Saturday, August 11, 2018

Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #283





Hi, everyone !!



Regular readers of this blog may recall my mentioning, in my 'Weekly RoundUp' of three weeks ago today, a "heads up" that Roku were planning to release the financial results from their second quarter of this year's trading after the stock market closed on Wednesday 8th August 2018. If you do happen to remember that fact, then it should come as no surprise to hear that the first item of Roku-specific news I have for you this week concerns a press release to the effect that those details have now been made public. While I don't intend to dwell on the matter, for the purposes of this blog post, anyone with an interest in the financial side of the company can visit the Roku Investor Relations website and view the second quarter 2018 letter to shareholders at their leisure! :-)


As was the case when Roku released their financial results from the first quarter of this year's trading, the announcement (re: Second Quarter 2018 results) was quickly followed by another press release that detailed more immediate plans to generate more advertising revenue from their in-house channel provide two new ways to help consumers find free entertainment... by expanding the presence of their own in-house (ad-supported) streaming app, 'The Roku Channel', to make it available online via the Web and thereby provide free access to anyone (with a Roku account) via PC/Mac's, mobile phones and tablets - without the need for a Roku device to be connected - as long as they are within the USA. The second of their "...two new ways to help consumers find free entertainment" comes courtesy of a navigation change to the Roku 'Home Screen' called “Featured Free”, which has direct links to free content from... yep, you guessed it, their in-house (ad-supported) streaming app, 'The Roku Channel'!





HINT:- Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



Although the press release does go on to say that further free content from the likes of ABC, The CW, CW Seed, FOX, Freeform, Pluto TV, Sony Crackle, Tubi and more, will also be included... this is not really surprising, given how much of the content found within 'The Roku Channel' is provided by the existing third-party channels which populate the 'Channel Store' of Roku streaming media players. It also comes at the cost of losing the former "News" section from the 'Home Screen' menu...





AS BEFORE:- Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



As can be seen in the above screenshot image of the 'Home Screen' from an Element Roku TV, the "News" section was situated between "My Feed" and "Search" in the main menu which is accessed when you press the "Home" button on your Roku remote. For many Roku users in the United States this proved to be a very useful way to view various categories of news clips, including: Trending, Best of Late Night, Food, Politics, Tech, etc. and enabled Roku customers to see the headlines for multiple video clips in a single glance (although some had the tendency to be a bit misleading) which was a good way of "editing-out" the topics that were less appealing.


If you take a look at the 60+ comments which have been left by U.S. Roku customers at the foot of a related post by Rob Holmes - Vice President of Programming & Engagement for Roku, Inc. - you will get an idea of just how unpopular this latest move was. The response from Roku, to one of those comments, that "It's easy to get live news from ABC News, Cheddar, People and more within The Roku Channel..." and pointing-out "...there are dozens of news sources in the Roku Channel Store" appeared to show a total lack of understanding as to what people were complaining about.


Given how there was an option in the 'Settings' menu which (previously) allowed the individual to determine whether (or not) they wished to see the "News" section on their 'Home Screen', surely it ought not to have been too difficult to provide the same sort of choice when it came to adding this new "Featured Free" section!?! That way, Roku users could have chosen whether to have the "News" section, or the "Featured Free" section, or (perhaps) even both those categories displayed on-screen… but, instead, they opted to completely remove what for many had been one of the most useful features - even if it was only ever available in North America and (like many things that Roku introduces) not extended to their (long-suffering) customers here in the UK and elsewhere around the globe! :-/ :-(


The one small token, by way of consolation, that I can offer to readers from the United States who are feeling let-down by this latest "navigation change" to the Roku 'Home Screen' which has been forced upon them is this USEFUL TIP:- The "missing" news categories (which have been removed from the 'Home Screen' of U.S. Roku devices) can still be found within a Roku app, called "AOL On News", where you can access all of the same news category headlines. So, while it's not quite as convenient as having it listed under "News" on the 'Home Screen', everything is still there… but just needs to be accessed through a separate app. Simply install the "AOL On News" channel and use the 'Options' key (star/asterisk) on your Roku remote to move the app to a more prominent position in your list of installed apps, so that you can minimise the number of button presses required to launch it! ;-) :-)






AOL ON NEWS......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

*** N.B. THIS CHANNEL IS NOT AVAILABLE IN THE ROKU UK CHANNEL STORE ***



When you consider that this 'AOL On News' channel has been listed, as recently as February 2018, among the "Top 10 FREE Roku Channels" in a guide published via the 'Cordcutting.com' website... it's even harder to fathom (from a consumer point-of-view) why Roku seems to have simply cast it aside in favour of their own in-house (ad supported) channel but (from a business angle) you can see precisely where they are headed - just expect to be bombarded with more & more adverts over time!


