Roku, Inc. (NASDAQ: ROKU) today provided an update on the recent launch of Roku Originals. In late May, Roku added 30 original series to The Roku Channel starring major talent like Kevin Hart, Anna Kendrick, Jennifer Lopez and more. The debut of Roku Originals builds on the significant growth of The Roku Channel, which reached households with an estimated 70 million people in the U.S. as of Q1 2021.

“The Roku Channel has grown to become a leader in free streaming entertainment”

In the two weeks following the launch of Roku Originals, May 20 to June 3, a record number of unique accounts streamed The Roku Channel. Furthermore, the top ten most watched programs on The Roku Channel were all Roku Originals in this two-week period.

“We always believed Roku Originals would perform exceptionally well as free, ad-supported entertainment on The Roku Channel.” said Rob Holmes, Roku’s Vice President of Programming. “The first two weeks have surpassed our expectations, with millions of people streaming Roku Originals, and provided a further demonstration of The Roku Channel flywheel, with great content driving record engagement that’s appealing to advertisers seeking to reach the streaming audience.”

In addition to driving broader discovery of The Roku Channel, Roku Originals saw deep engagement. In the first two weeks, more than one in three users of The Roku Channel streamed a Roku Originals series – with users streaming over nine episodes on average.

“The Roku Channel has grown to become a leader in free streaming entertainment,” added Holmes, “The momentum around Roku Originals demonstrates not only our ability to acquire great content for The Roku Channel, but to connect that content with the right audience at scale.”

Roku expects to release an additional 45 Roku Originals this year to complement The Roku Channel’s expansive library of 40,000+ free movies and television programs and 190+ live linear channels already offered to viewers.

The Roku Channel has been the subject of several programming announcements from Roku this year. Most recently, Roku ordered a second season of the Roku Original series ‘DIE HART’ after the action-comedy series starring Kevin Hart had the largest opening weekend in the history of The Roku Channel. In May, Roku inked a deal with Saban Films to bring the studio’s feature films directly to The Roku Channel after theatrical release – a first of its kind agreement for Roku. In March, Roku acquired “This Old House,” which included the two top-rated home improvement programs in the U.S and a television production studio.

The Roku Channel licenses and distributes content from more than 175 partners and is the home of free and premium entertainment on the Roku platform. In addition to Roku devices, The Roku Channel is available on Web, iOS and Android devices, Amazon Fire TV and select Samsung TVs, and can be accessed internationally in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.