Roku has just launched a streaming service without advertising for $ 2.99 per month

If you are fed up with the rise in streaming services costs, Roku has good news for you.

Roku’s founder and CEO Anthony Wood said that the company’s just -launched streaming service cost “less than a cup of coffee”. However, he added, it is not intended to compete directly with Netflix and other streamers, but rather to complete them.

The new service without advertising of Roku, Howdy, has abandoned today, and it arrives at a time when the cost of streaming without advertising has skyrocketed. It is almost expected now that banners will increase their prices each year. For example, Netflix has increased its prices earlier this year and its premium plan, which is without advertising and supports 4K streaming, now costs $ 24.99 per month. And last month, Peacock increased its prices to the point that its plan without advertising now costs $ 16.99 per month.

“We are responding to a real need for consumers who want to relax with their favorite films and without interruption and in their terms,” said Wood in a press release.

Howdy now offers a more favorable option to a budget at only $ 2.99 per month. The service will offer 10,000 hours of partner content like Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery and filmrise, as well as some original Roku titles. This includes classic films like The graduate,, Tank dogsAnd Dirty dance.

“With a commitment of more than 125 million people a day, Roku is the perfect partner to launch a more accessible supplement to SVOD at the highest price,” explains Jim Packer, president of the global television distribution in Lionsgate.

Howdy will be available initially exclusively on Roku devices, but will soon be available on mobile and other platforms.

The new advertising franchise offer joins the other company streaming services, the Roku channel, which is a free and advertising television platform. These services, including Fox’s Tubi and Paramount’s rather, have gained popularity in recent years and have created a new source of income for media companies. The Roku channel is the most popular in these services and represented 2.5% of all television views in the United States last June, according to Nielsen.

In June, the company signed a major advertising agreement with Amazon advertisements aimed at facilitating brands to reach viewers on the streaming platforms of the two companies. The partnership gives advertisers access to more than 80 million American households thanks to a combination of Roku and Fire TV devices.

The launch of Howdy also comes only a few months after Roku acquired the live television supplier Frndlytv for $ 185 million. The service offers users access to 50 live channels, including the history channel, A&E, and the Hallmark channel for plans, including $ 8.99 to $ 12.99 per month.