The Roku Channel has more than 10,000 free shows and movies. This puts it behind free streaming competitor Tubi (50,000 shows and movies) but ahead of Crackle (around 1,000 free shows and movies). Free video services tend to take a more grab-bag approach to entertainment, offering up whatever licenses the companies can score. Although The Roku Channel spans decades and genres, its library feels random, whereas services such as Hulu and Netflix feel comprehensive.
TV show content includes Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the 1950s Dennis the Menace, Miami Vice, 2 Broke Girls, and Xena: Warrior Princess. You can watch Ace Ventura or the first two Shrek films on The Roku channel, and then put on Man on Fire or Snowpiercer when you’re in a serious mood. Its trashy reality hits include Hell’s Kitchen and some good, old-fashioned daytime court TV. You can even watch dubbed anime, such as Bleach and Naruto. That said, RetroCrush and Crunchyroll are better free anime streaming services.
Much of The Roku Channel’s acquired content is a bit dated, but Roku has original shows, too. The wild thing about these shows is that Roku actually purchased them from the ill-fated Quibi. That dead service spent a lot of money on serious star power to convince people they wanted to watch “quick bite” videos on their phone. As a result, these rechristened “Roku Originals” are surprisingly impressive. They include the Punk’d and Reno 911 reboots, Will Smith’s stand-up comedy reality show, and a program where Christoph Waltz hunts Liam Hemsworth for sport. Still, as funny as it is to see Rachel Brosnahan talk about her precious golden arm on Roku, Peacock has a superior backlog, as well as more exciting original shows, like its Bel Air reboot featuring a deliciously evil Carlton.
Alongside its on-demand content, The Roku Channel provides free live TV. There are news channels like ABC and NBC, but also themed channels. You’ll find ones for Lifetime movies, Bob the Builder, Project Runway, or The Asylum’s glorious “mockbusters.” These are nice perks to enjoy alongside the on-demand shows and movies, but if you’re primarily interested in free live TV, Pluto TV might carry the channels that you seek.
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Paying for premium channels gives you more to watch, and The Roku Channel’s library also expands even further if you subscribe to Howdy. The larger library boasts nearly 10,000 hours of content. The mainstream movies and shows cover all genres and age groups. The top Howdy movies include Elvis, Mad Max: Fury Road, and The Iron Giant. As for TV, you’ll find Kids in the Hall, Nurse Jackie, and Weeds. Even with this extra firepower from Howdy, the Roku Channel can’t fully compete with Netflix, but at a fraction of the price, it doesn’t have to.
(Credit: Roku/PCMag)
