If you have a Roku Streaming Stick plugged into your TV – or a TV with Roku’s streaming software built in – then you have a big upgrade coming soon that is designed to improve the way you watch TV shows and films, as well as better recommend what to watch in the first place.
Roku is updating its existing streaming player devices with a new ‘What to Watch’ section in the main menu of the home screen that collects content suggestions from all your streaming services and available channels into one place. Currently, you have to go into each app, such as Netflix or Disney+, to get recommendations directly from those apps.
Roku says What to Watch will suggest content you might enjoy based on your profile’s viewing habits, as well as general viewing behaviour across Roku’s UK user base, and global TV and film trends at the time. What to Watch appears as a strip of boxes across the TV screen as we have all become used to for streaming service main menus.
At the same time as What to Watch lands in a software update, Roku devices will also get ‘Continue Watching’ and ‘Save List’ strips that will also merge all your streaming services together to show you where you’re up to or what you’ve saved no matter where you’re watching.
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All three updates are similar to existing features on the home screen of TV boxes such as Apple TV, but Roku director of product Sally Nelson told Express.co.uk that Roku What to Watch will only show content suggestions from services customers have access to or pay for, to avoid the frustration of being served suggestions that are actually behind a paywall or require standalone purchasing.
“There is so much great TV available across an array of streaming services, and sometimes deciding what to watch can be overwhelming,” said Nelson. “Roku’s simple and intuitive home screen makes it a smart TV choice for consumers. By personalising the way our customers connect with the content they love and offering more ways to discover new content, our users can access entertainment with ease.”
Keep an eye out for the update if you have a Roku streaming stick, as the company says every device out there released in the last ten years should receive the new software in the coming weeks.
Roku will be hoping to further challenge Amazon Fire TV products that have a large market share in TV boxes and TV software, though Nelson said it had 75.8 million active users in Q3 of 2023, and that it was the number one platform in the US, Canada, and Mexico.
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TVs with Roku’s streaming software platform installed should get the update in the coming months. Nine TV brands in the UK currently sell such devices, including TCL, Sharp, and Polaroid.
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