Roku and Google's new partnership will make free streaming way better

The Roku Channel is Roku’s free streaming app which has a huge library of over 80,000 free movies and TV shows to watch. If you’ve got a Google TV, all that content is about to become a lot easier to find.

Roku has announced that in the coming weeks, content from the Roku Channel will be more discoverable for users on Google TV. What this means is that if you use the search function on Google TV, content from the Roku channel will automatically pop up without having to open up the Roku app specifically to search for it. Additionally, recommended content from Roku will be featured on Google TV’s home screen too.

“Users will be able to search for entertainment, browse through movies and TV series recommendations from Google TV, live TV, featured rows, and more – all from The Roku Channel. Best of all, it’s free,” Roku said in a blog post.

Google TV Streamer

The Google TV Streamer is a streaming device designed to support the latest video and audio technologies with AI integration and smart home control.

Dimensions

6.4 x 3 x 1-inch

What’s Included

Remote

Bluetooth codecs

Bluetooth® 5.1

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2.4 GHz / 5 GHz)

Ethernet

Yes

Supported video

Dolby Vision, HDR10, HDR10+, HLG

Supported audio

Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Atmos

Storage and RAM

32GB/4GB

Connections

USB-C, HDMI 2.1

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What this means for Google TV users

A lot more free content right at your fingertips

Roku

Roku’s announcement might seem small, but its implication is massive. The Roku channel is home to over 500 free ad-supported (FAST) channels, which will now pop up in Google’s TV’s live tab, and you’ll be able to see Roku content directly on the Google TV home screen. That’s 80,000 shows and movies now more accessible than ever.

In particular, I think Roku’s integration with Google TV’s live tab is the best part of this update. 500 FAST channels is a lot, and there is so much content to pick and choose from, whether its sports, cooking, DIY, music or the news. According to Statista, 57 percent of TV viewers in the U.S. watched a FAST platform such as Roku, Pluto TV, and Tubi in 2023. With that many Americans watching a FAST platform in 2023, making it more accessible certainly seems like a win-win for Google and Roku.

Roku’s update on Google TV is said to be happening “in the coming weeks,” so hopefully it arrives just in time for those Christmas movie watch parties. Thanks to this new update, if you’re searching for a certain Christmas show or movie on Google TV, and it happens to be on Roku, it will now pop up automatically without having to specifically go to the Roku app. I’m always a fan of updates like this that simply make life easier. Kudos Roku and Google.

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