Hi, everyone !!
If you happen to follow the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels to this blog, then you will already be aware that the single most significant piece of Roku-related news from the last seven days was the announcement, via a press release from the Roku Newsroom, to the effect that 'YouTube TV' is now available on compatible Roku devices in the United States. Of course, with no UK equivalent "Live TV" streaming service for 'YouTube TV' from 'Google', the news that "Live TV Content Will Be Made Available Starting Thursday 1st February 2018" was undoubtedly of more significance to Roku users in the USA... but, for anyone wishing to read more about the new 'YouTube TV' channel, there was a related post published by Tedd Cittadine (Vice President of Content Distribution at Roku) via the "Official" Roku Stream Blog, several hours after I had shared the details of the press release via the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels to this blog.
Surprisingly, given the importance of this addition to the Roku platform in the United States, there was no mention of it in the latest crop of 'Roku Guide' reviews... and only a cursory mention of it in their cord-cutter news briefs for the week. So, for the benefit of any readers from the U.S. who might have missed it in the channel store of their Roku device(s), here are some screenshots taken from the description for 'YouTube TV' from the Roku Web Channel Store:-
HINT:- Please CLICK on the above images TO ENLARGE THEM for easier viewing !!
To give you a better idea of what "Live TV" channels and/or any content therein can be expected from the 'YouTube TV' channel, here are a few of the screenshots which 'Google' submitted with their channel for inclusion in the description / additional information published within the built-in channel store on Roku devices (and again, a brief reminder for UK readers that this channel is 'US-ONLY'!!) though, as always, the best way for U.S. users to find-out about the app is to add it & see for yourself!
AS BEFORE:- Please CLICK on the above images TO ENLARGE THEM for easier viewing !!
If you are based in the United States, and would like to install the 'YouTube TV' channel through your online Roku account, you can do so directly from the "Official" Roku (USA) Web Channel Store by first navigating to the dedicated webpage for the 'YouTube TV' channel and then clicking on the blue button, marked "+ Add channel", after which you simply need to sign-in to your account (if you have not already done so) and confirm that you wish to install it on your Roku device(s). TOP TIP:- Much like any Roku channel you add online (e.g. beta and/or private channels) if it does not automatically appear at the end of your list of channels (found under 'Home' on your Roku device) just navigate the on-screen menu as follows: Settings > System > System update > Check now to "force" your player to check for any channel updates. Once the check is complete, you should then see the 'YouTube TV' channel at the end of your list - PRESS: Home > Right > Up to go straight to it - otherwise, you can just wait (up to) 24 hours for your Roku device to automatically check for channel updates and you will (again) see that it has been added to the end of your list of channels. After that, it's just a case of enjoying your FREE TRIAL of 'YouTube TV' before deciding whether (or not) to subscribe! ;-) :-)
Moving on to another piece of Roku-related news (but this time, more from a UK perspective) which I first mentioned in my previous post from last week, there has been an unconfirmed update that came courtesy of NowTV Community Member, 'LoneWolf24', to the effect that the release date for the new NOW TV Smart Stick appears to be set for Friday 23rd February 2018:-
ONCE AGAIN:- Please CLICK on the above image TO ENLARGE IT for easier viewing !!
For anyone wishing to keep an eye on this, you will find the discussion thread from which the above screenshot was taken on the 'Community' message board pages of the 'NowTV' website. Bearing in mind that 'NowTVhelp' have not exactly been forthcoming with information (as regards the release date for their new NOW TV Smart Stick) whenever they have directly responded to questions asked via social media, I cannot say with absolute certainty that Friday 23rd February will be the eventual date of release but, since 'LoneWolf24' appears to have received this information from *someone* who works "on live chat" at NowTV, I'm going to assume it's correct unless I hear otherwise! ;-) :-)
Meanwhile, it seems that the links to the 'Argos' product pages for assorted NOW TV Smart Stick bundles, which I shared via the companion Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels to this blog recently, have since been de-activated. At the time, you had the option of purchasing a 1-Month NowTV Sport Pass bundle for £29.99 (in my opinion, the best deal value-wise of all the options) to stream 'Sky Sports', or; a 1-Month NowTV Movies Pass bundle for £19.99 to watch 'Sky Cinema' content (which includes "on-demand" movies, as well as a 'Watch Live' option), or; a 2-Month NowTV Entertainment Pass bundle (also for £19.99) to get access to a dozen of the most popular 'Sky UK' channels plus over 250+ box sets of various TV series, or; a 3-Month NowTV Kids Pass bundle (again for £19.99) to enjoy a wealth of entertainment geared towards children, which (as it happens) will also be the first of all the NOW TV passes to offer content for download to mobile devices - but that's another story! ;-)
It's unclear whether those 'Argos' product pages have only been (temporarily) hidden from public view until nearer the actual date of release for the NOW TV Smart Stick but, if you're considering a purchase of this device, you might like to bookmark them anyway so that you can gauge precisely when they do eventually go on sale!?! Alternatively, you can always keep an eye on the dedicated webpage for the NowTV Smart Stick, on the NowTV website. Either way, you should be able to get your hands on one of these devices before the end of this month, if you haven't already! ;-) :-)
