# The Roku Channel
> FAST service · roku
- Profile type: Product
- Profile status: baseline
- Last updated: 2026-05-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Canonical URL: https://thestateofstreaming.com/products/the-roku-channel/
- Also known as: Roku Channel, TRC
## Summary
The Roku Channel is Roku's owned-and-operated free streaming hub: a FAST service with 500+ linear channels, an AVOD library of 80,000+ movies and shows, and a Premium Subscriptions marketplace that resells 55+ third-party services (Paramount+, HBO Max, Peacock, Showtime, Starz, AMC+, Shudder, Acorn TV) through a single Roku-billed login. Ad-supported is the core engine; Premium Subscriptions add a revenue-share layer.

## Product facts

- Category: FAST service
- Parent company: roku (https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/roku/)
- Launched: 2017-09-08
- Ad model: FAST + AVOD + Premium Subscription marketplace; ad-supported is core. Roku monetizes the free tier through video advertising on linear channels and on-demand inventory; Premium Subscriptions add a revenue-share layer with third-party SVOD partners. Ad load on FAST runs ~8–9 minutes per hour vs. 15–17 on cable.
- Pricing: Free, ad-supported access to FAST channels and AVOD content; optional Premium Subscriptions add-ons (e.g., Paramount+, HBO Max, Peacock Premium Plus at $16.99/mo) billed through Roku at advertised retail prices.


## Key facts

- The Roku Channel reached a record 3% share of all U.S. TV viewership in December 2025, up 45% year over year and 190% versus two years prior, per Nielsen Gauge — the fastest-growing streaming destination Nielsen measures. — Roku Advertising / Nielsen Gauge: https://advertising.roku.com/learn/resources/nielsen-gauge-45-growth-pushes-the-roku-channels-tv-share-to-3
- The Roku Channel launched on September 8, 2017 as a free, ad-supported streaming service available initially on Roku devices in the United States; it has since expanded to Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom and to a web version at therokuchannel.roku.com. — Wikipedia (corroborated by Roku press archive): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Roku_Channel
- In Q1 2026, Roku for the first time broke out its Platform segment into separate Advertising ($613M, +27% YoY, 60.5% gross margin) and Subscriptions ($519M, +30% YoY, 41.1% gross margin) lines — a disclosure shift that lets investors see the dual-engine economics that The Roku Channel sits at the center of. — Variety (Roku Q1 2026 earnings coverage): https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/roku-q1-2026-earnings-1236734538/
- Roku passed 100 million streaming households globally in April 2026, the installed base that anchors The Roku Channel's distribution and CPM scale. — Roku Newsroom: https://newsroom.roku.com/news/2026/04/roku-surpasses-100-million-streaming-households-a-historic-milestone/cbdb6hs7-1776191291
- Comcast's NBCUniversal added Peacock Premium Plus to The Roku Channel's Premium Subscriptions hub at $16.99/month in late April 2026, expanding Peacock's third-party distribution to Roku's U.S. installed base. — Deadline: https://deadline.com/2026/04/peacocks-premium-roku-subscriptions-streaming-deal-1236865457/
- Premium Subscriptions on The Roku Channel resells 55+ third-party streaming services — including Paramount+, HBO Max, Peacock, Showtime, Starz, AMC+, MGM+, Cinemax, Shudder, and Acorn TV — billed at advertised retail prices through a single Roku account. — The Roku Channel — Premium Subscriptions: https://therokuchannel.roku.com/browse/w.8KJLayNYp8UBbaP85DKVi84wYyGNbWcybyvBwQPMc21G5Y3lqMTYMgB18D61TDvk3LkBN4fBxxyB9A64I18DaVVvVJsQGYdNq829F0ALpYvYQBUpNJbMAkyqf4a1W7NVwJuWMP6zp3g3iyMmem96bACAB/premium-subscriptions-home
- The Roku Channel added 34 live channels dedicated to classic TV programming on Roku TVs and streaming players in late April 2026, part of an ongoing FAST inventory build-out. — Cord Cutters News: https://cordcuttersnews.com/roku-now-has-34-live-channels-dedicated-to-classic-tv-shows-on-roku-tvs-roku-players/


