Roku has launched an ad-free subscription streaming service called Howdy. The service costs $2.99 per month and has a library of nearly 10,000 hours of content from partners, including Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery, FilmRise, and more, as well as original Select Roku titles.
The company says subscribers will be able to watch titles such as “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Blind Side,” “Weeds,” “Kids in the Hall,” ROM-COMS, MEDICAL DRAMAS and ’90S comedy.
“Howdy is ad-free and is designed to complement premium services rather than compete,” Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood said in a press release.
The move comes two months after Roku paid $185 million to acquire Frndly TV, a streaming service that offers live television, on-demand video and cloud-based DVR.
Howdy will join the company’s Roku channel. This is a free advertising support (fast) streaming service. A recent report found that the Roku channel is the most popular and fast service ahead of Tubi and Pluto TV. More than 125 million people use the platform every day, Roku said.
Howdy’s major growth driver will be Roku’s organic reach. The company said it surpassed its 90 million streaming households earlier this year.
Roku reported its second quarter financials last week, turning its revenue growth above forecast to 15%.
TechCrunch Events
San Francisco
|
October 27th-29th, 2025