The only other Roku-related news which came my way during the last week concerned a report from 'TDG Research' over predicted spending on "original" content (as opposed to "licensed" content) by three of the major streaming services: namely Netflix, plus; Amazon Video, and; US-only Hulu who are expected to triple their current combined annual spending on originals to $10 billion by 2022! :-O Further details, including some revealing statistics from a TDG survey of Netflix subscribers, can be found in a related article - published by Troy Dreier, via the 'Streaming Media' website - which goes on to suggest that, as studios such as Disney pull their licensed content off subscription services, we can expect this need for subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services to create and produce more compelling originals to increase over time. So, while we don't (yet?) have a subscription service from 'Hulu' in the UK, we can (at least) look forward to more great programming from both 'Netflix UK' and 'Amazon Video UK', as they each look increasingly towards original content as a means to attract new users while retaining their existing subscriber base, amid growing competition from the likes of 'NowTV' who (let's not forget) have also been showing more "original" programming thanks to more investment in 'Sky Originals' from their parent company... clearly, there's more good times on the horizon for all of us streamers, no matter which SVOD service(s) we happen to be subscribed to! :-D
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 more "missing" links to 'Roku Guide' reviews to over forty per cent of the channels published during the last seven days... which means, much like other posts in recent months, I'm (once again) going to have to leave it for each of you (individually) to access those details via the built-in channel store on your Roku device(s). Needless to say, 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 this post. Apologies (yet again) for any inconvenience that may have been caused by the absence of active links to an independent review for some of these new apps but, like I say, it was entirely out of my hands. Meanwhile... I advise scanning the list below, to see which of the channels (if any) are likely to appeal. Then, if you go to the built-in channel store on your Roku device, you can read the description(s) there, for precise details on the latest new Roku channels (apps) added to UK Roku devices in this past 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! ;-) :-)
Before I run through the new channels, however, a reminder that UK Roku users are still subject to restrictions (imposed by Roku) and (bizarrely) remain unable to access the channel descriptions from the web store on the Roku (USA) website. That said, the majority of text in those web listings can also be found within the individual 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 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 here and (instead) rely on the link to the right (below each channel icon) which (where available) will redirect you to an 'Roku Guide' review for additional details on that channel. As it stands, the links below (and to the left of) each icon are (currently) only of use to readers of this blog from the USA. This means that Roku users from the other "supported" regions of the world (e.g. Ireland, Canada, France and Mexico) are, like those of us in the UK, unable to browse the Roku Web Channel Store - which for now (at least) 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 that 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. Meanwhile, that which Roku (apparently) 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's my 'Weekly RoundUp' of all new Roku channels released between 28th January 2018 and 3rd February 2018:-
BE TERRIFIC!!......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
TELEMICRO....................................................COST: £1.49 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "INTERNATIONAL" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
LATEST MOVIES TRAILERS..............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
MAN MADE WONDERS............COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
U.S. HISTORY FACTS................COST: £1.99 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
ZION RADIO..........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
SENDERO DE LUZ TV..........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
BOLLYWOOD FREE MOVIES............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
HOPE OF ISRAEL CONGREGATION.................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
FCM.TV...................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
MET CHURCH.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
VOKAL NOW..........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "WEB VIDEO" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
IIPC TV..................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
ARISE CHURCH....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
SEMSEM TV.............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
SOUTHPOINT CHURCH.......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
UPLAND BAPTIST CHURCH..............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
BARABOOCATHOLIC..........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
THE CHAZZY CHANNEL....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
CÓRDOBA INTERNATIONAL TV......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "INTERNATIONAL" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
LOVEWORLD USA...............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
FOOTBALL 345......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
RACING MASTERS..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "GAMES" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
JIGSAW SECURITY NEWS...................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCI & TECH" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
THAT PET LIFE.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
SEME TV................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
MASTER RAINDROP..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
CRYPTO CHARTS.....................................COST: £6.99 (MONTHLY) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "APPS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
SALAM TV.............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "INTERNATIONAL" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
CRYPTOVANIA TV..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
DEMOCRACY NOW!..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "NEWS & WEATHER" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***