Roku has announced it will be adding original shows to The Roku Channel later this year.
Roku Originals Based on Quibi Content
The first wave of originals will come entirely from the library of original shows that Roku acquired from Quibi, Jeffrey Katzenberg's defunct short-form streaming platform Quibi, in January of 2020.
The set-top box maker has officially announced an all-new "Roku Originals" brand in a post on the Roku Blog and a press release issued by BusinessWire. Roku Originals will be available to stream exclusively for free on The Roku Channel, the company's free, ad-supported network, later this year.
Roku has not said whether these shows will air in portrait or landscape mode. The Quibi content was famous for providing separate video streams for portrait and landscape modes that would change on the fly depending on how you held your phone.
About 75 Roku Originals will debut on The Roku Channel, including a dozen unreleased series, the company said. More details on the launch of Roku Originals will be shared in May.
For further information, visit The Roku Channel website.
Roku Originals on the Roku Channel
Sweta Patel, Roku's Vice President of Engagement Growth Marketing, said:
We’re thrilled to introduce this award-winning and diverse portfolio of entertainment under the Roku Originals brand---it's relevant, fun and thought-provoking TV that has something for everyone from the best talent in Hollywood, including Anna Kendrick, Chrissy Teigen, Lena Waithe, Idris Elba, Kevin Hart, and Liam Hemsworth.
All future original programming for The Roku Channel will be marketed under the Roku Originals moniker. The Roku Channel is currently available in the US, the UK, and Canada on Roku devices, iOS and Android, Amazon's Fire TV devices, select Smart TVs from Samsung, and on the web.
What Is The Roku Channel?
The Roku Channel currently offers more than 40,000 free movies and programs, in addition to over 165 free live linear television channels. The Roku Channel licenses and distributes content from more than 175 content partners.
Although Roku has no ambitions to take on some of the biggest names in streaming, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, or HBO Max, premium programming based on free, ad-supported content has proved a valuable tool to win over customers.
And with the likes of Plex, Paramount+, Peacock, and other streaming services already offering people a ton of stuff to watch for free, Roku's introduction of the Roku Originals on The Roku Channel is definitely a step in the right direction.