Two free streaming sports channels have landed on The Roku Channel as the streaming company increases its focus on delivering live sports and related programming throught its connected TV platform.
The content streams — Formula 1 Channel and One Championship TV — popped up on Roku’s free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service The Roku Channel earlier this week. Both are programmed by C15 Studio, which develops and distributes FAST channels on behalf of premium sports brands.
No official announcement has been made by C15 Studio or Roku, and it isn’t clear if Roku will bring other channels from C15 Studio to its FAST platform. In addition to Formula 1 Channel and One Championship TV, C15 Studio programs Triton Poker, DP World Tour and Squash TV, which are available on other services like Pluto TV and Plex. The Roku Channel is available by default on Roku’s streaming sticks and smart TVs, and through The Roku Channel app on Amazon Fire TV, Android TV (Google TV) and Samsung smart TVs.
The addition of the two C15 Studio-produced sports channels comes at a time when Roku has increased its investment in live sports on its platform. In 2023, Roku announced an agreement with Formula E to bring live electric car races to its streaming platform, which started last year. The company landed professional volleyball rights last year, and inked an agreement with Major League Baseball (MLB) to bring Sunday morning games to The Roku Channel, which will start airing later this month. It will also offer athletic competitions from the X Games under a comprehensive deal that begins this summer, and has an agreement with the National Football League (NFL) to serve as the exclusive streaming broadcaster of the morning recap program “GMFB: Overtime.”
The uptick in live sports rights and related sports programming on The Roku Channel has helped fuel sales of its streaming hardware and smart TVs over time. It has also positioned Roku as a leader in connected TV advertising sales; the company’s platform business — which includes advertising and subscription sales — earned $1 billion during the last three months of 2024, accounting for a sizable chunk of the company’s overall income.
The company has further leaned into the prominence of sports on its platform by launching a linear “Roku Sports Channel,” which offers live sports events and rebroadcasts of “The Rich Eisen Show,” and will broadcast a new women’s sports recap show that is currently in development.
Roku also has a dedicated sports menu, called the Sports Zone, that connects fans with live athletic events on The Roku Channel and third party streaming services offered on its hardware, including Paramount Plus with Showtime, ESPN Plus, FanDuel Sports Network, Fubo, YouTube TV, Peacock, Prime Video and others. Dedicated “Sports Zones” for the NFL, National Basketball Association and National Women’s Soccer League are also available on Roku devices.
