The Roku Channel is now available on the Web without a Roku device

Enlarge / The Roku Channel on the Web on an iPhone. (credit: Roku)

The Roku Channel, a platform for streaming TV and movies, is now available on the Web in the United States. Previously only available on streaming hardware running Roku software, the channel offers a free, ad-supported library.

Roku launched this channel on hardware running Roku OS in October 2017 as a first step in offering content of its own after years of positioning itself as a neutral platform through which Amazon, Netflix, and others could offer their content. Roku licensed mostly movies that are more than 10 years old from studios like Warner Bros. and Sony Pictures, and the library still has that character for today's Web portal launch: the top-billed items on the homepage are currently the three Matrix films from 1999 and 2003.

Starting earlier this year, Roku began streaming live channels from third parties like ABC and Cheddar, and those are also available in the Web version.

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