Meanwhile... as I understand it, via another response by Roku to a customer comment left on the afore-mentioned post from the "Official" Roku Stream Blog, the option to "Hide" the "Featured Free" category of the 'Home Screen' can (somewhat ironically) be accessed through the 'Settings' menu - just as it could with the former "News" category, as mentioned above - so, if you would rather not be subjected to scenes akin to the screenshot image below, at least you're not forced to adopt the change. However, quite why they could not allow the end-user to determine whether they would like to have "News" and/or "Featured Free" content displayed on their 'Home Screen' is beyond me!?!! :-/ :-|





ONCE AGAIN:- Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



Unlike the (slightly) hostile reception they encountered over their effective removal of the erstwhile popular "News" category from the 'Home Screen' of U.S. Roku devices, the online expansion plans for 'The Roku Channel' appear to have been fairly well received. Again there was a related post from the Vice President of Programming & Engagement at Roku, Inc. - Rob Holmes - that was published via the "Official" Roku Stream Blog... but, as is often the case with such things, it does little other than regurgitate the information contained within the original (extended) press release covering all of the above recent changes. Bearing in mind that this is a US-ONLY addition to what Roku provides, for those of you who may be new to 'The Roku Channel' in either of it's guises, it offers unlimited access to comedies, award-winners, cult classics, live news and much more...






As can be seen from the above screenshot image, the landing page on the official website which has just been launched for 'The Roku Channel' as part of their recent expansion plans for the ad-supported streaming service is, at first glance, rather similar to the online equivalent webpage used by 'Netflix' subscribers... not that this is a bad thing, per se, but it clearly wears it's influences on it's sleeve! ;-) :-)


With 'The Roku Channel' now available on the Web via PC's, mobile phones and tablets in the U.S. you can expect a similar look and feel to the above, regardless of which device you happen to be using at any given time. The one (minor) caveat is that you will need to have (or create) your own Roku account to login and have full access to 'The Roku Channel' online portal but, on the plus side, it is not necessary to have any Roku device(s) linked to that account in order to watch via the web. Of course, many people (with existing Roku accounts) will already have Roku devices but, in addition to their expansion beyond Roku TV's and streaming devices to other brands of television, this latest new online presence is a good way of introducing the Roku platform to other would-be customers. The fact that all of the content is available for free (albeit on an ad-supported basis) only makes it better. Here's a couple more screenshots, to illustrate what users of laptops and/or mobile phones can expect to see when they visit 'The Roku Channel' online - provided they're in the United States, of course! ;-)





ABOVE: THE ROKU CHANNEL WEB PORTAL - AS VIEWED ON AN iPHONE


BELOW: THE ROKU CHANNEL WEB PORTAL - AS VIEWED ON A LAPTOP






Never ones to miss-out on the opportunity to make an extra buck, Roku engineered the user interface (UI) for 'The Roku Channel' to incorporate sponsored playlists - such as that for Geico shown below - and you will find them slotted-in amongst the more familiar genre categories (e.g. Action, Comedies, Dramas, Thrillers, etc.) to further extend the free viewing options of this ad-supported medium.





HINT:- Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



As you might expect, when browsing any large content library, there are additional information pages offering extra details (to a greater or lesser degree) for any movie or TV show title that you may care to select. Shown below is an example of the information provided for the 2003 Richard Linklater film - "School of Rock" - starring: Jack Black, Joan Cusack and Mike White which, if you haven't seen it yet, is both hilarious and heartwarming... so do give it a watch if you're in the mood for a good comedy with a rockin' soundtrack - I can highly recommend this, however you get to stream it! ;-) :-)





