Hi, everyone !!
Those of you who read my 'Weekly RoundUp' posts, from last week and the week before that, will know that Roku have already announced new product line-ups for both the USA and the UK in the last fortnight. Well, they maintained that momentum this week with announcements of new products in both Canada as well as additional countries in Latin America further expanding their presence into Argentina, Central America, Chile, Colombia and Peru. While Canadians had to make to with only one new model: the new Roku Express, which is five times more powerful than it's predecessor... the expansion into Latin America will feature two new products: the Roku Express+, which is great for HD streaming, and the Roku Streaming Stick+ which (as UK Roku users will also soon discover) is capable of streaming HD, 4K and 4K HDR at up to 60 fps.
Both of the above announcements came on Tuesday 17th October 2017, courtesy of eleven separate press releases from the newsrooms at Roku: one for Canada, and one each for the other ten countries from Latin America: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, plus Nicaragua, Panamá, and Perú... but, as it turned out, they weren't quite done - because there was an additional press release on Wednesday 18th October 2017 which broke the news that Roku are set to release their third quarter 2017 financial results after the stock markets have closed on Wednesday 8th November 2017. The company will host a live webcast of its conference call to discuss the results at 2 p.m. Pacific Time / 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Participants may access the live webcast in listen-only mode on the Roku investor relations website, while an archived webcast of the conference will also be available via the same webpage (see link above) soon after the conference call has ended.
Anyhow... with little time for anything else aside from details of new Roku models for both Canada and Latin America plus a heads-up on the forthcoming announcement from Roku re: their financial results from the third quarter of 2017 (in terms of newsworthy items) to bring you from the last seven days, I'd best now turn my attention to getting you up to speed with all the latest new Roku channels added to UK Roku devices since my last 'Weekly RoundUp' post was published - and as you will soon discover, while not as many as last week, there have still been quite a few new additions! ;-) :-)
If you did happen to read my previous 'Weekly RoundUp' post, in which I commented as to how 'Roku Guide' had fallen far short of compiling a complete set of reviews for all of the new channels which were released in the seven days preceding their article, you will doubtless be pleased to hear that I have since posted active links to 'Roku Guide' reviews for all of them. Sadly, as their most recent article (dated 20th October 2017) does little more than to play "catch-up" with reviews that were absent from the previous week, it means there were very few 'Roku Guide' reviews for the channels which were actually released between the 14th October 2017 and 20th October 2017. As a direct result, there are currently "missing" links to 'Roku Guide' reviews for more than fifty per cent of the new additions to the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store in this particular 'Weekly RoundUp' post. Unfortunately, this (once more) leaves UK users rather short of additional info... and, much like the last month or so, rather than simply regurgitate what is written in each channel description from the channel store, I'm (once more) going to have to leave it for each of you (individually) to access those details via the built-in channel store on your Roku device(s). Needless to say, once the "missing" reviews have been published by 'Roku Guide', I will (as I have in previous weeks) ensure that I add the relevant links to this post. Apologies (yet again) for any inconvenience that may have been caused by the absence of active links to an independent review for so many of these new apps but, like I say, it was completely out of my hands. Meanwhile, I advise scanning the list below to see which channels (if any) you think are likely to appeal... and then going to the built-in channel store on your Roku device(s), to read the description(s) there, for precise details on your pick of the latest new Roku channels (apps) which have been added to UK Roku devices during this past week! :-)
While it again falls short of equalling the epic list of fifty-plus channels from three months ago, you will find there's a bucketload of new channels in the "Official" Roku UK Channel Store this week, including plenty of additional options (i.e. twenty-plus more choices) under "Kids & Family", as well as several more options for those who enjoy "Film & TV" or "Religious" content, along with a couple of new additions to the "Food" category (i.e. genre) plus other new channels for those of you seeking "Comedy", "Educational", "International" or "Music" videos, to keep you entertained in the coming weeks and months. There's also been the odd new addition to each of the "Special Interest", "Sports", plus "Travel" genres (i.e. channel store categories) and an additional "Screensaver" option which will display images for some of the iconic views and various animals that can be encountered in Yellowstone Park on your TV, for a modest (£0.69) one-off payment. In fact, with so many new channels to choose from, there should be something to please most streamers here. If not, I again shared details for some private channels (via social media) and some more special offers related to various Roku channels that are available in the UK. Check out my Twitter Feed: @ukrokuchannels if you'd like to know more about those and, while you're there, maybe "Like" and/or "Retweet" some of my messages to spread the word about what's happening Roku-wise in the UK and beyond! ;-) :-)
Anyway, back to the list... which, as always, will help you to identify the very latest apps which have been added to Roku devices in the UK. Other websites offering Roku channel listings will base their contents on the Roku USA Channel Store, which means they also include apps that are unavailable to UK Roku users. So, like I've said before... if you really want to know what's available channel-wise, for owners of Roku devices in the UK, you need to be reading this blog each and every week! ;-) :-)
Before I run through the new channels, however, a reminder that UK Roku users are still subject to restrictions (imposed by Roku) and (bizarrely) remain unable to access the channel descriptions from the web store on the Roku (USA) website. That said, the majority of text in those web listings can also be found within the individual descriptions from the built-in "Channel Store" (accessed via "Streaming Channels" from the main menu) on all Roku devices and, together with the associated screenshots (where available), should give a pretty good indication of what those channels are about.
