ROKU · CHANNEL BUILDER

Create Your Own
Roku Channel
Without Coding

Create a branded Roku app for your videos and live streams. You bring the content and your brand; we build the channel, submit it to Roku and keep it updated, from one CMS that also publishes to eight other platforms.

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Plans from $79/month with a 7-day free trial. Studio covers one platform, 250 GB of storage and 1,500 watch hours a month.

✓ Roku Streaming Store certified ✓ FAST / Linear supported ✓ SVOD + AVOD monetization ✓ Built in about a week
Branded Roku channel on TV screen
HOW IT WORKS

How to Create a Roku Channel

Five steps from your video library to the Roku Streaming Store. You bring the content and the brand; OTTEngine does the building. Most channels are built within about a week, and submission and Roku's review follow.

1

Prepare your content and brand

You provide

Videos you have the rights to distribute, your logo and artwork, and a channel name and description.

OTTEngine handles

Importing your library, transcoding it to Roku-ready HLS and organizing it into rows and categories.

2

Set up your Roku developer account

You provide

A free Roku developer account in your name, so the channel and its Streaming Store listing belong to you.

OTTEngine handles

Walking you through the account setup as part of onboarding.

3

Configure your channel

You provide

Your layout and branding choices, and how you want to earn: subscriptions, ads or rentals.

OTTEngine handles

Building a native Roku app on SceneGraph, with Roku Pay subscriptions and ads from your VAST tags.

4

Test it

You provide

A review of the channel before it goes to Roku.

OTTEngine handles

Testing playback, navigation and Roku's certification requirements.

5

Submit and maintain

You provide

Your go-ahead to publish.

OTTEngine handles

Packaging and submitting the channel to Roku, handling review feedback, and updating it when Roku changes its SDK. Most channels pass review on the first submission; see the common Roku rejection reasons.

What you need before you start

  • Content you have the rights to distribute
  • Your logo and channel artwork
  • A channel name and a short description
  • A free Roku developer account in your name
  • How you want to earn: subscriptions, ads or rentals

Want every step in detail? Our step-by-step Roku launch guide walks through preparation, setup, testing and submission.

PRICING

How Much Does It Cost to Create a Roku Channel?

OTTEngine plans start at $79 a month in US dollars. Studio covers one platform, such as Roku; larger plans add platforms, storage and features.

Studio planIncludedIf you need more
Platforms1, such as Roku$79/month per extra platform
24/7 FAST or linear channels1$79/month per extra channel
Storage250 GB$0.050 per extra GB
Watch time1,500 hours a month$0.060 per extra hour
Add-onsOptionalFrom $99/month, such as caption translation or recommendations
Setup fee and contractNone; cancel anytime-

Prices in USD. Compare all plans or estimate your cost.

Can I create a Roku channel for free?

Creating a Roku developer account is free, but running a channel takes hosting, streaming and an app, and those cost money. OTTEngine includes all three, and you can try it free for 7 days. A card is required to start the trial, you won't be charged until it ends, and you can cancel anytime during it.

Roku channel or Roku app?

They're the same thing. Roku now calls channels apps, and its store the Roku Streaming Store (formerly the Channel Store). OTTEngine is a Roku app builder for your own branded app; being carried inside The Roku Channel, Roku's own free streaming service, is a separate deal with Roku.

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OTT ENGINE · ROKU CHANNEL BUILDER

A Roku app builder with everything you need for the Roku Streaming Store - no BrightScript required

Developing a native Roku channel traditionally requires fluency in BrightScript - Roku's proprietary development language - plus deep knowledge of the SceneGraph framework, RSG components, and Roku's certification requirements. OTTEngine removes every part of that equation. Our Roku Channel Builder generates a production-ready, fully branded Roku channel from your content library and brand assets alone.

From there, we walk you through Streaming Store submission step by step: developer account setup, channel packaging, certification compliance, and publishing. When Roku updates its SDK requirements - and it does, regularly - our platform handles the technical work automatically. Your channel stays live, stays certified, and stays current without any effort from your team.

  • Native Roku channel - genuine BrightScript, not a web wrapper
  • Custom branded UI - layouts, colors, logo, content rows
  • Roku Streaming Store submission - fully guided
  • Published under your own Roku developer account
  • FAST / 24×7 linear channel support
  • Live streaming (your encoder or a third-party live service)
  • SVOD, AVOD (pre-roll + mid-roll), and TVOD monetization
  • Automatic SDK and certification compliance updates
  • Built on SceneGraph, Roku's current app framework
KEY FEATURES

Built for Roku. Designed for your audience.

Your brand on Roku's biggest screen

Full white-label design - your channel name, logo, color palette, and content organization. Viewers see a polished, professional streaming experience that reflects your brand, not a generic template.

24/7 linear and FAST channels

Schedule your content library to play as a continuous linear stream - exactly like a traditional TV channel. OTTEngine's scheduling engine handles the playlist and broadcast automatically, 24 hours a day.

SVOD, AVOD, and TVOD - your way

Run subscription-based, ad-supported, or pay-per-view monetization - or any combination. Pre-roll and mid-roll ad insertion, Roku Pay subscription billing, and transactional purchase flows are all built in.

Live events, streamed to Roku

Broadcast live events, sports, news, or shows directly to your Roku channel from your own encoder - OBS, Wirecast, or hardware - or from the third-party live streaming service you already use. Real-time delivery to your Roku audience, no engineering team required.

