Roku is quickly turning into a major source within the streaming community and its just-announced deal with Ooyala will likely bring even more content to the massive install base. The deal allows publishers to utilize an Ooyala-made, turn-key operation to create a custom Roku channel.
This is a big move for the video distributor as it suddenly gives publishers a totally new demographic to target along by bringing their content to the livingroom. Content can be shot with a big screen in mind. It truly opens new doors for Ooyala users such as Alloy Digital, which is the first content partner to implement the Roku custom channel.
AlloyTV, as it is called, is now available as a custom channel on Roku devices. The channel will distribute Alloy’s premium video content generally reserved for the web.
“The Ooyala integration with Roku allows Alloy to extend its premium video programming to innovative viewing platforms gaining popularity with consumers,” commented Robert Bell, CTO, Alloy Media + Marketing. “We are excited to bring a quality entertainment experience into viewer’s living rooms with great content that is drawing a large audience online.”
This move is in line with one of Ooyala’s main goals of allowing its users to publish their content on a variety of platforms be it the Internet, mobile, and now, set-top device with the Roku partnership.
The Roku devices have been around for a few years, but after the initial buzz of being the first Netflix device wore off, it seemed to fade away. However, Roku Inc. kept adding more channels and updating the hardware with the latest round supporting 1080p playback and wireless networking over two models for less than $99. The announcement of the similar Apple TV a few months back shot Roku into the forefront again as they will be competing for the same market. But it’s deals like this one that shows Roku has been at this a bit longer than Apple and is committed to providing the most content available to its users. Hulu would help, too.