## Related

- roku (Parent company (owned-and-operated)) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/roku/
- fast free ad supported streaming tv (Primary tech category — one of the largest FAST hubs in the U.S.) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/tech/fast-free-ad-supported-streaming-tv/
- addressable advertising (Monetization layer — addressable video ads across FAST and AVOD inventory) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/tech/addressable-advertising/
- comcast corporation (Premium Subscriptions partner — Peacock Premium Plus on the hub) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/comcast-corporation/
- amazon (Competitor — Amazon Freevee / Prime Video ad-supported) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/amazon/
- vizio (Competitor — WatchFree+ on SmartCast) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/vizio/
- samsung electronics (Competitor — Samsung TV Plus) — https://thestateofstreaming.com/companies/samsung-electronics/


## External coverage

- Roku: The Roku Channel — Official Site (https://therokuchannel.roku.com/)
- 2026-01-30 — Roku Advertising: Nielsen Gauge: 45% Growth Pushes The Roku Channel's TV Share to 3% (https://advertising.roku.com/learn/resources/nielsen-gauge-45-growth-pushes-the-roku-channels-tv-share-to-3)
- 2026-04-30 — Variety: Roku Q1 2026 Earnings: Sales Up 22%, Breaks Out Ad and Subscriptions Results (https://variety.com/2026/tv/news/roku-q1-2026-earnings-1236734538/)
- 2026-04-30 — TheWrap: Roku Raises 2026 Outlook as Record Subscription Sign-Ups, Video Advertising Performance Fuels Growth (https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/roku-earnings-q1-2026/)
- 2026-04-16 — Roku Newsroom: Roku Surpasses 100 Million Streaming Households, a Historic Milestone for the Streaming Era (https://newsroom.roku.com/news/2026/04/roku-surpasses-100-million-streaming-households-a-historic-milestone/cbdb6hs7-1776191291)
- Roku: Roku Investor Relations (https://www.roku.com/investor)
- 2026-04-25 — Deadline: Peacock's Ad-Free Tier Now Available On Roku Premium Subscriptions (https://deadline.com/2026/04/peacocks-premium-roku-subscriptions-streaming-deal-1236865457/)

## Profile
The Roku Channel is the destination side of Roku's two-sided business: the OS aggregates demand, the Channel converts a share of it into Roku-monetized inventory. As FAST has matured from cable's discount aisle into a measurable share-of-TV story, The Roku Channel has been the loudest data point — Nielsen Gauge clocked it at 3% of all U.S. TV viewership in December 2025, up 45% year over year, the fastest-growing destination the Gauge measures.

Three layers stack here. The free FAST tier — 500+ linear channels — is the on-ramp; the AVOD library of 80,000+ titles is the backstop; Premium Subscriptions is the marketplace, reselling 55+ third-party SVOD services (Paramount+, HBO Max, Peacock Premium Plus, Showtime, Starz, AMC+, Shudder, Acorn TV) on a Roku-billed login at advertised retail prices, with Roku taking a revenue share. The April 2026 addition of Peacock Premium Plus signaled how serious NBCU now treats Roku's Premium Subscriptions hub as a third-party distribution lane.

The Q1 2026 segment split — Roku for the first time disclosing Advertising ($613M, +27% YoY) and Subscriptions ($519M, +30% YoY) as separate lines under the Platform umbrella — is the first time investors and ad buyers can independently size the two engines The Roku Channel feeds.
## Coverage on The State of Streaming
- [Roku Just Became the Only TV-OS Company Showing Its Ad Math](https://thestateofstreaming.com/platforms/2026/05/roku-q1-2026-print-100m-segment-split/) — 2026-05-03
- [Peacock Premium Plus Heads to The Roku Channel as Comcast Sells Q2 Inflection](https://thestateofstreaming.com/platforms/2026/04/comcast-q1-peacock-inflection-followups/) — 2026-04-26
- [Roku Breaks Out Ad Revenue for First Time in April 30 Print](https://thestateofstreaming.com/platforms/2026/04/roku-q1-2026-earnings-preview-segment-split/) — 2026-04-25

## Tags

- fast
- avod
- svod-marketplace
- ctv
- ad-supported
- streaming-hub

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