Roku is rolling out 30 former Quibi shows for free on The Roku Channel
Roku (ROKU) is rolling out a slate of 30 new shows as part of a massive expansion of content on its advertising-backed The Roku Channel. Called Roku Originals, the shows will begin streaming May 20 and be free on every platform that offers The Roku Channel ranging from Roku devices to iOS and Android devices and Samsung smart TVs.
So what kind of shows can you expect? How about Chrissy Tiegen’s “Chrissy’s Court,” Kevin Hart’s “Die Hart,” Liam “Most Dangerous Game” starring Liam Hemsworth, and cult-classic “Reno 9-1-1”?
Any of those names look familiar? If you were one of the four people on Earth who watched the Quibi service, they will. That’s because the shows are part of the last vestiges of the ill-fated platform, which Roku snatched up for less than $100 million in January.
“There's a really wide variety here for shows that are going to be really attractive for audiences 18 to 34,” Sweta Patel, vice president of engagement growth marketing for Roku, told Yahoo Finance.
“In total...we'll be launching 75 Roku Originals, and that's going to be inclusive of unreleased series that have never been seen before that we'll be launching here within the next year on the Roku Channel,” added Patel.
Roku’s move into original content via The Roku Channel is all part of its strategy to further expand its growing advertising empire.
While the company initially earned revenue primarily through the sale of its streaming pieces, it now makes the majority of its cash through its platform business, which consists of ads sold on its various home-screens, ads displayed during shows, and revenue sharing from subscriptions purchased through Roku.
Roku is also coming off of a blowout quarter in which it saw 79% year-over-year revenue growth. And while player revenue was up 22% year-over-year to $107.7 million, platform revenue was up a whopping 101% to $466.5 million.
But it’s The Roku Channel that the company is putting all of its efforts into. Not only is it “platform agnostic,” meaning it is available across numerous devices, but it also provides a continued growth opportunity as more consumers pile into it. According to the company, The Roku Channel reached 70 million people in Q1 2021, with streaming hours doubling year-over-year.
So how will the new former Quibi content work on Roku? According to Patel, the basic concept will still be the same. Shows will be broken down into individual short-form chunks a few minutes long separated by a 1-minute ad.
At $4.99 Quibi was a long-shot from the get go thanks to founder Jeffrey Katzenberg insisting that shows be mobile only. But that translated to few viewers, and eventually forced the service to roll out a means to stream to your TV — but by then it was too late.
By putting the focus on the big-screen and offering shows for free thanks to advertising, Roku may have the ability to turn Quibi’s cast-off content into genuinely enticing TV.
After all, you can’t beat free.
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