Roku UK Channel Store - Weekly RoundUp #25

Hi, everyone !!


I don't know if any of you will have experienced this, as I did, but towards the end of the week there was a strange & wonderful metamorphosis that occurred within the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. To be specific, there was a swelling in the ranks of the channel store genres (i.e. categories) as well as a few name changes along the way. The end result was that, for the very first time since Roku launched their streaming media player here in the UK, the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store SHARED THE SAME CATEGORIES as the "Official" Roku USA Channel Store. Unfortunately we received absolutely NO EXTRA CHANNELS as a result of this change BUT, it did get me thinking...


... WHAT IF this was a sign that changes are afoot, to herald the arrival of the much-anticipated launch for the Roku 3, UK fans of the streaming media player have been kept wondering about for the past five months ??!!!! Sure, the global streamlining & unification of channel store categories OUGHT TO HAVE been implemented from the get-go (when Roku first commenced the marketing of their products outside of their native USA) BUT, as we know, IT WASN'T !! So... why now??!!!


Anyway, I hadn't been pondering the subject for too long when (all of a sudden) everything once more became exactly "AS YOU WERE" within the confines of the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. GONE were all those extra genres (i.e. categories) and BACK were the all too familiar set of eleven (not counting Featured, New, Most Popular and Top Paid) categories which have populated the channel store on UK Roku players since launch. Now, on the one hand, I was grateful that the change was reversed because (on a purely personal note) it would have eaten into my free time A GREAT DEAL if I'd suddenly had to amend the details for EVERY SINGLE GENRE of the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store (as listed on my blog) not to mention having to add A WHOLE BUNCH MORE NEW CATEGORIES to it. On the other hand it would, as I was saying before, make much more sense to have THE EXACT SAME CATEGORIES in every Roku Channel Store around the world. So, for that reason, I hope it was some kind of "test" that (maybe) went "LIVE" by mistake... giving us a glimpse of what is to come. This, in turn, begs the question as to whether "what is to come" pertains only to the current models of Roku player available in the UK (i.e. Roku LT and Roku 2 XS) or if it (potentially) relates to the UK launch of the Roku 3? ... ONLY TIME WILL TELL ???!!!!!!

Still, let's get on with the details for the current 'Weekly RoundUp' of NEW ADDITIONS to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store. This time, there are SIX NEW CHANNELS which have been added during the past seven days. These latest additions to the Roku UK Channel Store provided FRESH CONTENT to the News, Weather, Sport plus Religion & Spirituality genres (i.e. categories).

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 for each one:-

GOD'S LEARNING CHANNEL................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

MY KING'S TV......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

SOUTHERN BAPTIST...........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

ADDICTIVE FISHING........................................COST: £1.49 (ANNUALLY) [Roku Guide Review]

HGGWN CHRISTIAN IPTV CABLE........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]

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

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So if you happen to have an interest in either fishing or religion, or perhaps consider that fishing is your religion, then you may well want to add one, or ALL, of these LATEST ADDITIONS to your Roku player. No matter whether you plan to spend this Sunday in the worshipful company of angels, or dedicate it to a spot of angling (perhaps even for "Angel" Fish, ahem...), we've pretty much got all those bases covered with these latest NEW CHANNELS in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store.

Anyway, like it or not, that is your lot for this week and, whilst it doesn't quite the match-up to the eight 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, while not everyone in the UK with a Roku player will have managed to find something they like within the six channels outlined above, I'm sure that the fishermen (and those of a particular religious persuasion) among you will be fairly satisfied. If not, then you'll 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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Meanwhile, just as the latest batch of new additions to the Roku Channel Store on Roku player proved to be a few loaves short of a miracle, it is looking more & more like the NowTV Box equivalent could well use a miracle of it's own !! For my last three 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, I have been suggesting that we spare a thought for all the poor folk who handed over their hard-earned cash for one of those NowTV Boxes [Powered by Sky] which, as you may recall, have (so far) failed to live up to their full potential. Likewise, the original promise from NowTV of "more great content" with "more apps being continually added",  is yet to be adhered to, since there still hasn't been a single extra new channel added since the launch of the product. As in previous weeks, while the time continues to move on so (it seems) does the tumbleweed...

HINT: Click on the above image to ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!

PHOTO SOURCE: dusttracksblog.files.wordpress.com

Sadly, despite this constant movement of time (and tumbleweed), there has (yet again) been literally NO ACTION in terms of NEW ADDITIONS to the channel selection on the NowTV Box. This means that NowTV [Powered by Sky] have once more produced a (NOT SO) GRAND TOTAL of absolutely ZERO NEW CHANNELS to add to their (already SEVERELY REDUCED) version of the Roku Channel Store that features on the NowTV Box. Meanwhile, the "Official" Roku Channel Store that features on all UK Roku players has added SIX EXTRA CHANNELS during that same period of time. To keep things in perspective, in the five weeks since the launch of the NowTV Box, there has been a total of THIRTY-SIX EXTRA CHANNELS added to the "Official" Roku Channel Store on UK Roku players, compared with ZERO EXTRA CHANNELS being added to the Roku Channel Store on the streaming player from NowTV. As I keep pointing out, if the NowTV Box is going to succeed, they really need to show that it is "Powered by Sky" and ensure that the device lives up to it's moniker by adding those promised "must-see shows" from Sky 1, Sky Atlantic, Sky Arts and Sky Living "NOW" and not "later this year". Basically... if this lack of support for the NowTV Box continues, as I said before, they risk it being branded as the "NO TV BOX" as people become more & more disillusioned at all the unfulfilled promises & associated lack of channel choice available.

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Still, whether you happen to own a Roku player, a NowTV Box, OR BOTH, as I do... be sure to come back in seven days' time for my next 'Weekly RoundUp' and, 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 !!