AS BEFORE:- Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



Once you are logged-in and ready to stream your chosen content, you will soon discover that (as with the user interface of many Roku channels) they have adopted a fairly minimalistic approach to the UI for 'The Roku Channel' web player. All the basic controls are there: Play / Pause, and; Volume / Mute, plus; Closed Captions, and; Full Screen Viewing Mode, as well as; Time Elapsed / Time Remaining. So, while the overall look might be fairly "bare bones" when compared to other streaming platforms, the experience is most definitely functional... which is really what counts most when streaming! :-D





ONCE AGAIN:- Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



Launched in 2017, 'The Roku Channel' has quickly gained popularity and is currently the fifth most popular streaming channel on the Roku platform (in the United States) based on active account reach. Now  U.S. Roku owners, and those who don’t yet own a Roku device, can stream 'The Roku Channel' on desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones, as well as on Roku streaming media players, within the confines of United States borders. In addition, 'The Roku Channel' app can be accessed via select Samsung Smart TV's. Unfortunately neither the Roku channel, nor the associated web portal, are of any use to Roku customers in the United Kingdom at this time... but, with Roku promising that they will "...continue to look for ways to expand the reach of The Roku Channel", having only just made it available (on Roku devices, but not via the Web) in Canada - as evidenced in another recent post on the "Official" Roku Stream Blog and associated press release from the Roku Newsroom - let's hope they can also "...expand the reach of The Roku Channel" to the UK sooner, rather than later! ;-) :-)


Meanwhile, moving away from Roku-specific news and onto another Roku-related news story that I came across recently, it would appear that the sports streaming service 'Eleven Sports', which was only launched in the UK and Ireland last month (despite being available elsewhere previously) are already "in discussions" with Roku and other major platforms (incl. Fire TV, Smart TV's, etc.) about expanding their presence so as to offer the widest possible access to all of their content. Although you cannot access ELEVEN on these platforms yet, they've stated they are "trying to make this possible" so I would not be surprised if we see an 'Eleven Sports' channel on UK Roku devices before the start of the 2019/20 football season(s) in Spain and Italy plus elsewhere in Europe, and (who knows?) it might perhaps be even sooner than that!?! With recent app launches for both iOS (Apple) / Android mobile devices, it's surely only a matter of time before we'll be able to watch on the Roku platform!?!






If you have not yet heard of 'Eleven Sports', they are a global content provider dedicated to streaming sports (as opposed to movies and TV shows) who were already active in Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Singapore, Taiwan, and the USA, prior to their recent expansion to the UK & Ireland, plus Portugal (their eighth, ninth, and tenth markets, respectively). From a UK perspective, they have just announced a strategic partnership with IMG in the United Kingdom and Ireland for the launch of two new sports channels that will include exclusive rights to 'Serie A' football as well as every match from 'La Liga' with more premium rights to be announced soon. The rights to Italy’s top flight league, were secured as part of a 3-year agreement starting with the upcoming 2018/19 season. This comes soon after the acquisition of rights to 'La Liga', Spain’s top flight football league, which will see live and on-demand content made available via 'Eleven Sports' for the next three seasons. You can learn more about what to expect from 'Eleven Sports' in the coming months via this recent news article, from the 'Advanced Television' website, and have the opportunity to register for the 'Eleven Sports' newsletter to get free updates on what’s coming up and all the latest news, as well as being one of the first to hear about discounts, and special offers, from the 'Eleven Sports' team! :-D





HINT:- Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



Better still, while you wait for the release of their official Roku channel, why not take advantage of their FREE 7-DAY TRIAL or (for the truly dedicated sports fan) the 'EARLY BIRD' DISCOUNT which is ONLY AVAILABLE UNTIL 31st AUGUST 2018 but entitles you to SAVE £10.00 OFF the cost of their ANNUAL PASS and PAY JUST £49.99 FOR 12-MONTHS instead of the usual annual premium of £59.99 PER YEAR... which, itself, offers significant savings (versus the regular cost of £5.99 PER MONTH for their MONTHLY PASS) and equivalent to getting TWO FREE MONTHS when paying upfront for the entire one year period. As always with these offers, you would do well to familiarise yourself with the 'Terms of Service' (T&C's) before you subscribe but, after that, it's just a simple case of choosing which of the 'Eleven Sports' pass options is right for you! ;-) :-)





AS BEFORE:- Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



If you are unsure about anything, you will find answers to most of the more common questions that are asked by (would-be) subscribers to the 'Eleven Sports' streaming service in the 'FAQ' Section of their website. Alternatively, if you would prefer to connect with them through social media, you will find an official Twitter Feed: @ElevenSports_UK plus their FB page: Eleven Sports UK (Facebook) - both of which are specific to the United Kingdom - where I'm sure they will be only too pleased to hear from you and listen to your comments / answer any questions you may have about the service.





