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Roku tells customers it is unable to strike a deal with YouTube

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Re: Roku tells customers it is unable to strike a deal with YouTube

#301

Post by qudat »

johnvaluk wrote: post #244

I've used Roku in various incarnations (box, TV) since it was released and was excited when the official YouTube app was finally available. But lately, it's been painful to watch YouTube due to the constant and disruptive advertising. Part of me is looking forward to the app being pulled from Roku, since it's so much like the cable TV experience I thought I was escaping. I don't feel this way about the other premium…

> Is it worth paying for YouTube?

Yes it is worth it. It is the one entertainment streaming service I don't cancel.

No ads on any devices is incredible. I also really enjoy their music service.

Re: Roku tells customers it is unable to strike a deal with YouTube

#302

Post by bmitc »

inetknght wrote: post #75
ethbr0 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And we could just link to the original Roku blog post, instead of Axios: https://www.roku.com/blog/update-on-youtube-tv

That doesn't load without javascript.

It also doesn't load without a computer.

Re: Roku tells customers it is unable to strike a deal with YouTube

#303

Post by qmarchi »

pipeline_peak wrote: post #300

You can barely buy a TV without smart capability these days. I find it weird how Roku is even recognized as a platform and receive this much media coverage. They haven’t had a unique product in like 10 years. They are the Yelp of the antiquated stream box world

They aren't relying on their own products to sell, but they provide the "operating system" for some cheaper Smart TVs.

(Disc: Googler, not in YT)

Re: Roku tells customers it is unable to strike a deal with YouTube

#304

Post by starik36 »

pipeline_peak wrote: post #300

You can barely buy a TV without smart capability these days. I find it weird how Roku is even recognized as a platform and receive this much media coverage. They haven’t had a unique product in like 10 years. They are the Yelp of the antiquated stream box world

The reason people are buying them is because the built-in software is so bad and laggy.

I have a Samsung and my primary way to view anything is through the plugged in Amazon Fire stick.

Re: Roku tells customers it is unable to strike a deal with YouTube

#305

Post by gtirloni »

gadrev wrote: post #251
jimt1234 wrote: post #238

A few weeks after all this beef started, Google emailed me with an offer for a free "Chromecast with Google TV" device. I thought it was weird, as the email (and the offer) was completely unsolicited. The email mentioned something about thanking me for being a YouTube-TV customer. I'm sure Google knows I watch YouTube-TV from my Roku-enabled TV, so I figured it was related to the beef. I just though it was weird at f…

Lately, the Chromecast has become substantially worse, with many more ads and of course a stupid update nobody asked for showing kind of a tablet UI when you're in "idle" mode with the phone connected to the TV (idk how you're supposed to operate it, but I don't care, ofc it's a clickbait showcase screen). Before the increase in ad frequency (and some bugs like a random unlinking of the device when you put the app in…

Chromecasts have ads? I've never seen one in my life on them. Are you talking about free YouTube?

I liked the first Chromecast and since I upgraded to the latest with Google TV, I think it's the best experience ever. I sometimes want to take mine to friends' place so I don't have you suffer through whatever horrible smart TV interface they have.

Re: Roku tells customers it is unable to strike a deal with YouTube

#306

Post by admn2 »

qmarchi wrote: post #303
pipeline_peak wrote: post #300

You can barely buy a TV without smart capability these days. I find it weird how Roku is even recognized as a platform and receive this much media coverage. They haven’t had a unique product in like 10 years. They are the Yelp of the antiquated stream box world

They aren't relying on their own products to sell, but they provide the "operating system" for some cheaper Smart TVs. (Disc: Googler, not in YT)

I wrote off Roku years ago, but have found myself pretty shocked by how simple and easy to use their OS is. It's also fast.

Re: Roku tells customers it is unable to strike a deal with YouTube

#308

Post by gtirloni »

readflaggedcomm wrote: post #298
jimt1234 wrote: post #238

A few weeks after all this beef started, Google emailed me with an offer for a free "Chromecast with Google TV" device. I thought it was weird, as the email (and the offer) was completely unsolicited. The email mentioned something about thanking me for being a YouTube-TV customer. I'm sure Google knows I watch YouTube-TV from my Roku-enabled TV, so I figured it was related to the beef. I just though it was weird at f…

Is the Amazon Prime app on Chromecast as good as Roku's?

Never used the one in Roku but Amazon Prime on the latest Chromecast seems fine to me. It wasn't a good experience a year ago but it's decent now, I guess.

Re: Roku tells customers it is unable to strike a deal with YouTube

#309

Post by gtirloni »

qudat wrote: post #301
johnvaluk wrote: post #244

I've used Roku in various incarnations (box, TV) since it was released and was excited when the official YouTube app was finally available. But lately, it's been painful to watch YouTube due to the constant and disruptive advertising. Part of me is looking forward to the app being pulled from Roku, since it's so much like the cable TV experience I thought I was escaping. I don't feel this way about the other premium…

> Is it worth paying for YouTube? Yes it is worth it. It is the one entertainment streaming service I don't cancel. No ads on any devices is incredible. I also really enjoy their music service.

Same here. I value my YouTube Premium subscription more than other streaming services.

Re: Roku tells customers it is unable to strike a deal with YouTube

#310

Post by antasvara »

MadcapJake wrote: post #278
antasvara wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Roku is more analogous to software than hardware. My phone OS updates at least every few months, and I don't have a problem with that. In fact, I'd wager that most people don't have a problem with that. Roku is as much "hardware you purchased" as calling Android "hardware you purchase." Even that isn't a good analogy, because unlike a phone, you can still use your TV without Roku. When I buy a TV, I'm not "buying" Ro…

Roku is literally a device that you purchase for using media streaming apps. If there's a TV with Roku built-in, that's only one gateway to their platform and I don't think it's a huge chunk of their userbase.

Roku sells between 25 and 40 percent of all smart TV's in the US. I wouldn't be shocked if Roku TV makes up a significant amount of their userbase.
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