Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #87

Hi, everyone !!

For those of you that do not (yet) follow the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels for this blog, there was one particular item of BIG NEWS, in terms of Roku-related matters, which came about during mid-week when I discovered that Roku had implemented a NEW-LOOK WEBSITE on both sides of the pond. If you first take a look at the changes to the "Official" Roku USA Website, HERE, you can then compare it with the "Official" Roku UK Website, VIA THIS LINK, and you'll soon discover that (aside from the new colour scheme) there's very little by way of improvements to how UK Roku owners can benefit from the site(s). There's STILL NO ONLINE ROKU CHANNEL STORE for UK owners to access, via the UK site, and those visiting the USA website will also soon discover that the 'ADD CHANNEL' BUTTONS ARE STILL DISABLED and remain of no use to UK Roku owners, despite working perfectly well at one point... as long-time UK Roku owners (such as myself) will no doubt recall, much to their chagrin. Perhaps most vexing (for me, at least) is that now both sites make use of a secure connection (https) on all pages... all 1,200+ links that have (previously) been listed as part of my 'Weekly RoundUp' posts no longer function correctly - THANKS FOR THAT, ROKU!


Couple that with the fact that the new-look online version of the Roku USA Channel Store now has a bigger format for each entry (meaning LESS CHANNELS PER SCREEN on computer monitors), and that the LATEST CHANNEL ADDITIONS NO LONGER LISTED FIRST at the top of the page, then if (like me) you use the USA site fairly frequently... you will soon wish that Roku had followed the ethos that "if it ain't broke, dont 'fix' it!" would have caused far less problems than making changes purely for the sake of change, as appears to be the case here. In fact, the only people who might benefit are the "touch screen" brigade of mobile device users for whom the larger format layout should make for a better visual experience (although other inherent problems will remain apparent, regardless). Oh, and then there's the "missing links" from the 'Where-To-Buy' page of the UK site which, given that they've been lacking for over six months now, you'd think Roku would have made a point of adding while making changes to the site which, as far as I can tell, were largely "cosmetic" and (from my own point of view) caused more "problems" than they provided "improvements" for visitors on the web.

So... having thought that I'd finally be able to catch-up on all of the missing Roku-related news from this blog in the next few weeks, with all the extra work required to update those links, it (once again) seems unlikely that I'll be fully caught-up anytime soon. Until I do... my one saving grace is that (as mentioned previously) I have somehow managed to remain up-to-date with all of the latest additions to the "New" category of the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store, during the past few months, and will endeavour to flesh-out what's missing ASAP! That said, there are quite a few articles that I need to catch up on but, rather than post links for individual weeks, I'll simply refer you back to an earlier post, "Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #78", which contains all of the pertinent information you might need when researching back over the items in question. Again, I'm sorry this has continued to drag-on for (far) longer than anticipated, and I apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you in the meantime, but (all being well) things will be back up to speed before too long!

For now... all I can offer you (once again) is a brief summary of the latest channel additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store from the past seven days. As with my other recent posts, you can expect all the Roku-related news from this past week, along with details of any changes to the channel selection found on NowTV Boxes, to be added at some point in the near future. As for "mending" all of the "broken" links from previous 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, I can't really put a time-scale on how long that is going to take but (in the meantime) if you "copy" the existing link(s) and change the "http" prefix to "https", as well as removing the "forward slash" between 'channels' and '#!details', i.e. "channels#/!details" becomes "channels#!details" in each weblink, you should then find that they will all work for you and redirect to the new-look version of each individual channel description. Luckily, the links to all of the 'Roku Guide' reviews remain unaffected and you may continue to use those as you normally would. Also, each of the links in this post (as well as all future posts) will make use of the new format, so it's only those from 'Weekly RoundUp #1' up as far as 'Weekly RoundUp #86' which you'll have to amend... at least, until I can get around to editing each of them myself !!

Anyway, with all the "missing" Roku-related news (and links) still to follow, let's now press on with the current 'Weekly RoundUp' of NEW ADDITIONS to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. This time, there are THIRTEEN NEW CHANNELS which have been added during the past seven days. These latest additions to the channel line-up provided FRESH CONTENT in each of the Film & TV, News, Weather, Sport, Special Interest plus Religion & Spirituality genres (i.e. categories). Specifically, this means there's SIX NEW "Film & TV" CHANNELS & FOUR NEW "Special Interest" CHANNELS, as well as TWO MORE OPTIONS in the "Religion & Spirituality" category plus ONE EXTRA CHANNEL in the "News, Weather, Sport" genre, among the selection of new channels that have been added to the channel store on all Roku streaming media players during the last week. 

