Observed Signal · Mar 31, 2026 · Product Launch · Source: techcrunch · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Roku launches Howdy mobile app at $2.99
Roku has released a standalone mobile app for Howdy, its ad-free streaming service priced at $2.99 per month, available on iOS and Android in the U.S. Howdy, launched in August 2025, offers nearly 10,000 hours of content from partners including Lionsgate, Sony Pictures, Disney Entertainment, Warner Bros. Discovery and FilmRise, plus select Roku Originals. The mobile app expands access beyond Roku devices and follows a recent launch of Howdy on Amazon Prime Video. Roku positions Howdy as a low-cost complement to premium services; the company previously acquired Frndly TV for $185 million and continues to operate The Roku Channel, its free ad-supported FAST service.
Roku — a major CTV platform — expanding its low-cost ad-free service to mobile and to Amazon Prime Video broadens distribution and consumer access, affecting streaming competition, subscription dynamics and CTV inventory/monetization strategies.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Roku launched a standalone Howdy mobile app for iOS and Android in the U.S.
- Howdy is an ad-free streaming service priced at $2.99 per month.
- Howdy launched in August 2025 and features nearly 10,000 hours of content from partners including Lionsgate, Sony Pictures, Disney Entertainment, Warner Bros. Discovery and FilmRise.
- The mobile app release follows Howdy’s expansion onto Amazon Prime Video and comes after Roku’s $185 million acquisition of Frndly TV.
- Howdy complements The Roku Channel; Roku says The Roku Channel has more than 125 million daily users.
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Roku Launches Howdy Mobile App
Roku has released a native Howdy mobile app for iOS and Android, expanding accessibility for subscribers who previously could only watch on Roku devices. The move follows distribution of Howdy inside Amazon Prime Video and a SXSW-linked campus giveaway that provided free subscriptions to 15,000 Texas A&M freshmen. Roku positions the app as a way to grow subscribers while reclaiming direct billing relationships (Howdy is priced at $2.99/month), improving margins relative to revenue shared with Amazon. Howdy complements Roku’s first-party content stack alongside The Roku Channel and Frndly TV, and offers more than 10,000 hours of content from partners including FilmRise, Lionsgate, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. Discovery. Roku reported platform revenue grew 18% to over $1.2 billion last quarter and hardware revenue rose 3%. Executives flagged the app as a structural fix to acquisition-channel limitations for mobile-first viewers.
Roku's $3 Howdy Reaches 1M Subscribers
Roku’s $2.99-per-month ad-free streaming service Howdy reached an estimated 1 million subscribers, according to market researcher Antenna. Launched in August 2025 as a low-cost, complementary SVOD, Antenna estimates Howdy added nearly 300,000 subscribers in its first month and roughly 100,000 each subsequent month, taking the total to about one million in March 2026. Antenna also estimates a six-month retention rate of 51% for early August–September signups. Roku has expanded distribution by adding Howdy to Prime Video Channels and launching a standalone mobile app in March 2026, and recently said its platform now reaches over 100 million streaming households. Roku has pursued licensing deals — reported with Disney Entertainment, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros. Discovery (and earlier summaries noted Lionsgate) — to build a library of roughly 10,000+ hours including Roku Originals.
Roku Launches Howdy SVOD in Mexico at $1.90
Roku Inc. launched Howdy, an ad-free subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service, in Mexico on April 9, 2026, priced at 39 pesos per month (about $1.90). The launch targets Spanish-language viewers rather than following an English-first expansion. Content partners at launch include Lionsgate, Sony and Mexico broadcaster TV Azteca, which supplies sports and entertainment catalog. Roku cites data showing it is the No. 1 TV streaming platform in Mexico by hours streamed (Hypothesis Group, Dec 2025) and says The Roku Channel ranks as a top-five app there. The mobile apps for Howdy are available at launch in Mexico. Roku frames the roll-out as adding a first-party SVOD product in markets where it leads by hours streamed.
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