Roku to Expand, Bring Set-top Boxes to the UK and Canada

Late last month, Netflix announced that it would be expanding into the UK and Irish markets in early 2012. Hot on the heels of that announcement, Roku has said that it will bring its settop boxes north of the U.S. border as well as across the pond to the UK early next year.

Roku announced its first Netflix streaming player in May of 2008, and in the years since has successfully launched 10 subsequent models, seven of which have been discontinued. The company currently has four players, the Roku LT, the Roku 2 HD, the Roku 2 XD, and the Roku 2 XS. Owners of the box can stream movies, TV shows and sports games from the likes of Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Video On Demand and tons of other partners' channels. Roku said in a statement today that it is is expanding its open platform to support region-specific channels as part of its upcoming expansion to the Canadian and UK markets.

"This year has been one of many accomplishments for Roku in the U.S. In July, we introduced Roku 2 which brings casual games to the TV and last month we unveiled the $49.99 Roku LT. We've added casual games including Angry Birds and PAC-MAN as well as premiere channels including HBO GO," said Roku Founder and CEO Anthony Wood. "And now we're looking forward to kicking off 2012 by expanding to Europe and Canada and providing consumers abroad with the best in streaming entertainment -- a natural evolution for Roku."

Roku didn't mention anything about international pricing, which is understandable as it seems a bit early to be thinking about that. However, current pricing for the U.S. market is between $50 and $100 depending on which model of player you choose to buy.

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Jane McEntegart is a writer, editor, and marketing communications professional with 17 years of experience in the technology industry. She has written about a wide range of technology topics, including smartphones, tablets, and game consoles. Her articles have been published in Tom's Guide, Tom's Hardware, MobileSyrup, and Edge Up.

2 Comments Comment from the forums

torque79

Who cares, there won't be any content to view in Canada. The Beurocracy of the entertainment industry means we're better off with illegal sources than useful products like this which can't get enough content due to excessive licensing costs, copyright legality and restrictions from the CRTC (FCC equivalent in Canada hell-bent on forcing Canadian produced television down our throats).
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obiown77

TV is senseless, because TV is for the senseless.
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