals on streaming services. You can get ScreamBox for $2.99 a month for a year or give STARZ for $2.99 a month for two months, letting you test it out.
Once you subscribe to one of these deals, you don’t need to open up the other streaming platform apps. You can view them on The Roku Channel platform, keeping all of your content in one place. This is a huge perk for anyone who is sick of the constant swapping of platforms to find shows they want to watch, making it a great Netflix alternative.
Live sports are available to you
It’s not a massive amount, but it’s still free
Maybe you’re a big sports fan, and you can’t imagine not being able to watch your favorite teams. The Roku Channel is not going to be the platform for you. Because sports media rights deals are a massive business, networks and streaming services pay billions of dollars to hold the rights each season.
What really impressed me with The Roku Channel is how many shows it has on demand.
That means they aren’t putting the biggest leagues in the world on a free streaming service. That being said, Roku did strike a deal with Major League Baseball and offers one game, every Sunday, that is earlier than every other game. It’s on Roku MLB Sunday Leadoff and lets viewers watch an MLB game for free each week.
Roku also has deals with British networks to show EFL soccer league games, the NBA to show NBA G-League games, and the NCAA to show some lower-level college football games. These are all available live when they air for the first time, letting audiences get in on the action. The Roku Channel does have channels like the NFL Channel, MLB Channel, NBA Channel, UFC Channel, and other sports channels that show taped content to keep fans engaged.
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Watch full series on The Roku Channel
The on-demand is a nice touch
What really impressed me with The Roku Channel is how many shows it has on demand. If you want to watch a series on many other streaming platforms, you can usually watch a few select episodes, similar to what is offered when you’re flying on an airplane.
But the Roku Channel has full seasons of shows to watch. This ranges from newer series to older ones, meaning you can sometimes watch 20-plus episodes in a season (back when they had larger show orders per season). This lets you binge-watch as much TV as you want. The range that The Roku Channel has in terms of shows is impressive as well.
You can watch eight seasons of Castle for free while also watching the first four seasons of The Equalizer for free. The fifth season requires a Paramount+ subscription, which you can add right on the platform. All four seasons of Knight Rider are available to stream, as are the five seasons of Hart to Hart.
Unfortunately, not every series offers all of its seasons. As seen in the photo above, you can only watch a few seasons of Bonanza, which ran for 14 seasons. The Munsters only has two seasons on The Roku Channel. So, you have to take what you can get.
The Roku Channel’s got so much to offer
I’ve tested a lot of free streaming services, and each one of them has something that I like. From being able to watch older shows to always having a movie to throw on, I’ve never struggled to find something to watch on a free streaming service. That being said, I think The Roku Channel does the best job of incorporating a lot of what people want from streaming into its service.
Despite being a channel from one streaming manufacturer, anyone with a smart TV or streaming device can download The Roku Channel, giving them ample opportunity for people to enjoy it. Its mix of live sports and news, on-demand movies and TV, and easy-to-navigate interface makes it a step above others that I’ve tried. Also, the fact that you can add subscription services to it to minimize your need to hop around to other apps makes it a one-stop shop for streaming needs.
- founded
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2017
- number of users
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145 million+ monthly
The Roku Channel offers thousands of shows and movies for viewers for free. It also delivers add-on subscriptions so you can house your paid streaming services all in one place.
