Sports Zone is one of The Roku Channel’s top Features
Sports Zone is one of The Roku Channel’s top Features
When I’m using The Roku Channel, I always head to the Sports Zone to see what’s coming on live, and on-demand sports content as well
The wide range of programming on The Roku Channel is staggering, and even extends to live sports — something you can’t often say about a free streaming service. Live MLB games are available on The Roku Channel, and though they may soon disappear, the streamer also offers auto racing, volleyball, fishing, and rodeo events, and more. Viewers can also see a host of sports-related content on The Roku Channel, from podcasts to free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels run by pro sports leagues.
The way Roku organizes this sports content is really appealing to me. The streamer puts all of its sports content in its Sports Zone, a programming hub that puts all the sports titles available on The Roku Channel all in front of you at once. It’s simple to use, quick to find, and it’s my favorite feature of the streamer.
To find the Sports Zone, just search Sports or navigate to the Sports category in the left-hand menu of The Roku Channel app. Once you’re there, the first thing you’ll see is the free events you can stream on The Roku Channel — which is something that stood out to me immediately. It reminded me of a pet peeve I have when I turn on Hulu — namely, that streamer often shows a row of live sports events that I could be watching if I paid to upgrade my subscription. So, shoutout to Roku for showing me the free events I get first, before moving to the events I have to pay for to watch.
The Roku Sports Zone puts free sports front and center. Click to expand.
Don’t get me wrong, showing me which games I can buy access to with supplementary subscriptions on The Roku Channel is a good thing, and the Sports Zone hub does that too. At the very least, this makes it easy to see which events are on which channels at what time in the near future.
The Sports Zone is also packed with shoulder programming, including highlights from top leagues, content carousels devoted to events like Savannah Bananas games or the Summer X Games, sports-themed FAST channels that viewers can browse, replays, clips, and podcasts. Viewers can jump straight to replays of the free sporting events offered by The Roku Channel from this screen, as well.
Being able to jump directly into live channels is especially great in the Roku Sports Zone because The Roku Channel has so many. Its in-house Roku Sports channel is a hub for all the best in exclusive content that you’ll find on the streamer, such as episodes of “Good Morning Football: Overtime.” You can also browse through a list of other live sports channels the service has to offer, and Roku doesn’t autoplay these channels when you scroll over them in the hub, another plus for me.
There’s plenty else to enjoy when using The Roku Channel, such as the streamer’s lineup of on-demand originals, its vast collection of licensed titles, and the additional subscriptions you can add to your account conveniently. But for my money, the best feature on The Roku Channel is its Sports Zone content hub, which lays out all the sports you can watch on the streamer and other programming in that arena simply and easily.
Roku Channel
The Roku Channel is a free, ad-supported streaming service that offers a broad mix of movies, TV shows, live linear channels, and original programming. Available to all viewers — not just Roku device owners — the service features licensed content from major studios alongside Roku Originals, which include exclusive series, movies, and specials previously produced for Quibi, as well as new original projects developed specifically for the platform.