Roku to Launch FAST Premium Sports Channel

Roku has unveiled plans to launch a free, ad-supported premium sports channel on Aug. 12.

The Roku Sports Channel will feature sports the streaming platform owns and licenses as part of one FAST service. The channel will offer live Major League Baseball games with MLB Sunday Leadoff, The Rich Eisen Show talker, live Formula E car races, Top Rank boxing matches and sports-themed Roku Originals produced with major pro sports leagues.

Major streamers spending more of their content acquisition dollars on sports rights has been accompanied by an increase in FAST channels offering premium sports, and major streamers like Tubi, Pluto TV and The Roku Channel bulking up on entertainment content.

That’s especially as TV viewers look for cheaper options to pricey subscription-based streaming platforms or packages. In response, paid streaming services are increasingly bundling content offerings with one another to save on costs and retain viewers as traditional linear TV channels continue to face audience declines as cord-cutting intensifies and consumers shift online.

“We continue to see audiences enjoy the familiar, lean-back experience FAST offers, especially with sports. Sports is one of our most popular channel genres on The Roku Channel, which makes us so excited to make it even easier for audiences to jump into Roku’s standout programming,” said Joe Franzetta, Roku Media head of sports, in a statement on Wednesday.

The Roku Sports Channel is also launching into a market where Walt Disney, Fox Corp and Warner Bros Discovery have proposed introducing a sports streaming joint venture to be known as Venu Sports.