Free, ad-supported creator content is coming to The Roku Channel

Roku has struck a deal with creative company Jellysmack to launch new content featuring 17 popular YouTube and TikTok creators like Brad Mondo, Lauren Riihimaki (LaurDIY), Emmy Cho (Emmymade), Karina Garcia and more. The company announced yesterday that it is launching two free-to-air, ad-supported (FAST) TV channels, “Hello Inspo” and “Mysteria,” on the Roku Channel’s Live TV Guide.

“Hello Inspo” will give viewers access to all their favorite lifestyle, beauty and fashion content creators, from room makeovers and recipes to DIYs, style hacks and makeup tutorials. In addition to the names mentioned above, other influencers featured on this channel include Liz Fenwick, HeXtian, Hellthy JunkFood, Smitha Deepak, and Josh Elkin.

“Mysteria” is a new true crime channel that will include content from Danelle Hallan, Stephanie Soo, Christina Randall, True Crime Recaps, Killer Bites, Dr. Todd Grande, John Lordan (LordanArts) and Brooke Makenna. Viewers can watch these creators talk about the most haunting crimes as well as chilling unsolved mysteries.

Roku’s partnership with Jellysmack is notable for bringing creator programming – a hugely popular form of content – ​​to ad-supported video on demand (AVOD), which also continues to grow in popularity. In the fourth quarter, the Roku Channel reached US homes with around 100 million viewers, the company reported.

“We are thrilled to partner with Jellysmack as the company’s first-ever FAST partner. We are excited to provide our audience with content featuring some of today’s most popular digital creators,” Ashley Hovey, Head of The Roku Channel, AVOD, said in a statement. “Adding these new channels to our Live TV Guide is the latest example of how we aim to provide our users with free access to popular entertainment options.”

Although Jellysmack has launched other series of video content, this will be the first time that it has released long-form television content on a FAST service. In July 2022, the company partnered with Pinterest to launch five short video series on the platform. These weekly episodes on Pinterest feature some of the same creators in Roku’s new FAST Channels, such as Cho, Garcia, Riihimaki, and Fenwick.

“Our partnership with Roku is about finding great opportunities for creators and their content,” added Stefanie Schwartz, Head of Platform Partnerships at Jellysmack. “Roku Channel’s linear offering is the #1 FAST service on Roku, America’s #1 TV streaming platform, giving our creators the ability to reach large and growing audiences. We’re excited to bring the best creators to Roku – at scale. »

Jellysmack’s Creator Program was launched in 2019 and uses AI technology to help boost creators and distribute their content on various platforms such as YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, etc. According to the company, the program has helped hundreds of top creators, including MrBeast, Bailey Sarian, The Try Guys, and PewDiePie.

The new FAST Channels join the Roku Channel’s extensive lineup of content, including over 80,000 free movies and shows and over 300 free live TV channels. Recently, Roku signed a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to add hundreds of free titles from HBO, HBO Max, Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, and TLC, among others.