Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #171

Hi, everyone !!



As has (generally) been the case throughout the last month... there hasn't been much Roku-specific news during the past seven days but, as with the announcement from 'NowTV' last week, there was one piece of Roku-related news that came our way, thanks to a press release from 'Sky Corporate' - via their Media Centre - which for 'Sky UK' and 'NowTV' customers sounded rather promising...


At first glance, it appears like another exercise in re-branding... but, if you delve a little deeper, you'll see that - on top of a name-change from "Sky Movies" to "Sky Cinema" - there are several other items of interest to Roku users with a subscription to the 'NowTV' movie streaming service. First up is the introduction of daily movie premieres... which means SEVEN PREMIERES PER WEEK from launch (set for 8th July 2016) representing a 75% increase on the four movie premieres currently being served up once per week for subscribers. Another aspect of the service which will undergo a marked increase in content is the VOD library which will rise from it's current level of 1,000 movies to offering 1,200 titles for on-demand viewing. This equates to a 20% increase in their line-up of blockbuster and classic film titles available for instant viewing. I was also very pleased to learn of the plan to launch a DEDICATED "WORLD CINEMA" SLOT EVERY WEDNESDAY AT 10PM with some critically-acclaimed films in the pipeline, such as "Theeb" (UAE); "Tangerines" (Estonia), and; "El Ardor" (Argentina) to look forward to. Aside from that, there are plans for regular "Pop-Up" or "Themed" channels (with a proposal for one per month) that will see the likes of 'Disney-Pixar' plus 'Star Trek' and 'Superheroes' programming coming to our screens in the next six months. Probably the best news of all, however, is that there are improvements in audio-visual quality coming our way next month. While many of these tweaks will be the exclusive privilege of 'Sky+HD' or 'Sky Q' customers, I'm hoping that some of those benefits will trickle down to 'NowTV' subscribers, too! :-)


If you'd like an independent appraisal of "what has really changed" with the rebrand of 'Sky Movies' then I recommend you read the article by 'Recombu' - FOUND HERE - since it does a pretty good job of extracting the nitty-gritty facts from the corporate fluff that tends to fill-out such news releases. Meanwhile, before I get to the 'Weekly RoundUp' of new channel additions...


With little else, aside from the promise of a rebrand plus improvements to 'Sky Movies' (although 'NowTV' Movie Month Passes may opt for a different moniker) it did afford me the time to enjoy most of the footballing action from the 2016 European Championships [aka "Euro 2016", or simply "The Euros" to some] and, for once, it could all be live-streamed on Roku devices or NowTV Boxes. Speaking of which... in case you missed it the other week, I published a SPECIAL FEATURE via this blog on "How To WATCH UEFA EURO 2016 LIVE On Roku Players and NowTV Boxes" so that there's a one-stop source for RokuPlayer / NOWTVBox users to find out which Roku channels to use for live-streaming every match of Euro 2016 and detailing the kick-off times for each game. In addition, the post includes 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'. Anyway, back to the 'Weekly RoundUp' of new channels added to UK Roku devices...


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:-

iSPY THE RADIO.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

LA RADIO P.R. MULTIMEDIA............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

BILLYE BRIM OFFICIAL....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

LUCKY DINER BINGO TV..................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

ALL RAINBOWS...........................COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]

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

LES FELDICK MINISTRIES................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

CHEDDAR..........COST: FREE (30-DAY TRIAL) + $6.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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

CLASSIC FILMS............................................COST: £1.49 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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

BROWSER......................................................COST: £2.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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

CANAL AMERICA.TV............................COST: FREE (n.b. may require additional fees) [Roku Guide Review]

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

BABY TV VIDEO...........................................COST: £2.49 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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

ZACHARIAS INSTITUTE....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

KGNB TODAY.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

CHURCH OF THE KING......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

EVELYN REGLY...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

APTV APOCALYPSE TV......................................................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's barely more than seventy per cent of the twenty-two channels which made it into the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store during the same time-frame, it's still better to get 16 NEW CHANNELS than none at all... as I'm sure you'll agree?! The difference (on this occasion) can be put down to a handful of geo-restricted channels (including one "TV Everywhere" channel, that requires a U.S. cable or satellite subscription) plus one religious 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 vintage classic movies from the thirties, forties and fifties and/or indie web series plus other online content from independent filmmakers, may well have something to look forward to in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store in the very near future! ;-)


Either way, hopefully everyone in the UK with a Roku player managed to find something they like within the sixteen "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-seven 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 !!