Hi, everyone !!
Before I get into the Roku-related news stories from the last seven days, I'd just like to draw your attention to a couple of LIMITED-TIME SPECIAL OFFERS from 'NowTV', the details for which I first shared (as I often do) via the companion Twitter Feed to this blog: @ukrokuchannels towards the end of the week. Both offers pertain to the 'NOW TV Sport Month Pass' and, depending on which one you go for, stand to save you around 40% to 50% OFF the usually monthly cost of £33.99 that 'NowTV' charge for full access to their live streams of ALL TEN SKY SPORTS CHANNELS which are included with every 'NOW TV Sport Pass' (including their '1-Day' and '1-Week' variants). Those of you who don't wish to commit for longer than one month will find details of a voucher code that gets you a 1-Month 'NOW TV Sport Pass' for just £20.00 (SAVING 40% OFF THE RRP OF £33.99). However, if you're prepared to pay upfront and go into it for the long-haul, you can save even more when you take advantage of their deal on a 9-Month 'NOW TV Sport Pass' for a one-off payment of only £150.00 in advance (SAVING 50% OFF THE USUAL COST OF £305.91) to cover the whole nine months. This is equivalent to paying just £16.66 per month between March and December 2018 and is probably the best offer they have made since their 'Black Friday' deal for new customers only. The difference here, is that it's AVAILABLE TO BOTH NEW PLUS EXISTING CUSTOMERS and that's what makes it worthy of a second mention in this 'Weekly RoundUp' post! :-)
HINT: Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!
Anyone wishing to purchase the 'Formula 1 Season Pass' should visit the offer page on the 'NowTV' website, where there are separate links for new customers and existing customers to apply for this limited time promotion... but, be advised that THIS DEAL MUST END ON 25th MARCH 2018 !! Those who just want the 1-Month 'NOW TV Sport Pass' offer will find details of the voucher code required to redeem it in this recent tweet shared via my companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels and just need to login to your 'NowTV' account and use the 'Apply a voucher' option in the section for the 'NOW TV Sport Month Pass' found by clicking on 'My Passes' from the 'My Account' tab at the top of the home page for the official website of 'NowTV' - provided you meet the T&C's to do so! ;-)
Funnily enough, it's 'NowTV' (or, 'Sky Corporate', to be more precise) who provided the source of our sole item of Roku-related news for the past week... when it was announced, via this press release from the Sky Corporate Media Centre, that a new European partnership has been agreed between Sky and Netflix. While the main focus of this agreement was on giving Sky customers seamless access to Netflix through the Sky Q platform, it also extends to Sky’s contract free streaming services... which, if you haven't already guessed, means the 'NowTV' platform! Yes, believe it or not, Netflix is set to be launched as a standalone app on NOW TV’s family of streaming devices, including both the NowTV Box and the recently launched NOW TV Smart Stick, within the coming year! :-O
As I mentioned, by way of reply to several people who happened to comment about it on Twitter, the deal with 'Netflix' may be a step in the right direction towards a more open platform... but, at the end of the day, it's just one app - which, when it (eventually) arrives, will bring the total number of apps on 'NowTV' devices to just 53 and that's only three more (in total) than they started-out with on the original (white) NowTV Box back in July 2013 - plus, there's nothing about the addition of 'Netflix' that would cause me to stop using (and recommending) UK Roku devices over NowTV-branded ones when it comes to devices that have access to both 'NowTV' and 'Netflix' streaming services. Should they decide to open-up the 'App Store' completely, and replicate the Roku UK Channel Store in it's entirety, that will be a different matter... but, for now, it just seems like they're "cherry-picking" from the Roku platform to make their own (severely lacking) devices more appealing. I don't know about you, but (personally) I'd rather see Sky / NOW TV extend their Roku channel (app) for 'Sky Sports Box Office' to UK Roku devices so that I can stop using my NowTV Box altogether... because, I'm no more likely to use NowTV Box for streaming when it has 'Netflix' than I am (without it) at present! :-|
Anyway, with no other major Roku-related (or Roku-specific) news to share with you this week, I'm now going to turn my attention to bringing you details for all the latest new Roku channels (apps) which were released during the seven days since my last 'Weekly RoundUp' post was published! :-)
Firstly, though, I'd just like to mention (on a not entirely un-related note) that I have now added links to most (though, still not all) of the 'Roku Guide' reviews that were previously "missing" for many of the new Roku channels released in the last few weeks... so, if you'd like to see an independent appraisal of those, be sure to check-out my post from last week (see link above), which (itself) contains a link to the previous week's post (and so-on, and so-forth), for details of where to find them. Unfortunately, there are (yet again) even more "missing" links to 'Roku Guide' reviews for almost half of the channels that were published during the last seven days... which means, much like other posts in recent months, I'm (once more) going to have to leave it for each of you (individually) to access those details. As of three weeks ago, you can choose to do that either via the built-in channel store on your Roku device(s) or by following the links provided in each post to the relevant channel description(s) from the Roku Web Channel Store. Meanwhile, once the "missing" reviews have been published by 'Roku Guide', I will (as I have done previously) ensure that I add the relevant links to each post. Apologies (as always) for any inconvenience that may be caused by the absence of active links to an independent review for so many of these new apps but, like I say, it was entirely out of my hands. Hopefully they will catch-up on any they missed sometime in the coming week!?! ;-) :-)
Still, back to the list... which, as always, will help you to identify the very latest apps that have been added to Roku devices in the UK. Other websites offering Roku channel listings will base their contents on the Roku USA Channel Store, which means they also include apps that are unavailable to UK Roku users. So, like I've said before... if you really want to know what's available channel-wise, for owners of Roku devices in the UK, you need to be reading this blog each and every week! ;-) :-)
With twice the number of active links to check out, not just for this week... but each and every post that has been previously published as part of my 'Weekly RoundUp' series over the last five years, there's a *lot* of reading to catch-up on. So, without further ado, here's my 'Weekly RoundUp' of all new Roku channels released between 25th February 2018 and 3rd March 2018:-
HiMSS TELEVISION..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "EDUCATIONAL" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
PLEASE NOTE:- That, although this 'HiMSS Television' channel can be found among the latest additions in the "New" category (i.e. genre) of the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store, it won't be immediately obvious (as one of the more recent apps from the last seven days) unless you scroll down slightly further. The reason being: it was originally released via the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store almost two weeks ago, on 21st February 2018, and only extended to UK Roku devices after the developer (for some reason) chose to edit their channel package (.PKG file) and make it available in the Roku UK Channel Store, as well as on Roku streaming media players in the USA! :-)