ONCE AGAIN:- Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!



More generally speaking, in addition to the various sporting competitions and professional leagues outlined in the above screenshot, for each of the 'ALL ACCESS' passes from 'Eleven Sports', you can expect to stream premium fight sports and eSports, plus extreme sports for dedicated fans. On top of the two main channels, a further four 'Live Event' channels that "pop up" to prevent schedule clashes, enabling fans to access several simultaneous matches at one time, will also be utilised. Subscribers will also have access to 'LaLigaTV' on 'Eleven Sports' – the 24/7 in-house channel which features documentaries, magazine shows and other exclusive 'La Liga' content. So, assuming they get it right this should be a worthy addition to many a sports fan's subscription services. With the former head of 'BT TV', Marc Watson, at the helm things definitely look promising and, given how there were a few references to 'Neu-Lion' (who already handle live sports streams for 'Sky Sports Box Office' and other Roku channels) when certain webpages I visited from the 'Eleven Sports' website were loading, I'd say it's almost certain we'll see this sports streaming service on the Roku platform at some point! :-D


Meanwhile, with no other Roku-related news to share with you at this time, I'm now going to focus on the equally important matter of 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 and, with a bumper crop of more than forty new Roku channels to browse through, that should be enough to keep you occupied while I see what other odd snippets of Roku news I can find for you! ;-) :-)


Firstly, though, I'd just like to mention (on a not entirely un-related note) that I have now added links to some (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 more "missing" links to 'Roku Guide' reviews for almost eighty-five per cent of the new Roku apps which were published during the last seven days... which means, much like many other posts from recent months, I am going to have to leave it for each of you to access those details on your own. As of six months ago, you can choose to do that either via the built-in channel store on your Roku device(s)... or else, 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's entirely out of my hands. Hopefully they will get a chance to catch-up on them 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 5th August 2018 and 11th August 2018:-







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

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That since the unique channel store identifier '129073' for this new 'Algorhythm' channel was previously associated with an earlier incarnation of the app named "Tech House Terrace" you will not find it listed among the latest new additions within the 'Just Added' category (i.e. genre) of the Roku Channel Store. Instead, if you wish to install 'Algorhythm', you'll need to either look for it among the apps in the 'Music' genre... or, use the built-in Roku 'Search' feature to find and then add it to your device(s).

ALSO:- While the 'Roku Guide' review of the original 'Tech House Terrace' channel is still available, you will notice there is currently no active link to any such review for 'Algorhythm'. If at any time the "missing" review does get published, or the folks at 'Roku Guide' decide to update their previous one so as to take account of the recent changes, I will add the relevant link for their review of the new & improved channel to this article. Apologies for any inconvenience that may be caused by it's absence in the meantime! ;-) :-)







LINEAGE JOURNEY..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ACT ONE........................................................COST: £6.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






SPORTS GEEK......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






LEARN TO SKETCH.......................COST: £1.49 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






TALKING TOM AND FRIENDS.............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






HUMOR AND COMEDY.........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






WEHOTV (WEST HOLLYWOOD TV)....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






PULP CULTURE PREMIUM.........................COST: £1.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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






ANIMATION LOOKBACK.....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ANIMATION VOICE TV.........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BATMAN AND ROBIN........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, while the icon [aka 'HD Poster' image] for this 'Batman and Robin' channel features a photo of 'Robin Hood' in the lower right-hand portion of the image, this app has absolutely nothing to do with the folk hero from Sherwood Forest... although, it should really include a likeness of another "man in tights" - i.e. the "Boy Wonder" himself, namely Burt Ward, who played the young sidekick to Adam West's "Caped Crusader" in the campy sixties TV series, 'Batman', as they battled evil-doers in Gotham City aided by Alan Napier as 'Alfred' / 'Egbert' with the wisdom of his years. In fact, even the photo of 'Batman' used for the above icon is wrong - but that's a whole other story! ;-)







JUST GOT LOUD................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






WRESTLE CLUB..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






LAUREL AND HARDY TV..................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