Manage every title from one dashboard

Your entire Roku content library - VOD, live streams, and linear schedules - is managed from OTTEngine's unified CMS. Update metadata, change artwork, reorder shelves, and publish instantly across all your apps.

Know exactly what your Roku audience watches

Track channel views, individual episode performance, viewer retention, and subscription metrics. Daily, monthly, and yearly reports - so you can make programming decisions based on real audience data.

MONETIZATION

Three ways to make money on Roku

SVOD

Subscription Video on Demand - charge viewers a recurring monthly or annual fee for access to your channel's full library. Integrate with Roku Pay for native in-channel billing. Best for premium content with a loyal audience.

AVOD

Ad-Supported Video on Demand - your content is free to viewers; you earn from pre-roll and mid-roll advertising. OTTEngine's Roku channels request ads from your VAST tags through the Roku Advertising Framework. Best for audience growth and FAST channels.

TVOD

Transactional Video on Demand - viewers pay per title to rent or buy. Ideal for film releases, live event pay-per-view, or premium specials alongside a free or ad-supported base channel.

WHY ROKU

The undisputed #1 CTV platform

100 million streaming households worldwide.

Roku passed 100 million streaming households in April 2026 (Roku), which makes it one of the highest-reach destinations for any streaming publisher.

37.9 billion hours streamed in a single quarter.

Roku viewers streamed 37.9 billion hours in the second quarter of 2026, up 7% on a year earlier (Roku shareholder letter). That is an engaged audience actively choosing what to watch, in the living room rather than a mobile notification feed.

64% of US Roku households stream FAST.

FAST viewing on The Roku Channel, Roku's own free streaming service, has grown 262 times faster than TV streaming overall since 2020, as measured by Nielsen (Roku). Your own FAST channel launches as a separate app in the Roku Streaming Store; carriage inside The Roku Channel is a separate deal with Roku.

FAQ

Roku Channel Builder - Common Questions

Most OTTEngine clients have their Roku channel built within about a week, including content upload and the channel build. Submission and Roku's certification review come next, and Roku does not publish a fixed review time. Enterprise clients with larger libraries may take up to 14 days. Our 7-day Roku launch guide walks through each step.

Plans start at $79 a month in USD for Studio. Studio covers one platform, such as Roku, with 250 GB of storage and 1,500 watch hours a month. Every plan comes with a 7-day free trial, no setup fees and no long-term contract. Broadcast, Broadcast Network and Enterprise add platforms, storage, watch time and features. See pricing.

Create it as your own branded app: prepare your content and brand, set up a free Roku developer account in your name, and configure the channel in OTTEngine. We build, test and submit it to Roku, and once Roku approves it, viewers can add it from the Roku Streaming Store.

Your apps remain live until the end of your billing period, and you have a 30-day window to export your content, metadata and analytics before the account closes.

Yes - a Roku developer account is required to publish a channel on the Streaming Store. It's free to create. OTTEngine walks you through the setup process as part of your onboarding. We handle all the technical submission work; you just need the account in your name. The channel is published under your own developer account, so the Streaming Store listing is yours. If an upload fails with an email error, see our Roku developer account fix.

Yes. Hybrid monetization models are fully supported - for example, a free ad-supported tier for general content and a premium subscription tier for exclusive or early-access content. OTTEngine's monetization module handles both simultaneously.

VOD (movies, TV shows, short-form, podcasts), live streaming events, and 24/7 linear FAST channels are all supported. Content must comply with Roku's content policies, which apply to every channel in the Streaming Store.

Yes. When Roku updates its SDK, certification requirements, or platform APIs, OTTEngine's engineering team handles the compliance work and pushes the update to your channel. Your channel stays certified and live without any action from your team.

Yes. If you have an existing Roku channel, we can migrate your content, metadata, and subscriber records to OTTEngine. Broadcast Network and Enterprise plans include migration support: start a free trial on Broadcast Network, or contact us about Enterprise. Our guide to transferring a Roku channel to a new provider explains how the move works.

No. Roku retired private (non-certified) channels in February 2022, so every channel viewers can install is a public, certified channel in the Roku Streaming Store. For testing before launch, Roku offers beta apps: up to 20 testers for up to 120 days, not listed in the Store and not allowed for publishing. To test builds on your own TV first, you can sideload a Roku channel in developer mode.

FAST stands for Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV - a linear channel that plays continuously like traditional TV, funded by advertising. OTTEngine's FAST channel builder lets you schedule your content library into a 24/7 linear stream and distribute it on Roku. It's one of the fastest-growing content formats on the platform.

Roku Pay is Roku's native billing system - viewers subscribe and pay directly through their Roku account, with no external checkout or third-party payment page. OTTEngine integrates Roku Pay natively into your subscription channel. Revenue is paid out by Roku monthly, minus their platform fee.

Every plan includes one 24/7 FAST or linear channel, and each additional channel is $79/month on any plan. Each platform beyond the ones your plan includes, such as Roku, is also $79/month.

ALSO AVAILABLE ON

OTTEngine supports every major platform

Amazon Fire TV Fire TV →
Apple TV →
A Android TV →
S Samsung Tizen →
L LG webOS →
i iOS App →
a Android App →

Enterprise includes all nine platforms - one dashboard, every screen.

GET STARTED

Your Roku channel, built in about a week.

OTTEngine handles the build, the submission, and the ongoing maintenance - so you can focus on content. Try it free for 7 days.

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