Roku announced today the launch of 14 new channels on its free streaming service. The new additions include a channel for Western movies & series, six Scripp’s channels including Court TV and Ion Mystery, and more NBCUniversal local news channels.
Here are the new channels now available on The Roku Channel.
- BBC Kids
- BOUNCE XL
- Cheaters
- Cine EstrellaTV
- Court TV
- Grit Xtra
- Ion
- Ion Mystery
- Ion Plus
- NBC Boston News
- LX News
- NBC San Diego News
- NBC San Francisco Bay Area News
- Roku Channel Westerns
“We’re thrilled to continue rolling out new channels to our Live TV Guide and continue expanding in entertainment categories we know our audiences enjoy and value,” said Ashley Hovey, Head of The Roku Channel AVOD. “From local news channels to your favorite drama and crime series, to additional Spanish-language content, we are committed to providing it all for our viewers.”
10 ways to watch free movies and TV on Roku devices
The Roku Channel
Up first? You guessed it. The Roku Channel.
The Roku Channel is your home for free and premium TV, with thousands of free movies and popular TV shows, including the exclusive Roku Originals, Premium Subscriptions from SHOWTIME, STARZ, and EPIX, and more.
The Roku Channel also offers over 150 live and linear channels in a Live TV Channel Guide – offering you channels from a variety of genres like live news, sports, game shows, reality, music, and more.
If you have kiddos in the house, there’s a Kids and Family hub that features entertainment from some of the most popular shows in kids entertainment – for free.
If you didn’t know, there’s a number of ways to stream The Roku Channel. On your Roku device, on the web at therokuchannel.com, or by downloading the Roku mobile app for iOS or Android devices.
Redbox
You might’ve rented or bought an on-demand movie from Redbox before. But did you know they offer a library of on-demand movies completely free of charge?
Redbox might not be the first name you think of when you’re craving some free TV, but they have titles from genres in everything from comedy to horror to family flicks.
Give Redbox a shot and let us know what you think.
Plex
If you don’t know about Plex, you’re in for a treat, as it’s one of the more unique channels on the Roku platform.
It has both a live TV channel guide and a library of on-demand movies and TV shows, but there are a few sections that make Plex stand out a bit from these other free channels.
There’s a section for free web videos, a bunch of popular podcasts, and if you set up the free Plex Media Server, you can organize and stream your own personal collection of movies, TV, music, and photos right on your Roku device.
Tubi
Tubi is one of the more popular channels that offer free movies and TV. Boasting thousands of free titles across 30+ genres, you’re sure to find something to watch.
Tubi content is curated into categories and rows, making easy for you to find what you’re interested in, and they even offer a continue watching row if you create a free account.
You might be surprised at the quality of hit movies and TV shows you can stream on Tubi – for free – so check it out.
Vevo
Next up is a service you’re probably familiar with, but you might not have known that they offer a free channel on the Roku platform.
And while they don’t necessarily offer free movies or TV shows, Vevo offers thousands of music videos from today’s freshest new artists to your favorite throwbacks.
Launch the channel and you’ll be immersed into an instant feed of music videos, or dive into one of the themed channels divided into genres, moods, collections, and decades.
Vevo’s team of music video experts are adding new content to the platform daily, so give it a shot – you might just find your next favorite song.
Peacock
NBC’s streaming service, Peacock has multiple pricing tiers, but a bunch of popular movies and TV shows are available in the free tier.
Similar to some of the other channels mentioned here, they have a linear channel guide to use when you feel like browsing as well as a lot of titles on demand.
Watch Peacock Originals, hit movies, and if you’re a WWE fan, there’s a bunch of content, including past events that you can stream for free.
FilmRise
FilmRise is one of the larger free, ad-supported streaming services out there.
When you launch FilmRise, you’re going to see lots and lots of rows of free movies and TV shows, similar to some of the other channels we’ve mentioned.
One cool feature of the FilmRise channel is that if you scroll to the Popular Channels row, they have dedicated streaming channels for whatever genre you’re into.
Whether you like westerns, true crime, sci-fi, or horror, there’s probably a channel that’s right up your alley.
Xumo
Xumo is a bit of a hidden gem channel that brings you entertainment from both digital and more traditional networks, presented in both linear and on-demand formats.
Browse your way through almost 200 channels, find live events from popular news and sports networks, watch viral videos, full TV series, feature-length movies, and more.
The CW
If you’re a fan of The CW shows like Riverdale or The Flash, this channel is a must-have.
With The CW, you can binge-watch full seasons of select shows for free, as well as watch the latest episodes of every primetime show the day after broadcast.
You can even watch extras like previews for upcoming episodes, behind-the-scenes content, cast interviews, and more.
And remember, there are no credit cards, no subscriptions, and no passwords required.
Pluto TV
Pluto TV brings you hundreds of channels absolutely free.
It might give you that nostalgic feeling from yesteryear of channel surfing through a cable guide and it also features a huge library of on-demand content of movies, TV shows, sports, documentaries, and more.
There’s even a local news section, which makes Pluto TV stand out from some other free channels.
No passwords or payments required, so Pluto TV is definitely worth checking out.
Happy Streaming!
