Though it didn’t come quite as early as Roku had expected, the streaming media manufacturer and platform has now opened the door to full episodes on PBS and PBS Kids channels accessible on the company’s set top boxes.
Originally slated to go live within the first quarter of 2013, the unexplained delay doesn’t seem to have affected the crop of content available. The PBS channel will include primetime shows, like Nature, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, Nova and Masterpiece. Arts and music shows, like Great Performances, American Masters and Austin City Limits are also part of the initial batch of programs.
The PBS Kids channel will have full episodes of Curious George, Dinosaur Train, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, among others. It doesn’t look like Sesame Street is part of the initial lineup, and there’s been no word on if it ever will be. Full episodes are already viewable on Netflix and Amazon Instant.
Not much else was revealed about other programs being made available on either channel, so there is still some mystery as to what the full rollout will entail down the line. One of PBS’ most popular shows, British drama Downton Abbey, has an exclusive deal with Amazon Instant, so it’s unclear if that precludes it from being accessible on a Roku box.
Roku now has over 700 channels in its library, ranging from well-known content providers to more obscure online-only programming. In April, the company announced it had sold five million boxes in the U.S., making it a major player in the home theater streaming market.
