Back in March, Roku announced Roku OS 12 with a new continue watching feature that lets you jump directly into a show or movie you had been watching on a service like Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock, and more right from the Roku home screen.
Now Roku is making more channels adapt this new continue watching feature. Starting April 1st, any Roku channel that has over 5 million hours watched on average in a month over the last three months must now support Roku’s continue watching service.
With this 5 million hour rule, this new service is only targeting the largest streaming services like Paramount+, Disney+, and more.
A continue watching bar on the home screen is not new to streaming. Google TV and Amazon’s Fire TV have offered this service for some time now. Roku is now making the continue watching option more widely supported and with Roku OS 12 more easily found.
Roku is also making any Roku channel with over 5 million hours watched support Roku’s subscription hold feature allowing Roku users to pause any Roku managed subscription and easily restart it.
For Roku owners, you will need to wait until Roku’s OS 12 update hits your Roku player or Roku TV. Roku says this rollout will be slowly coming to all supported Roku players and TVs over the next few months.
Here are the new rules for Roku Channels with over 5 million hours watched on average in a month over the last three months.
Passive Subscription On Hold implementation required for channels with Roku Pay integration that meet streaming hours threshold
RP4.5 Channels using Roku Pay that have streamed more than an average of 5 million hours per month over the last three months must implement Roku’s Passive Subscription on Hold feature to reduce involuntary churn. This requirement is also applicable to new channels projected to reach the specified streaming hours threshold shortly after launch.
Continue Watching integration required for channels meeting streaming hours threshold
4.13 Channels in the U.S. Channel Store that have streamed more than an average of 5 million hours per month over the last three months must implement Roku’s Continue Watching feature. This requirement is also applicable to new channels projected to reach the specified streaming hours threshold shortly after launch. TVOD, live linear, and made-for-kids channels are excluded from this requirement.