Amid fast-moving new technologies and evolving consumer behaviors, Roku is casting a wider net as it seeks stay on the forefront of streaming and deliver the types of TV user experiences and OS features viewers actually want.
On Thursday the connected TV platform announced Roku Labs, an initiative that invites and allows viewers to test out in-development and experimental TVOS features at home to help influence which get discarded or become permanent.
Streamers beta testing new features on cohorts of users isn’t necessarily a new idea, but Roku is taking a bit more direct and interactive approach to testing and user feedback, including a broad rollout of the program via a dedicated Roku Labs tile on CTV device home screens.
“Our best breakthroughs have never happened in a vacuum; they start with Roku engineers building and the people watching,” said Brian Pinkerton, SVP Advanced Development at Roku, in a statement. “Roku Labs continues to bridge the gap between engineers and our viewers, giving millions of households a seat at the table to explore, test, and shape experiences in real time. It ensures every feature that comes to our platform solves a real pain point, brings genuine delight, and reinforces our commitment to streaming.”
Roku counts more than 100 million streaming households in the U.S., which can serve as prime testing ground for new experiences, bells and whistles. Still, it’s not clear exactly how many users will be testing or have access to all eventual in-development features via Roku Labs. Reached by StreamTV Insider, the company declined to specify or clarify whether all Roku streaming households will be able to test every feature that makes its way into the Roku Labs effort, or if certain ones will be served to specific or various cohorts of viewers.
One of the first features to graduate from Roku Labs is the platform’s recently introduced interactive original game Roku City Dash. The game takes users inside Roku City and is now available to viewers everywhere.
At launch, four more features being tested inside Roku Labs:
- Roku Stocks: Let’s viewers keep an eye on their portfolio
- Roku Weather: Allows viewers to check the forecast from the TV screen
- Backdrops Studio: Users can get more creative with custom artwork images for the CTV screen
- Roku Immerse: Viewers can set the screensaver atmosphere they want, be it mountain views or the desert at sunset.
Some of these features signal efforts by platform providers like Roku, Google TV, Samsung and others to expand use of and interaction with TVs beyond entertainment-only applications and into hubs that can also serve daily purposes (like weather, calendars, education, smart home device hubs and so on).
Of course not everything in Roku Labs will roll out broadly. A spokesperson noted that the effort is designed to test ideas and learn directly from viewers, where some features may evolve and eventually launch while others may not move beyond the testing stage.
Still, a wider net for Roku UX and OS development efforts and the Roku Labs news comes as Fox Corp. is seeking to acquire the streaming TV company in a $22 billion deal.
Coinciding with Roku Labs, the company disclosed additional updates for the OS that are poised to launch across Roku TV devices in the U.S. in the coming months.
Those include:
Expanded Roku Voice capabilities. The Roku Voice assistant is moving beyond entertainment to answer user queries about weather on-screen. Viewers will be able to ask “What’s the weather?” and real-time information will surface on the screen, such as a snapshot overview of the conditions outside including temperature, humidity, precipitation and wind.
Search is also poised to get smarter. Content search results on Roku will offer personalized explanations as to why specific titles or content is surfaced, based on users preferences, watch history and trending content. It’s meant to help users better understand and trust content recommendations on the platform (an area where earlier consumer survey research from Hub Entertainment found streaming services and platforms have work to do).
Roku will also now serve bundles among its premium subscriptions in the U.S. and Mexico – with more than 30 combinations available in the U.S. from services like AMC+, Fox One, Hallmark+, Howdy and STARZ. Per Roku, each bundle offers savings of up to 30% compared to individually priced services.
Roku’s bundled subscriptions follow Amazon Prime Video earlier this week, which for the first time in its channels store debuted a 5-service streaming bundle of AMC+, BritBox, MGM+, PBS Masterpiece, and STARZ for $30 per month in the U.S.