Roku is breaking into the world of premium streaming with the launch of a new app called “Howdy” that offers ad-free access to some of its original content and shows licensed from third parties.
The app costs $3 per month and promises more than 10,000 hours of content from Roku Originals and studios like Lionsgate, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) and FilmRise among others. Most of its licensed content already appears on free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels operated by Lionsgate and WBD, but with the perk of being able to watch content like “Weeds” and “Kids in the Hall” without ad interruptions.
“Priced at less than a cup of coffee, Howdy is ad-free and designed to complement, not compete with, premium services,” Anthony Rood, Roku’s founder and CEO, said in a statement on Tuesday. “We’re meeting a real need for consumers who want to unwind with their favorite movies and shows uninterrupted and on their terms.”
“This service has the ability to scale quickly while providing us with a new way to monetize our content, and we’re proud to be part of this new streaming experience,” said Lionsgate’s Jim Packer.
Roku says it first contemplated Howdy during the company’s recent second quarter (Q2) earnings release and associated conference call, though details were light at the time. Last week, Roku revealed it earned $1.1 billion in overall revenue after generating $975 million in income from its platform segment, which includes advertising and subscription.
Howdy is the second subscription-based streaming platform that Roku currently supports. Earlier in the year, it acquired live cable TV replacement Frndly TV for $75 million; that streamer offers live access to around 40 national cable networks like A&E, the History Channel, Hallmark Channel, the Weather Channel and others for around $8 per month.
Roku also offers a free ad-supported streaming service called The Roku Channel, which is available as a default app across all modern Roku streaming sticks, pucks and smart TVs and for some third party platforms like Android TV (Google TV), Amazon Fire TV and Samsung’s Tizen OS.
