Connected TV platform Roku is dialing up its subscription streaming business with the launch of a new SVOD service of its own. Announced Tuesday and named Howdy, the service is notably ad-free and comes at a low price point of $2.99 per month.
Launching today nationwide on Roku platforms in the U.S., Howdy offers thousands of titles and nearly 10,000 hours of entertainment from initial partners Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery and FilmRise, as well as select Roku Original titles.
Roku said subscribers will have unlimited access to award-winning titles such as Mad Max: Fury Road, The Blind Side, Weeds, and Kids in the Hall, as well as “iconic rom-coms, medical dramas, ‘90s comedy, feel-good classics and more.”
In announcing the launch, Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood described the aim – where it’s positioning Howdy as a low-cost addition to pad out or complement consumers’ premium streaming service lineups as well as a “natural step” for Roku in its own streaming offerings.
“Priced at less than a cup of coffee, Howdy is ad-free and designed to complement, not compete with, premium services,” stated Wood. “We’re meeting a real need for consumers who want to unwind with their favorite movies and shows uninterrupted and on their terms. Howdy is a natural step for us at Roku, extending our mission to make better TV for everyone, by making it affordable, accessible, and built for how people watch today.”
The company said the $3 monthly price tag is not a trial or introductory price and Howdy is meant to provide an interruption-free experience for fan favorite and award-winning library content, alongside certain Roku Originals.
Jim Packer, president of Worldwide Television Distribution at Lionsgate, one of Howdy’s content partners at launch called out the ability to scale with Roku’s platform and monetize the company’s catalog.
“With engagement of over 125 million people a day, Roku is the perfect partner to launch a more accessible complement to the higher-priced SVODs,” stated Packer. This service has the ability to scale quickly while providing us with a new way to monetize our content, and we’re proud to be part of this new streaming experience.”
Roku’s move is a seeming pivot in a streaming ecosystem that has seen major premium SVODs over the past few years, including Netflix, change course from ad-free only SVOD offerings to introduce lower-cost tiers with ads - while on the other hand the advent of FAST services (including The Roku Channel) has seen options for free streaming subsidized by ads proliferate.
With the launch of Howdy it looks like Roku could be aiming to fill a gap for consumers who want easy, classic entertainment but with an ad-free experience that comes at a low price point (as premium SVODs alike also continue to bump monthly charges).
And as Wood indicated, it’s a next step for Roku that adds a distinct product to complement or give consumers another choice among its own streaming offerings as well, while also supporting the company’s larger strategy for continued growth of its platform business (which generated $975.5 million in Q2, up 18% yoy) – including through first- and third-party subscriptions. Wood previously called out subscriptions, including Roku-billed, as a focus area to accelerate platform revenue growth in 2025 and beyond.
Roku already is in on the FAST game with The Roku Channel, that in Q2 was once again the No. 2 app on its platform in the U.S. and the No. 3 app globally by reach. It also continues to show up on Nielsen’s The Gauge monthly tracker, capturing 5.4% of U.S. streaming TV time in June. The Roku Channel, in part, gives Roku an ad revenue stream while providing users with an ad-supported free streaming option that has both linear channels and on-demand content. And Roku dipped its toe in another DTC streaming avenue earlier this year with the $185 million buy of wallet-friendly virtual MVPD Frndly, which offers a skinny, cable-like streaming pay TV entertainment lineup. Now with Howdy, it also has a low-cost, ad-free subscription on-demand option.
But a common theme with Roku’s streaming offerings so far seems to be to keep costs to consumers low, which also aligns with its streaming device lineup that’s known as relatively more budget-friendly.
As it looks to enhance platform monetization and expand subscriptions, including with Rowdy, Roku likely benefits from its position as a TV gatekeeper of sorts, which also provides it with visibility into users’ content consumption, discovery and signup habits across the Roku platform. Not to mention CTV home screen and UI real estate to promote the streaming content offerings. That said, Roku isn't only marketing Rowdy on-platform, with the company doing a branded takeover of digital billboards in Times Square from August 5 to August 31 that showcases the service and leading launch titles.
In addition to Roku’s TVOS platform, Howdy will be rolling out on mobile and “additional platforms in the near future,” the announcement said.