The Roku Channel now lets you watch some premium subscription episodes for free.
Roku made the announcement earlier in the week, confirming that it had now unlocked some premium show episodes.
The move is aimed to encourage users to sign up to a premium subscription.
Free premium TV episodes
The Roku Channel is no stranger to free TV shows and movies. In fact, that’s all Roku’s channel offered when it first launched.
Since then, The Roku Channel has grown and now also offers the option to add premium subscriptions.
This latest Roku news means it’s now easier for users to check out a show by watching some of the episodes for free. If they like the show, they have the option to subscribe and continuing watching.
Roku states the free episodes are now live and more than forty subscription partners have signed up. To put the free content into perspective, Roku points to Showtime’s “On Becoming a God in Central Florida,” Epix’s “Godfather of Harlem” and Acorn TV’s “Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries” as examples of what’s now available without a subscription.
Now easier to sign up to premium channels
Roku also confirmed it’s now even easier to set up a premium subscription. So easy, that it’s now just a matter of one click. As shown in the image above, the new one-click option will be visible on TV show pages. Along with the option to watch any free episodes.
If a free trial is available and the user has never subscribed before, the free trial will automatically start.
If the user is a returning subscriber, a paid subscription will start instead of the free trial.
How to get started with The Roku Channel
For owners of a Roku device, getting started with The Roku Channel is as easy as adding the channel through the Roku store.
For everyone else, last year Roku opened up its channel to those without access to a Roku device. While access was originally limited to the web version, the Roku Android app also now offers access to The Roku Channel as well.
Therefore, the easiest way for non-Roku device owners to get started is to head over to The Roku Channel website or download the Android app on a compatible device.
For the full experience, a free Roku account is required. Accounts can be set up either via the website or directly in the Android app.