How to Develop Your Own Roku Channel?

Roku is one of the popular OTT streaming devices providing all-around entertainment to viewers. With its millions of users, the platform is soon going to become the top-rated streaming device in the world. Develop your own Roku channel so as to take advantage of the growth prescribed by VOD (Video-On-Demand) providers.

Roku is the pioneer streaming device in the United States and has become a household name in quick time. The platform registered a record of 53.6 million monthly active users in 2021 and doubled in two years. The reports also suggest a 79% gain in revenues and thus provide a great opportunity to businesses. If you’re a content creator, look to develop a channel of your own so as to attract consumers. Conceptualizing and launching a Roku channel is not easy, but is worth the investment.

 Traditional forms of TV entertainment are fading quickly and are replaced by streaming boxes like Roku. It also lets the small businesses create a favorable TV channel as per the demand! The Roku product line is letting your TV connect to the internet and access a wide range of contents. Roku apps are proving beneficial for businesses and provide the base to grow its brand. The article will help you understand the different methods of Roku channel development.

Table of Contents

1. Top Benefits of Developing a Roku Channel

2. Three Methods of Creating a Roku Channel

• Method 1: Custom Development with Roku SDK
• Method 2: Roku Direct Publisher
•  Method 3: Lease a Roku Channel

3.  Final Thoughts!

Top Benefits of Developing a Roku Channel

Roku is one of the relevant options to market your content on OTT platforms! It works by connecting to the internet via a wired or wireless connection. This will ensure easy access to streaming channels and devices. Businesses should develop Roku channels so as to promote their content online through a smart TV. It also provides access to other types of content without the cost of cable.

Here are the top benefits of developing a Roku channel –

It ensures smarter content recommendations

Roku is one of the effective devices to know about the viewing habits of the audience. It is different from the ad-supported streaming device and it is easy to create channels for the platform. One can track the users’ viewing habits within the channel and also view the preferred choice of users. Roku is thus able to generate a better recommendation for the viewers.

The different kinds of Roku channels keep the consumers engaged and users spend more time streaming. Businesses get the right details on streaming hours so to use it effectively when needed.

It ensures targeted advertisements

Roku helps to know about its audience better than the ad-supported streamers. The Roku channel leads to targeted advertisements and more than other ad-supported services. Roku’s ad-buying platform is also used by the third-party streaming app to sell targeted advertisements. Thus, the ads on the Roku Channel carry high average prices and the providers end up generating more money per streaming hour.

It ensures better efficiency at attracting relevant traffic

The foremost advantage of the Roku channel is to drive traffic to the content. Develop a Roku channel so as to bring in a broader audience. This results in better content recommendations to viewers towards relevant content.

3 Methods of Creating a Roku Channel

Roku channel is one of the biggest business platforms and it aggregates content from other ad-supported media channels. The type of streaming is outpacing the demand for subscription video and Roku is a big example of it. Content owners can develop a Roku channel in multiple ways so as to promote their apps directly. Roku offers direct publishing and also supports custom development with Roku SDK. We have classified here three different methods to develop a Roku channel in a descriptive form.

Custom Development with Roku SDK

Roku SDK Developer is a top-level tool geared up for custom channel needs. It is meant to prioritize the user experience and build profitable apps through the speed of development. Roku’s developer APIs are the best option for businesses looking to develop cross-functional streaming channels. It enhances the user experience and also monetizes the content with rentals or subscriptions.

Roku offers all the required libraries and APIs so as to develop channels for publishers. The approach demands expertise in the software development domain and provides unlimited customizations. Roku SDK is the best option for channel development and promotes the right brand image. The functionalities of custom Roku SDK development are as follows –

Cross-platform & consistent UI: It assists to build your own channel from scratch and the opportunity to mirror the application UI. The function also helps to create a consistent user experience for all.

DRM Support: It ensures the use of DRM encryption through content security.

Billing: There are different kinds of billing models so as to monetize the users. It includes subscription, pay-to-install fee, and in-app transactions.

User Authentication: It allows users to authenticate their accounts so as to restore bookmarked content and preferences.

Third-Party Analytics: All kinds of Roku channels to receive the audience engagement reports to understand user engagement. But, only the custom-built channels can integrate third-party analytics into the channel.

Roku Direct Publisher

It is one of the best options to develop a Roku channel on your own. The free channel-development system is simplifying the promotions of businesses through Roku channels. Sign up and go through the instructions strictly to launch your own Roku channel.

It is easy to get started with Roku Direct Publisher and the first thing you need is CDN (Content Delivery Network). This can cost you some dollars, plus the monthly expenditures and bandwidth. There is also the option to use cost-effective CDS (Content Delivery Service) to develop the relevant channels. Pick the top-rated CDS so as to get top-quality service and reliable streaming.

Next, it’s the turn of each channel to have its feed. This is a different kind of coding that provides instructions to CDN or CDS to showcase the video content. You need to have the channel logo and graphics ready to start the development of the Roku channel with Roku Direct Publisher.

Lease a Roku Channel

The final and most effective way to develop a Roku channel is through leasing the channel. Rent a channel from the relevant OTT service provider so as to focus on the perfect video content to run a business. You don’t need to spend valuable time in the channel-building process and lease the work to relevant people. The experts take care of the technical aspects of the channel like app updates and adding of new features.

Investing in the lease of the Roku channel will help you save thousands on hiring developers for the work. Are you running a video business around educational or entertainment content? Rent the help of an OTT service provider and get the video hosting ready to go.

Final Thoughts!

There are three major ways to develop a Roku channel on your own if you aren’t a developer. The decision on the selection of the relevant development method should lie on the business motives. Make an informed decision for your video business by developing a suitable Roku channel. Make the Roku channel creation part of the overall digital strategy so as to attract more customers. The streaming of your video content will only increase once you opt for Roku channel development.