GATEWAY CHURCH AUSTIN.............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






COREPOWER YOGA ON DEMAND...COST: FREE (7-day trial) + $19.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]

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

PLEASE NOTE:- That, although this 'CorePower Yoga On Demand' channel is FREE-TO-ADD to your Roku device(s) and does offer a FREE 7-DAY TRIAL with which to assess what's available, anyone wishing to maintain full access to their content library beyond the initial promotional period should be aware that A PAID SUBSCRIPTION WILL BE REQUIRED in order to continue watching this collection of "on-demand" yoga videos. In addition to the MONTHLY OPTION (outlined above) which costs USD $19.99 PER MONTH there is an ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION PLAN AVAILABLE at a cost of USD $199.99 PER YEAR which is EQUIVALENT TO HAVING 2-MONTHS FREE by comparison with the regular monthly payment over a twelve month period! :-D







9TH NOW (NINTH CIRCUIT TELEVISION).........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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






CF VIDEO..............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






PACK NETWORK.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CACC NETWORK.................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






FEATURED HORROR AND SCI-FI....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






SSC DIGITAL NETWORK....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






HEALTH AND FITNESS TV.................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






INSPIRED FOR ALL AGES.....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ESSENTIALS OILS...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






ROAD RACING WORLD.........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






BEST TV SHOWS.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






PRIME TV SHOWS..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






COLOR AND HAPPINESS LIFE..........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






JOHN WAYNE MOVIES......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






MIAMI MUSIC TV..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






HARVEST TELEVISION NETWORKS................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






KNEKT FOR CAUSES..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






FIRST ASSEMBLY OF GOD OK..........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






FREEMAN STREET BAPTIST CHURCH............................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






CHRIST DRIVEN CHURCH.................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






HORROR HOST NETWORK...................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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






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

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



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Anyhow, like it or not, that is your lot this week and, while it barely amounts to more than half of the 81 apps that were added to the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store in the same time-frame, it's better to get 44 NEW CHANNELS than none at all... as I'm sure you will agree!?! I should probably also point out that, of the 37 channel shortfall, twenty-seven of those new apps were related to individual US-based church organisations which (it could be argued) are likely to carry little significance for most UK Roku users. There was also one new app in the "Movies & TV" category of the Roku USA Channel Store which happened to be available exclusively to Nex-Tech Internet subscribers in the United States so, once again, it's absence from the Roku UK Channel Store will mean very little to most UK-based owners of Roku streaming media players. Of the remaining "missing" channels, that left only ten which I would have liked to see added to the Roku UK Channel Store as well as the U.S. one so, if / when I get the chance, I will try to contact the developers and request they make their channels available in the United Kingdom (as well as the United States). As is often the case, when all is said and done, the difference in new releases was definitely not as significant as the app totals for each region might suggest. Meanwhile for those still clinging-on to their NowTV device(s) for whatever reason, as with most weeks, there were zero new Roku channels (apps) for the NOW TV 'App Store' once again... meaning the total number of apps stays at just forty-five, with no 'Prime Video', no 'TVPlayer', and still no 'Netflix' meaning, but for the addition of one more app, there were as many new channels added to UK Roku devices in the last seven days as the current total found in the 'App Store' of all NowTV-branded products... five years after the NOW TV Box launched! :-O


In any event, hopefully everyone in the UK with a Roku player managed to find something they like within the forty-four "public" channels outlined above... or else from the "private" channels, whose access codes have been "gifted" to you via the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels to this blog, at various points over the past months and years. However, if you didn't find anything to add to your Roku channel selection from the assortment of apps 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 app because, like I say... when it comes to adding new channels to your Roku, IT'S YOUR CHOICE and, as with all things Roku... THE CHOICE IS ALWAYS YOURS!



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As touched upon previously, you can expect my usual summary of all the goings-on (or not) in the (severely restricted) Roku Channel Store (aka "App Store") that features on NowTV devices 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 two hundred and nine preceding weeks, then come back again in seven days' time for my next 'Weekly RoundUp'. Hopefully, by the time I make my next post, I may even have sorted out another (new) companion Twitter Feed to replace the now suspended: @ukrokuchannels account so there will still be a presence on the social media platform via which up-to-the-minute info on Roku-related matters (here in the UK) is posted on a daily basis!



Until the next time, then...



That's all folks !!





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