My advice to any UK-based readers of this blog is to ignore the links below (and to the left of) each channel icon shown here and (instead) rely on the link to the right (below each channel icon) which (where available) will redirect you to an 'Roku Guide' review for additional details on that channel. As it stands, the links below (and to the left of) each icon are (currently) only of use to readers of this blog from the USA. This means that Roku users from the other "supported" regions of the world (i.e. Ireland, Canada, France and Mexico) are, like those of us in the UK, unable to browse the Roku Web Channel Store - which for now (at least) remains an exclusive privilege of Roku users in the USA. :-(
Hopefully Roku will (one day) wake-up to the fact that improving the experience for users in "other" Roku "regions" is just as important as it is for those who buy & use their products in the U.S. and that denying access to the Roku website does not help the end-user experience for those of us (outside the USA) who wish to browse the web channel store. Meanwhile, that which Roku (apparently) doesn't want UK Roku users to see on their website (i.e. the list of new channels) is regularly summarised on this blog in my 'Weekly RoundUp' posts. So, without further ado, here's my 'Weekly RoundUp' of all the new Roku channels released between 15th October 2017 and 21st October 2017:-
HOLY SPIRIT.........................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPORTS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
COCINA IDENTIDAD..........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FOOD" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
CATOPIA................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "COMEDY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
FLORRIE'S DRAGONS.......................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
ZIGBY................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
CANAL PANDA ESPAÑA.................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
HIP HOP HARRY...................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
HIP HOP HARRY TOY REVIEW.........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
QUIXOT KIDS.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
COCINA FAMILIAR.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FOOD" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
EL UNIVERSO DE ELISA....................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
ARTEGLOBOSPRODUCCIONES........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
CONPDEPAPEL.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
JUNTINES PLANES..............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
ACTION CLASSICS CHANNEL..........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
WOMEN'S OUTDOOR NETWORK.....................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "TRAVEL" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
1910 CHURCH.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
ELEMENTS MEDIA NETWORKS.......................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
KIDS BABY CLUB................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
KIDS TV CARS TOYS VIDEOS...........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
LITTLE RED CAR..................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
UMI UZI...................................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
DRONE VALLEY.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "EDUCATIONAL" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
AGAPE FELLOWSHIP..........................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "RELIGIOUS" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
SERCANO TV INTERNATIONAL........................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "INTERNATIONAL" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
PLEASE NOTE:- That, since this 'Sercano TV International' channel does not feature in the "official" Roku (USA) Channel Store, the link provided above (and to the left) below the channel icon does not redirect you to the app description from the (US-only) Roku Web Store, as it normally would. Instead of this, when you click on that link, you will be taken to the official website of 'Sercano, Inc.' where more information about the Spanish-language channel can be obtained. Likewise, due to the absence of any details for U.S. Roku devices, there is no 'Roku Guide' review for 'Sercano TV International' because they only cover channels which are available on Roku devices in the United States. That said, there is another Roku channel from the same developer called 'Sercano TV US' which itself happens to be an updated version of the original 'Sercano TV' channel released in December 2016. Still with me? Well, that original app is the only one from 'Sercano, Inc.' to actually have a review by 'Roku Guide'... although, other than mention the original channel was "directed at Central Americans residing in the U.S.", and that "No programming schedule or show information was found"... it offered little more insight as to what you might expect to get from the Roku app, besides being "a live stream Spanish-language channel", as I've already mentioned. The developer's channel description for that first version added hardly anything more, with the only detail provided being: "Sercano is the most ambitious Spanish-language television channel in USA, created to unite the Meso-American people who live in the great American nation" or, to put it their way, "Sercano el más ambicioso canal de televisión de habla hispana en Estados Unidos, creado para unir a los mesoamericanos que viven en la gran nación americana" which might be more use to those of you fluent in Spanish, for whom this particular Roku channel (in it's many forms) was intended. Should you wish to know more about it, the best I can suggest (other than to visit the official 'Sercano, Inc.' website - see link above) would be to reach-out via social media, where 'Sercano TV' has an official Twitter Feed: @SercanoTV as well as an official FB Page:- Sercano TV (Facebook) through which to communicate with them! :-)
KIDS PRESCHOOL NURSERY RHYMES..........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
KIDS RHYMES......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
KIDS TV INDIA.....................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
HIT TRAIN TV.......................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "MUSIC" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
IAS TELEVISION NETWORK...............................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "FILM & TV" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN FIRST RELEASED***
ZEBRA...............................................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
KIDS TV CHANNEL.............................................................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "KIDS & FAMILY" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
DOGLEG LEFT GOLF COURSE LIVING.........................COST: FREE [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SPECIAL INTEREST" in Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***
YELLOWSTONE SCREENSAVER...COST: £0.69 (ONE-OFF PAYMENT) [Roku Guide Review]
***FILED UNDER: "SCREENSAVERS" in the Roku UK Channel Store WHEN RELEASED***