Roku’s new TV sets blend streaming TV with real TV, for free

Roku is integrating broadcast TV into it’s “smart guide” so that content is listed next to streaming services like Amazon, Netflix, and Hulu.

I love this. Many cord-cutters are younger and have grown up using apps with beautiful user interfaces such as Netflix. This removes a friction point and nicely integrates content from multiple sources (streaming, antenna, etc.).

The guide is the battleground of the future. This is why Comcast is integrating digital apps (YouTube, Netflix, etc.) into their X1 platform.

Sleeper idea. A service like Roku could bring addressable advertising to broadcast TV. They already have a login environment and with a few changes could dynamical insert targeted ads over the main broadcast feed.

Previously on SOTS:
1) Broadcast-only TV households up 41% since 2012, study says

2) Millennials Unearth an Amazing Hack to Get Free TV: the Antenna

3) About 6 in 10 young adults in U.S. primarily use online streaming to watch TV

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