Roku says ‘Howdy’ to ad-free subscription streamer

Roku has launched Howdy, a new subscription video-on-demand service that’s advertising-free.

The service costs $2.99 a month and offers subscribers unlimited access to a growing library of content, featuring thousands of titles and nearly 10,000 hours of entertainment from its inaugural partners, Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery and FilmRise, alongside select Roku Original titles.

Titles include “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Blind Side,” “Weeds” and “Kids in the Hall,” as well as rom-coms, medical dramas, 1990s comedy, classics and more.

“Priced at less than a cup of coffee, Howdy is ad-free and designed to complement, not compete with, premium services,” said Roku founder and CEO Anthony Wood in a statement. “We’re meeting a real need for consumers who want to unwind with their favorite movies and shows uninterrupted and on their terms. Howdy is a natural step for us at Roku, extending our mission to make better TV for everyone, by making it affordable, accessible, and built for how people watch today.”

Howdy notes that its $2.99 price tag is not an introductory or trial price, instead calling it its “everyday low price.”

“We’re excited to continue our longstanding collaboration with Roku on innovative ways to connect with audiences,” said Jim Packer, president of worldwide television distribution, Lionsgate. “With engagement of over 125 million people a day, Roku is the perfect partner to launch a more accessible complement to the higher-priced SVODs. This service has the ability to scale quickly while providing us with a new way to monetize our content, and we’re proud to be part of this new streaming experience.”

“With the launch of Howdy, Roku is making beloved content from our catalog accessible to an even bigger audience,” said Johnny Holden, chief revenue and strategy officer at Radial Entertainment, the parent company of FilmRise.

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From Aug. 5, 2025, through the end of the month, visitors to Times Square will see a branded takeover of the space’s digital billboards promoting the new service and its content.

The launch of Howdy marks a continuation of Roku’s strategy to grow platform monetization and expand both third- and first-party subscriptions using the power of its platform, which reaches U.S. households with more than 125 million people each day, according to the company.

In addition to Howdy, Roku’s streaming services include the Roku Channel, a free ad-supported television service in the U.S., and Frndly TV. Howdy will be available initially on the Roku platform with rollout on mobile and additional platforms in the near future.

The Howdy logo used a bold red-orange wordmark with distinct “notches” in the “h,” “d” and “y,” which appear to be meant to represent the brim of a hat — as in a cowboy saying “howdy” with a tip of their hat.

Stylized in all lowercase, the logo sits on a yellow background and can be shown with a “by Roku” tag.