Yesterday, Roku removed the FOX Now, FOX Sports, FOX News, FOX Business, FOX Nation, Big 10 Network, and FOX Soccer apps from the Roku Channel Store. If a deal is not reached with FOX Corp by today, the apps won’t work on devices that already have it installed. That’s including those who install it via a Roku Private Channel.
Earlier this morning, there was speculation (in a since deleted post) on Reddit about a private channel for FOX NOW app. While it will let you install FOX NOW, despite it not being available in the Roku Channel Store, just like the official FOX Now app, Roku has confirmed to The Streamable that you won’t be able to launch it if an agreement is not reached.
When trying to install the channel, users will get the message:
THIS IS A NON-CERTIFIED CHANNEL. Roku requires all channels to abide by Roku’s terms and conditions, and to distribute only legal content. Roku does not test or review non-certified channels. You acknowledge you are accessing a non-certified channel that may include content that is offensive or inappropriate for some audiences. Moreover, if Roku determines that this channel violates copyright, contains illegal content, or otherwise violates Roku’s terms and conditions, then ROKU MAY REMOVE THIS CHANNEL WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE, AND YOUR ACCOUNT MAY BE BLOCKED FROM ADDING ANY OTHER NON-CERTIFIED CHANNELS.
The exact nature of the dispute is not clear, but this comes just weeks after AT&T TV NOW was removed from the Roku Channel Store. This won’t affect the Fox Sports Go app, which is now owned and managed by Sinclair Media Group.
The news couldn’t come at a worse time for those on Roku devices since Super Bowl LIV will be streaming in the Fox Sports App in 4K on Sunday, February 2nd. Fortunately, Roku streamers can still use services like fuboTV, Hulu Live TV, and Live TV Streaming Services to watch the games — or an alternative streaming device like Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV 4K.