In keeping with previous installments from the 'Weekly RoundUp' series, details of these new channels have all been listed below, together with links to obtain further information {by clicking on the channel name(s) beneath the respective channel icon(s) as pictured} and to read a 'Roku Guide' review with an independent (slightly more expansive) assessment of each one:-

AMERICAN DREAMING (Premium).............COST: £1.49 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

USEFUL TIP:- If you would like to view a short promo clip for the "Premium" subscription version of the 'American Dreaming' channel on Roku, before you commit yourself to a monthly subscription, there is one available (along with other fun stuff, incl. "Movies & Mayhem" vintage auto-related cinema) via the "FREE" version of the channel (DETAILS HERE) which is also located in the "Film & TV" category of the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store and you'll (no doubt) be pleased to learn is completely FREE-TO-ADD as well as FREE-TO-VIEW for those who want a sneak preview !!

VERY FUNNY.........COST: FREE (With Ads) OR $1.99 [Ad-Free] (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

PLEASE NOTE:- That, although the 'VeryFunny' channel is FREE-TO-ADD to your Roku player(s), the channel description from the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store states that this particular channel "May require addditional fees" in order to view it's content. What this means is that, whilst the content of the 'VeryFunny' channel is FREE-TO-VIEW (in an AD-SUPPORTED format) via Roku players, there is ALSO A (MONTHLY) SUBSCRIPTION OPTION through which you can watch the entire library of content AD-FREE for the very reasonable fee of ONLY $1.99 PER MONTH which also gives access to any saved content and/or recently watched videos you may have. Anyone who chooses to register for the monthly subscription option, VIA THIS LINK, will get their FIRST MONTH FREE and you are able to CANCEL AT ANY TIME with no further cost beyond the current (paid) month.

LAKE HAVEN.TV................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

RETRO HALLOWEEN THEATER............COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]

THE CHAPLIN CHANNEL...................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

DREAM PALACE..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

DO YOUR PART....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

BALL IS LIFE.........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

PUSHPIN TV..........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

WORLD WRESTLING NETWORK......COST: FREE + iPPV / VoD FEES [Roku Guide Review]

PLEASE NOTE:- That, although the 'World Wrestling Network' channel is FREE-TO-ADD to your Roku player(s), the description from the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store states that this particular channel "May require addditional fees" in order to view it's content. What this means is that, whilst there is SOME FREE-TO-VIEW CONTENT available (essentially a FREE ONE-HOUR PREVIEW) you will first need to 'SIGN-UP' and, once you have become a subscriber, authorize your Roku player VIA THIS LINK to be eligible for watching the remaining (paid) content on offer. There's no WCW, WWE or TNA wrestling to be had here but, if you read the 'Roku Guide' review (see link above) for the 'World Wrestling Network', you'll see that there is (nevertheless) a good variety of wrestling action on offer from a decent range of (slightly) lesser-known wrestling associations & promoters. The fee-based wrestling events on this channel (currently) range from $9.99 to $15.99 but, unlike traditional Pay-Per-View (PPV) purchases which (usually) offer "one-time-only" or "time-restricted" screenings, once paid for... the wrestling events available via this channel can also be "stored" in your library for (unlimited) later viewing at a time of your choosing. Should you require further information prior to subscribing, however, I suggest you make contact with the support staff at 'World Wrestling Network' (WWN) by sending an email to this address:- Help[at]WWNLive[dot]com

BAYLESS CONLEY MINISTRIES.......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

DR. ANTHONY L. TRICE TV..............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

CLASSIC COMEDY CHANNEL................COST: £1.99 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]

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Anyhow, like it or not, that is your lot for this week and, whilst it doesn't quite match-up to the twenty-one channels which made it into the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store during the same time-frame, I always think it's better to have SOME NEW CHOICES than none at all, don't you ?!!

Still, hopefully everyone in the UK with a Roku player managed to find something they like within the thirteen channels outlined above. If not, then you'll just have to pay us a visit another time when, with any luck, there will be something more to your liking. Afterall, there's no point installing every channel because, as I've said before, when it comes to adding new channels to your Roku player, IT'S YOUR CHOICE and, as with all things Roku... THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS YOURS !!

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As mentioned earlier in this post, you can expect my usual summary of all the goings-on (or not) in the (severely restricted) Roku Channel Store that features on NowTV Boxes to follow in the near future. Meanwhile, whether you happen to own a Roku player, a NowTV Box, OR BOTH, as I do... be sure to check my previous posts (as mentioned above) for all the new additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store in each of the fourteen preceding weeks and then come back again in seven days' time for my next 'Weekly RoundUp'. However, if you can't wait that long, remember you can always keep up with all the UK Roku action (as it happens) throughout the coming week, by following the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels where up-to-the-minute info on all things Roku-related (here in the UK) is posted on a daily basis (well, almost).

Until the next time, then...

That's all folks !!