Roku announced the launch of Howdy, a new subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service that makes ad-free, high-quality entertainment more accessible than ever for just $2.99 per month. Launching nationwide later today in the U.S., Howdy offers subscribers unlimited access to a growing library of the stories viewers love, featuring thousands of titles and nearly 10,000 hours of entertainment from its inaugural partners, Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery, and FilmRise, alongside select Roku Original titles. Subscribers can enjoy award-winning favorites like “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Blind Side,” “Weeds,” and “Kids in the Hall,” as well as iconic rom-coms, medical dramas, ‘90s comedy, feel-good classics, and more.
The launch of Howdy was contemplated in the outlook provided in Roku's shareholder letter and earnings call for Q2 2025. Howdy will be available initially on the Roku platform with rollout on mobile and additional platforms soon. “Priced at less than a cup of coffee, Howdy is ad-free and designed to complement, not compete with, premium services,” said Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood. “We’re meeting a real need for consumers who want to unwind with their favorite movies and shows uninterrupted and on their terms. Howdy is a natural step for us at Roku, extending our mission to make better TV for everyone, by making it affordable, accessible, and built for how people watch today.”
“We’re excited to continue our longstanding collaboration with Roku on innovative ways to connect with audiences,” said Jim Packer, President of Worldwide Television Distribution, Lionsgate. “With engagement of over 125 million people a day, Roku is the perfect partner to launch a more accessible complement to the higher-priced SVODs. This service has the ability to scale quickly while providing us with a new way to monetize our content, and we’re proud to be part of this new streaming experience.”
"With the launch of Howdy, Roku is making beloved content from our catalog accessible to an even bigger audience,” said Johnny Holden, Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer at Radial Entertainment, the parent company of FilmRise.
From August 5 to August 31, visitors to Times Square will be greeted with a warm “howdy,” through a branded takeover of digital billboards promoting the service and its notable launch titles. The launch of Howdy marks a continuation of Roku’s strategy to grow platform monetization and expand both third- and first-party subscriptions using the power of its platform, which reaches U.S. households with more than 125 million people each day. In addition to Howdy, Roku’s streaming services include the popular Roku Channel, the most-watched free ad-supported television (FAST) service in the U.S., and Frndly TV, the second live TV subscription streaming service among cord cutters.