How to make money with a Roku channel: A comprehensive guide for 2022
Presently, Roku is dominating the online streaming media devices market. It is evident that OTT platforms are the future of the entertainment and media industry, and with more than 32 million active monthly users worldwide, Roku is leading the way.

According to Park Associates’ recent data, almost 40% of all OTT application users worldwide use a Roku device for online streaming. Therefore, launching a Roku channel should be at the top of your to-do list if you’re a content publisher and want to survive in the market.
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Developing and launching your own Roku channel isn’t quite easy, even for the most experienced programmers and developers. Hence, if you are looking for how to get started, this article gives a complete guide on how to make money with a Roku channel. It gives you points about what you need to know before you create one.
What is Roku?
Roku is a line of products made by the company that enables viewers or the audience to stream content from the internet directly to their television sets.
Roku’s product line involves streaming sticks, boxes, and smart TVs with built-in streaming technology. The Roku OS software runs on these devices and provides access to over 5000 channels, which can be paid and unpaid.
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Besides streaming their favourite movies and trending and latest TV shows from services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Apple TV+, viewers can watch live sports and stay updated about news from channels like ESPN, BBC Sports, CBS News, etc.
Why should you create a Roku channel?
If you are still unable to find the reasons for having a Roku channel on your own, then let me tell you about its advantages.
You must be wondering why you should choose Roku. Well, Roku TV is an obvious option since, as per the data, it is currently one of the largest streaming platforms in the United States.
Roku has over 32 million active users, and it is evident that TV viewing is shifting to streaming platforms online, and Roku TV is dominating the market.
Having a Roku channel can help you reach an audience that no longer watches traditional TV, and it can also help you build a profitable channel through subscriptions and advertising.
How to create a Roku channel?
Before we go into the details of making money with a Roku channel, we must understand how to make one. There are two primary ways to build a Roku channel:
Method 1 — Roku SDK Developer
An experienced professional or a professional team will be designing and developing a channel to your exact specifications using Roku’s SDK Developer, a tool specifically designed to help developers create a channel from scratch.
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Or else, If you want to build an internal team, you need to be aware that the SDK Developer method demands significant technical knowledge, including experience with the Scenegraph framework and Roku’s proprietary coding language. For that, you need an expert.
Method 2 — Roku Direct Publisher
This one is intended to help content creators quickly build a simple channel without the need for coding or programming knowledge. Given below is a quick overview of how to create a channel.
- You must upload your content to an Online Video Platform (OVP) or Content Delivery Network (CDN).
- Once the content is hosted on the web, the next step is to create a ‘feed’ of all the hosted content. This piece of code includes all the metadata needed to play your content on a Roku device — the title, short and long descriptions, URL, etc.
- After completing the previous two steps, you can start creating your Roku channel using the Direct Publisher interface.
To know more about the steps, visit the official website of Roku, where clear instructions are given on creating a channel.
How to make money with a Roku channel?
There are ways you can use to monetize your channel. Below is an explanation of how to make money with a Roku channel.
1. Video advertising is one of the most popular ways to make money with a Roku channel and can be used on both the platforms of Direct Publisher and Developer SDK. It provides two revenue models for video advertising: Inventory Split or Revenue Share.
2. Roku Pay is another option that allows you to sell access to your content directly through an In-Channel Store through free trials, one-time fees, and a monthly and yearly subscription.
Roku Pay is available only to those who have launched their channels with SDK Developer. It’s an excellent way to launch a pay-per-view channel, although it is highly recommended not to run ads on your PPV content as it diminishes the user experience.
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3. If you’re still looking for another way to make money with a Roku channel, here you go with the product placement. Product placement occurs when companies pay you to mention deliberately, display or use their product or service in your content. It is often seen on Instagram these days when influencers are promoting a brand. Besides, movies and TV shows also apply this method.
Final Words
After going through the article, I hope you are sure that now you need to create a Roku channel, and you could also clear the confusion on how to make money with a Roku channel.
Roku is currently a channel that is very much in demand in the market. It goes without saying that if you create content for online streaming platforms, it would be a smart decision for you to create a channel.
However, regardless of your monetization strategy, remember that data and analytics determine the tone for success.