Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #170

Hi, everyone !!



As has been the case for the past few weeks... there hasn't been much Roku-specific news during the past seven days but, that said, there was one piece of Roku-related news that came our way on Thursday morning, thanks to a teaser from 'NowTV' - via their Twitter Feed - which proved to be somewhat intriguing. The tweet in question hinted at something in the pipeline, for later this month, and included an animated GIF... which can be summarised by the following series of screenshots:-

Other than that... we were advised "All will be revealed" on that date but little else was made known at this point. Of course, this led to much speculation (by way of reply) on Twitter although it remains to be seen if any of the thought & opinions put forward come to fruition. Whether part of this "news" will relate to 'Sky Online' (the European equivalent of the 'NowTV' service) being rebranded to bring everything under the umbrella of 'NowTV' is anyone's guess... but that hasn't stopped them coming! Of course, when the time comes, the "news" could still point to a date in the more distant future for the new 'NowTV' devices to be put on general sale but, whenever that may be, let's hope that some new Roku-branded (rather than Roku-Powered) product is not too far behind it! ;-) :-)


With little else, aside from the promise of future "news" from 'NowTV', it did (at least) afford me the time to publish "How To WATCH UEFA EURO 2016 LIVE On Roku Players and NowTV Boxes" to provide a one-stop source for Roku users to find out which Roku channels to use for live-streaming every match of the 2016 UEFA European Championships and detailing the kick-off times for each game, as well as providing details of a "backup" private channel that can be used under circumstances where (for one reason or another) you find yourself unable to watch via 'BBC iPlayer' or 'ITV Hub'. Thankfully, while I was researching & compiling my special feature for Euro 2016, there was plenty of activity from the collective Roku development community... meaning we  have (once again) been blessed with an above-average crop of new Roku channels being added to the channel store, as you will soon discover when you continue to read this post and see the list for yourself! :-)


Unfortunately, Roku UK users are still subject to restrictions (imposed by Roku) and (bizarrely) remain unable to access the channel descriptions in the web channel store on the Roku (USA) website. That said, the majority of the text from those web store descriptions can also be found within the individual channel descriptions from the built-in "Channel Store" (accessed via "Streaming Channels" from the main menu) on all Roku devices and, together with the associated screenshots (where available), should give you a pretty good indication of what those channels are about. My advice to any UK-based readers of this blog is to ignore the links below (and to the left of) each channel icon shown below and (instead) rely on the link to the right (below each channel icon) which will redirect you to an 'Roku Guide' review for additional details on each channel. As it stands, the links below (and to the left of) each channel icon are (currently) only of use to readers of this blog from the USA who, on clicking those links, will be redirected to the respective channel description from the Roku Web Channel Store. This means Roku users from the other "supported" regions of the world (i.e. Ireland, Canada, France and Mexico) are, like those of us in the UK, unable to browse the Roku Web Channel Store - which for now remains an exclusive privilege of Roku users in the USA. :-(


Hopefully Roku will (one day) wake-up to the fact that improving the experience for users in "other" Roku "regions" is just as important as it is for those who buy & use their products in the U.S. and denying access to the Roku website does not help the end-user experience for those of us (outside the USA) who wish to browse the web channel store. Anyway, what Roku doesn't want UK Roku users to see on their website (i.e. the list of new channels) is regularly summarised on this blog in my 'Weekly RoundUp' posts. So, without further ado, here is what we have this week:-

TECH CRUNCH....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SCI & TECH" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

FARM & RANCH TV......................................COST: £1.49 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

ENGADGET...........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCI & TECH" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

THE FOSTER LIBRARY.......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***

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

***FILED UNDER: "TRAVEL" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

DICTATORS CHANNEL.......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "INTERNATIONAL" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***

FAITH VICTORY MINISTRIES TV.....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

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

***FILED UNDER: "TRAVEL" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

JOISTREAM TV..............................................COST: £6.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

STAR TREK CHANNEL.......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

CANDELITA 7.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

THE JOHNO SHOW..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "INTERNATIONAL" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***

MASTER VIDEO PRO..........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

RAIN SOUNDS RELAXATION CHANNEL........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "LIFESTYLE" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

PEACHFLICKS.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

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

***FILED UNDER: " SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***

YOGA DOWNLOAD............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "FITNESS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

HOOSIER SPORTS REPORT................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

GOD'S SHADOW TELEVISION..........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

EPIC TALKSHOW.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "GAMES" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

BIBLICAL RESTORATION MINISTRY..............................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

MOMENTOS PROFÉTICOS TV...........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

COMIC-CON HQ BETA...................COST: FREE + $5.00 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

THE APOSTLE PAUL...........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

CALVARY CHAPEL BIRMINGHAM..................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***

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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-eight channels which made it into the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store during the same time-frame, it's still better to get 25 NEW CHANNELS than none at all... as I'm sure you'll agree?! The difference (on this occasion) can be put down (in the main) to a few religious channels plus one U.S. local news channel which may (or may not) find their way into the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store at a later date! ;-) That said, it's (probably) worth mentioning there were a couple of additional channels for which I have it on good authority (direct from the developers) that, despite only being added to the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store during the past week, will definitely be extended to other Roku "regions" (including the UK) in the very near future... possibly as early as next week! :-) Not wishing to jump the gun and/or spoil the surprise, I won't reveal their names just yet... but, suffice it to say, those of you who appreciate music with a spy "feel" to it and/or b-movie fun, complete with introductions plus brief commentaries from a TV horror host "celebrity", may well have something to look forward to in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store sometime fairly soon from now! ;-)


Either way, hopefully everyone in the UK with a Roku player managed to find something they like within the twenty-five "public" channels outlined above... or else from the "private" channels, whose access codes were "gifted" to you via the companion Twitter Feed to this blog, at various points throughout the last seven days. That said, if you didn't find anything to add to your Roku channel selection from the assortment of channels on offer this week, you can always pay us a visit another time when, with any luck, there will be something more to your liking. After all, there's no point installing every channel because, like I've said before... when it comes to adding new channels to your Roku, IT'S YOUR CHOICE  as with all things Roku... THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS YOURS!

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As mentioned previously, 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 earlier posts (as mentioned before) for all the new additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store in each of the ninety-six 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 !!