THE SHERLOCK ADVENTURES........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "UNCATEGORIZED" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
PLEASE NOTE:- That, since 'The Sherlock Adventures' channel was filed under "Movies & TV" in the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store at the time of it's release, you would normally expect to see it listed under the UK equivalent category of "Film & TV" but that is not the case in this instance. As of now, this channel exists *only* in the "New" category of the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store... and that means, if it is not assigned a permanent category (such as "Film & TV", suggested above) within the next four weeks, it will "disappear" from the Roku Channel Store in the UK and be unavailable for installation by any UK Roku user that has not already added it to their channel selection during it's rather limited tenure in the "New" category. Hopefully, I will be able to contact the developer of this channel and advise them as to the impending removal of their (still) fledgling app in the UK. To that end, I will do my best to reach-out through the various channels available to me and (hopefully) get them to assign a permanent channel store category in the UK before it is too late! :-O Meanwhile, I suggest that anyone with an interest in this channel, based on the details given in the 'Roku Guide' review (see link above) should endeavour to add 'The Sherlock Adventures' by the end of March 2018 so that, if it does disappear from the channel store, at least you will still be able to gain access to it from your own channel selection on the 'Home Screen' of your device! ;-) :-)
LET'S PLAY MINECRAFT......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
CHINAVISION......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "INTERNATIONAL" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
CLASSIC POPEYE..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
SALEM BAPTIST CHURCH.................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
CAMO CRUSADE.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
CELEBRITY SCENE.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
PLANETA PAYNER....COST: FREE (7-day trial) + $2.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "MUSIC" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
PLEASE NOTE:- That, although this 'Planeta Payner' channel is FREE-TO-ADD to Roku devices and does include a single live audio feed that is FREE-TO-STREAM whenever the channel is first launched, those wishing to enjoy the live video on offer (Planeta TV, Planeta HD, and Planeta Folk) should note that A MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION IS REQUIRED to access the three live streams of shows, concerts and musical tours from Planeta (brought to you by Virgin Group Bulgaria Ltd). The cost of a subscription is $2.99 PER MONTH but there is a 7-DAY FREE TRIAL PERIOD through which to assess whether or not this popular musical television service from the Balkan region is right for you. Suffice it to say that, if you are familiar with the 24/7 style of music programming from this Bulgarian broadcaster, you will likely enjoy these live streams... which contain some of the biggest and most memorable events to hit the Bulgarian musical stage. Meanwhile, if you would like to know more about the service, additional information can be found on the official website of Planeta Payner. Alternatively, should you prefer to connect with them through social media channels, there is both an official Twitter Feed: @PlanetaHDTV and an official FB Page: Planeta TV (Facebook) for those who have additional questions, or wish to share their thoughts, about the music television service.
THE LIFE................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
HEALTHDAY TV...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "LIFESTYLE" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
HEALTHDAY LIVING..........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "LIFESTYLE" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
LORDTV.................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
THE NINJA SIBLINGS...........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FITNESS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
REBECCA BRAND RECIPES..........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FOOD" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
SKIING FREE.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "GAMES" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
THE PROPHETIC PULSE.....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
TREASURE CHEST SURPRISE TOYS..................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
MERCURY..........................................COST: £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
ARMY SCREENSAVER....................COST: £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
OVER THE WATER FRONT....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
LIFE STREAM TELEVISION...............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
END TIME PROPHECY NETWORK...................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
UCB PLAYER...........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
JARO ART-LITE.................................................COST: £2.49 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
KINGDOM IMPACT MINISTRY...........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
TRAILER NATION...............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
THE LEE VAN CLEEF CHANNEL......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
GWAR TV FREE VERSION...............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "MUSIC" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
BABY FINDER.........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
NEVER THE SAME RIVER.....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
BEAUTY BUZ........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "LIFESTYLE" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
MAKEUP IDEAS...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "LIFESTYLE" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
AMAZING POLAR CLOCK.............COST: £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
NATICK WEATHER.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
BETTER HOME RECIPES.................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FOOD" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
NEW FITNESS FOR YOU......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FITNESS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
iDRIVESAFLELY....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "TRAVEL" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
HOT AIR BALLOONS.......................COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
AFRICAN ANIMALS........................COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
SEXY BIKINI AND CURVES...................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
WILDEST NIGHTLIFE SCENES..............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
MUSIC BIO CHANNEL.......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "MUSIC" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
HOSANNA..............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
GROUNDHOG SCREENSAVER......COST: £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
MARDI GRAS SCREENSAVER.......COST: £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
SUMTV................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
HORROR MAN CAVE..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
KINETICS BLOOM...........................COST: £1.99 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***