Live Streaming News Headed to The Roku Channel

Heads up, cord cutters: Roku'south free, ad-supported streaming channel is getting a new perk: live news.

Launched in September, The Roku Channel already offers around ane,000 movies and Goggle box episodes you lot tin watch for free, with ads. Outset in mid-May, you'll also be able to watch live, streaming news from ABC News, People, Cheddar, and Newsy on the channel, Roku appear today.

The new feature volition offer a "lean back, long form linear cable news experience," Roku'south VP of Programming Rob Holmes told PCMag. When the feature launches, y'all'll be able to access these streams via the News tile on The Roku Aqueduct. When you click information technology, you'll see the four aforementioned providers at the bottom. Select ane and you'll enter a news stream.

The Roku Channel News

All four news providers already offer Roku apps with video clips, but this new characteristic is different. Instead of having to manually select which videos you desire to spotter, you can just sit dorsum and tune in to a live stream, like to what you'd find on cable.

The only downwards side, as well having to sit through ads, is that you won't exist able to fast forrad or pause these news streams, though Roku may add those capabilities in the hereafter, Holmes said.

The Roku Aqueduct is bachelor on all Roku players and Roku TVs in the US. The channel is also getting a basic but handy "proceed watching" feature that will go on track of your progress, then you can quickly jump back to where you left off.

These new features are slated to go far aslope Roku Bone 8.1. That update volition, most notably, expand the Roku Individual Listening characteristic, which lets yous suppress the sound on your TV and listen with headphones, to offer support for up to 4 parties. So, if the kids are upstairs sleeping, you lot and your pregnant other can quietly watch a moving-picture show together without having to share one set up of earbuds.

About Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo is PCMag's expert on fitness and smart dwelling products. Teaching yoga for nearly 10 years has helped her in evaluating a range of connected health products including fitness trackers, heart charge per unit monitors, rowers, smart scales, stationary bikes, strength training machines, treadmills, and more than. Angela too tests smart home devices from her ranch in Florida, including air purifiers, kitchen appliances, and robot vacuums, but to name a few.