Today Roku announced that its free ad-supported streaming service The Roku Channel, will get into live sports streaming as part of a deal with Formula E Racing Series. This is a joint partnership with CBS Sports that will see CBS and Paramount+ air five races and Roku exclusively stream 11 races on The Roku Channel.
This is the first time The Roku Channel has struck a deal to be the exclusive home to live sporting events. In the past, live sporting events have been streamed on the service through some of its live channels. Now The Roku Channel is making its own deals to be the exclusive home of live sports.
ABB FIA Formula E World Championship – Season 10 Provisional Calendar:
| Event | Round(s) | Location | Date(s) |
| 1 | 1 | Mexico City, Mexico | 13 Jan. 2024 |
| 2 | 2 &3 | Diriyah, Saudi Arabia | 26 & 27 Jan. 2024 |
| 3 | 4 | TBD | 10 Feb. 2024 |
| 4 | 5 | TBD | 24 Feb. 2024 |
| 5 | 6 | São Paulo, Brazil | 16 Mar. 2024 |
| 6 | 7 | Tokyo, Japan* | 30 Mar. 2024 |
| 7 | 8 & 9 | Rome, Italy | 13 & 14 Apr. 2024 |
| 8 | 10 | Monaco, Principality of Monaco | 27 Apr. 2024 |
| 9 | 11 & 12 | Berlin, Germany | 11 & 12 May 2024 |
| 10 | 13 | TBD | 25 May 2024 |
| 11 | 14 | Jakarta, Indonesia | 8 Jun. 2024 |
| 12 | 15 | Portland, United States | 29 Jun. 2024 |
| 13 | 16 & 17 | London, United Kingdom | 20 & 21 Jul. 2024 |
“This is a powerful new partnership with CBS and Roku that will dramatically increase Formula E’s audience reach and maximise discoverability of our programming in the U.S. We value the strength of our ongoing relationship with CBS and are delighted to join forces with Roku and supercharge Formula E content on their market-leading platform.” Aarti Dabas, Chief Media Officer, Formula E.
“It’s an honor to partner with Formula E on Roku’s first-ever live sports partnership, making it easier for millions of TV streamers to discover the thrill of Formula E races through the unique integrated viewing experiences only available on Roku. We look forward to working together with Formula E, as well as our long-standing partners at CBS and Paramount+, to drive viewership to this programming and to connect new audiences with the exhilarating world of Formula E.” Said David Eilenberg, Head of Content, Roku Media.
“Formula E is innovative and exciting racing, and we’re thrilled to expand our partnership and broadcast more live races across CBS and Paramount+.” Said Billy Stone, Programming, CBS Sports.
Recently Roku announced that The Roku Channel has 350 live TV channels and 80,000 free movies and TV shows. It does not stop there as The Roku Channel has also been adding a lot of original programming recently. This includes content from over 250 Content Partners.
The Roku Channel also recently added the NFL Channel that includes content from the NFL and its NFL Films team. This deal will bring new content from NFL Films and NFL Media to The Roku Channel. With the NFL Channel, you will find season recaps, documentaries, classic games, and more. This will also include past seasons of Hard Knocks and NFL 100 Plays.
Roku and the WWE earlier this year announced a new docuseries for The Roku Channel that will follow a group of men and women competing to earn a spot as a WWE Superstar.
Roku has recently been investing heavily into The Roku Channel for both scripted programming and now live sports. This all comes as free ad-supported streaming services have become some of the fastest-growing cord-cutting services out there.
For cord cutters, they will now have one more option to watch sporting events for free thanks to The Roku Channel.