Roku Channel Adds Compensation in Push by Apple TV+ for New Subscribers

Roku Channel Adds Compensation in Push by Apple TV+ for New Subscribers

Apple is bringing one of its biggest shows to a free streaming platform, apparently hoping the influx of viewers will help attract new subscribers to its Apple TV+ streaming service.

Roku said Thursday that the entire first season of Severance pay would be available on its Roku Channel for what it calls an “exclusive fan experience” that will run until January 19th.

The effort is related to the debut of the second season of Severance pay on Apple TV+ on January 17th. In addition to the first season, Roku Channel will get a preview of the second season of the Adam Scott-starring thriller as well as behind-the-scenes content. Users are also entitled to three free months of Apple TV+.

The fan experience will be accessible directly from the Roku home screen, highlighting the prominent placement of the deal. Roku has around 90 million users, making it one of the largest free streaming video platforms on the market.

“A partnership with Apple ahead of the highly anticipated event Severance pay Season 2 and the opportunity to create an exclusive fan experience available to millions of U.S. households, including delivering Apple TV+ content outside of the Apple ecosystem on the Roku Channel for the first time, is incredibly exciting for us,” said Sweta Patel, vice president of growth marketing and merchandising at Roku. “Part of the magic of the Roku platform is that we can work with our brand partners to create tailored experiences that our viewers love and achieve our partners’ goals.”

The deal underscores the reach and power of the Roku platform and is another example of Apple pulling out all the stops to attract interest and subscriptions to Apple TV+.

Last weekend, Apple took the unprecedented step of making Apple TV+ free to everyone from January 3rd to 5th in the hopes that users would try out the program, which includes Ted Lasso, Slow horses And The Morning Show.

And last fall, Apple struck a deal with Amazon to bring Apple TV+ to Prime Video Channels, allowing users to subscribe to and access programs through the popular aggregator.

Nevertheless, it brings a high-quality series like Severance pay to a free streaming option like Roku Channel (even if it’s an older season) is another push by the company to make its offering more accessible to more people and bet that users will stick around once they’ve tried it.

There is a precedent for such a deal. Last year, AMC Networks struck a deal with Netflix to bring older seasons of many of its shows to the streaming giant, betting that the company could lure users to its own AMC+ app for current episodes.

In a streaming world, scale matters, and related services are increasingly benefiting from this as smaller providers strive to get attention for their programming.

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