San Jose, California– June 18, 2021, Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) today provided an update on the
recent launch of Roku Originals. In late May, Roku added 30 original series to The Roku Channel starring
major talent like Kevin Hart, Anna Kendrick, Jennifer Lopez and more. The debut of Roku Originals builds
on the significant growth of The Roku Channel, which reached households with an estimated 70
million people in the U.S. as of Q1 2021.
In the two weeks following the launch of Roku Originals, May 20 to June 3, a record number of unique
accounts streamed The Roku Channel. Furthermore, the top ten most watched programs on The
Roku Channel were all Roku Originals in this two-week period.
“We always believed Roku Originals would perform exceptionally well as free, ad-supported
entertainment on The Roku Channel.” said Rob Holmes, Roku’s Vice President of Programming.
“The first two weeks have surpassed our expectations, with millions of people streaming Roku Originals, and provided a further demonstration of The Roku Channel flywheel, with great content driving record engagement that’s appealing to advertisers seeking to reach the streaming audience.”
In addition to driving broader discovery of The Roku Channel, Roku Originals saw deep engagement.
In the first two weeks, more than one in three users of The Roku Channel streamed a Roku Originals
– with users streaming over nine episodes on average.
“The Roku Channel has grown to become a leader in free streaming entertainment,” added Holmes,
“The momentum around Roku Originals demonstrates not only our ability to acquire great content for
The Roku Channel, but to connect that content with the right audience at scale.”
Roku expects to release an additional 45 Roku Originals this year to complement The Roku Channel’s expansive library of 40,000+ free movies and television programs and 190+ live linear channels already offered to viewers.
The Roku Channel has been the subject of several programming announcements from Roku this year.
Most recently, Roku ordered a second season of the Roku Original series ‘DIE HART’ after the action-
comedy series starring Kevin Hart had the largest opening weekend in the history of The Roku Channel.
In May, Roku inked a dealwith Saban Films to bring the studio’s feature films directly to The Roku
Channel after theatrical release – a first of its kind agreement for Roku. In March, Roku acquired “This.. Old House,” which included the two top-rated home improvement programs in the U.S and a television production studio.
