Advanced Television

Roku claims ‘Originals’ streaming success

June 21, 2021

By Colin Mann

In the two weeks following the launch of Roku Originals, May 20th to June 3rd, a record number of unique accounts streamed The Roku Channel, according to the streaming platform and device specialist. Furthermore, the top ten most watched programmes on The Roku Channel were all Roku Originals in this two-week period.

The debut of Roku Originals, which features content from the acquisition of failed mobile-first platform Quibi, builds on the significant growth of The Roku Channel, which reached households with an estimated 70 million people in the US as of Q1 2021.

“We always believed Roku Originals would perform exceptionally well as free, ad-supported entertainment on The Roku Channel,” asserted Rob Holmes, Roku’s Vice President of Programming. “The first two weeks have surpassed our expectations, with millions of people streaming Roku Originals, and provided a further demonstration of The Roku Channel flywheel, with great content driving record engagement that’s appealing to advertisers seeking to reach the streaming audience.”

In addition to driving broader discovery of The Roku Channel, Roku Originals saw deep engagement. In the first two weeks, more than one in three users of The Roku Channel streamed a Roku Originals series – with users streaming over nine episodes on average.

“The Roku Channel has grown to become a leader in free streaming entertainment,” added Holmes, “The momentum around Roku Originals demonstrates not only our ability to acquire great content for The Roku Channel, but to connect that content with the right audience at scale.”

Roku expects to release an additional 45 Roku Originals this year to complement The Roku Channel’s expansive library of 40,000+ free movies and television programs and 190+ live linear channels already offered to viewers.

The Roku Channel licenses and distributes content from more than 175 partners and is the home of free and premium entertainment on the Roku platform. In addition to Roku devices, The Roku Channel is available on Web, iOS and Android devices, Amazon Fire TV and select Samsung TVs, and can be accessed internationally in the US, Canada and the UK.

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