James R | On 06, Oct 2016

If you’ve ever wanted to have your own TV channel beamed directly into people’s living rooms( good news: now you can.

Roku has launched a new update to its platform, which allows content owners to create their own Roku channels without knowing a single line of code. Roku Direct Publisher meets that if you have a feed of video content, you can easily publish your videos to Roku.

Of course, YouTube, Periscope and more mean that you can already produce your own, video, even live, and beam it onto people’s television sets. Roku, though, has an advantage: its platform. From its own brand boxes, sticks and smart TVs to Sky’s NOW boxes, Roku reaches over 10 million households – and videos published to its platform will automatically be included in its search function, which allows people to search for films and TV shows across various streaming sites.

A few newly released channels built with Roku Direct Publisher include Above Average, Baeble Music, Comedy Dynamics, Cracked, FailArmy, Great Big Story, Mashable and Rolling Stone. While you can use your YouTube feed or something similar, other third-party online video platforms supported by Roku include Brightcove, JW Player, Kaltura and Ooyala.

Roku is also providing publishers with new video ad monetization features, including the option to have Roku handle all video ad sales. Free, ad-supported viewing is the fastest growing segment on the Roku platform, accounting for half of the top 250 channels in the U.S. Publishers who use the Roku Audience Network receive 60 percent of net video ad revenues.

“Building streaming applications typically involves significant time, development resources and costs in order for publishers to reach and engage TV viewers effectively. With the launch of Roku Direct Publisher, we are empowering content owners to be able to get on the Roku platform quickly, develop an audience and drive monetization,” says Bill Shapiro, director of product management for the Roku OS. “It’s a great solution for content owners and will also result in a lot of new and interesting channels for viewers.”

Add to Watchlist