If you’re fed up with rising streaming service costs, Roku has some good news for you.
Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood says that the company’s just-launched streaming service cost “less than a cup of coffee.” However, he added, it is not meant to directly compete with Netflix and other streamers, but rather, complement them.
Roku’s new ad-free service, Howdy, dropped today, and it comes at a time when the cost of commercial-free streaming has skyrocketed. It’s almost expected now that streamers will raise their prices annually. For example, Netflix hiked its rates earlier this year and its premium plan, which is ad-free and supports 4K streaming, now costs $24.99 a month. And just last month, Peacock bumped up its prices to the point its ad-free plan now costs $16.99 a month.
“We’re meeting a real need for consumers who want to unwind with their favorite movies and shows uninterrupted, and on their terms,” says Wood in a press release.
Howdy now provides a more budget-friendly option at just $2.99 a month. The service will offer 10,000 hours of content from partners like Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery, and FilmRise, along with some Roku Original titles. This includes classic movies like The Graduate, Reservoir Dogs, and Dirty Dancing.
“With engagement of over 125 million people a day, Roku is the perfect partner to launch a more accessible complement to the higher-priced SVODs,” says Jim Packer, President of Worldwide Television Distribution at Lionsgate.
Howdy will be available initially exclusively on Roku devices, but will roll out to mobile and other platforms soon.
The new ad-free offering joins the company’s other streaming service, the Roku Channel, which is a free, ad-supported TV platform. These services, which include Fox’s Tubi and Paramount’s PlutoTV, have grown in popularity in recent years and have created a new revenue stream for media companies. The Roku Channel is the most popular of these services and accounted for 2.5% of all television viewing in the U.S. this past June, according to Nielsen.
In June, the company signed a major advertising deal with Amazon Ads aimed at making it easier for brands to reach viewers across both companies’ streaming platforms. The partnership gives advertisers access to more than 80 million U.S. households through a combination of Roku and Fire TV devices.
The launch of Howdy also comes just months after Roku acquired the live-TV provider FrndlyTV for $185 million. The service provides users access to 50 live channels, including the History Channel, A&E, and the Hallmark Channel for plans ranging $8.99 to $12.99 per month.
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