Skip to main content

The Roku Channel is now available as a Google TV app

The Roku Channel app on Google TV.
Phil Nickinson / Digital Trends

The Roku Channel — one of the major services in the FAST category — is now available as an app on Google TV and Android TV. That’s a good thing because The Roku Channel says it already reaches an estimated 100 million people in U.S. households with its wealth of free movies and series.

But it’s also still a step removed from competing services like the Paramount-owned Pluto TV, which has direct integration with the Google TV live listings and doesn’t require a separate download. Still, it’s more free content on a low-cost piece of hardware, and who doesn’t like that? The Roku Channel sports more than 350 free live linear channels (as in everyone is watching the same thing at the same time), as well as movies and series, live news, and more.

Recommended Videos

To get The Roku Channel on Google TV and Android TV, just search for it in their respective app stores. From there, you’ll be able to watch all you want — no sign-ups and no subscriptions. You will, however, have to sit through some ads. And that’s what services like The Roku Channel are all about. The “FAST” mentioned above stands for free ad-supported television. Basically, you get to watch something and all you have to do is suffer through a few minutes of advertising. And it’s not the worse deal in the world. You’ll find some surprisingly good content on FAST services — The Roku Channel included.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The Roku Channel is available for download now on Android TV and Apple TV. It’s also available on Roku devices, Amazon Fire TV, and in a web browser.

Phil Nickinson
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Phil spent the 2000s making newspapers with the Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal, the 2010s with Android Central and then the…
YouTube TV prices are going up again in 2025
YouTube TV on Roku.

"Nothing is certain except death and taxes," Benjamin Franklin apparently said in 1789. If he were alive today, he may very well have added, "... and streaming subscription price increases." Yes, that's my way of saying that -- despite reports to the contrary -- YouTube TV is jacking the price of its base subscription by $10 per month starting January 13, 2025, according to the following email sent to customers on December 12:
YouTube TV has always worked hard to offer you the content you love, delivered the way you want, with features that make it easy to enjoy the best of live TV.

‌To keep up with the rising cost of content and the investments we make in the quality of our service, we’re updating our monthly price from $72.99/month to $82.99/month starting January 13, 2025.

Read more
ESPN is now available on the Disney+ app, with some free content
ESPN on Disney+ on a TV.

As promised in May of this year, yesterday Disney added an ESPN tile to the Disney+ app, giving subscribers to the Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ bundle access to ESPN+ sports content more conveniently from the Disney+ app.

Just like it did by adding the Hulu on Disney+ tile to the app earlier this year, the addition of ESPN+ is to serve as a hub for sports fans to watch a range of ESPN sports content.

Read more
The Roku Channel app gets more functionality on Google TV
The Roku Channel app on Google TV.

When I think about Roku, I generally picture my Roku Ultra streaming box or a Roku Streaming Stick and the clean, zippy OS it provides. Roku doesn't end there though. The Roku Channel has more than 350 live channels available for free to anyone that downloads the app. It's (not surprisingly) available on any Roku streaming device or TV, but last year The Roku Channel app also became available on Google TV.

Roku has some updates on the way to improve the way The Roku Channel integrates with Google TV, mainly through its visibility on the home page and search functionality. Instead of having to navigate and search for Roku content within the app, Google TV will now show recommendations from Roku in the Google TV live TV tab. Selecting those recommendations will launch you directly into The Roku Channel app to the desired show or movie. Content will also show up when searched through Google TV's built-in search field.

Read more