Baller Alert Entertainment & Lifestyle
With just two days left until the big game, Roku has removed all of Fox’s channels from the Roku Channel store, according to Variety.
Fox has deemed the removal of its channels from Roku a “poorly timed negotiations play.”
In the wake of the removal, Roku addressed concerns and whether or not Fox Sports would be removed as well. “Our distribution contract with FOX Corp is set to expire on Jan. 31, so FOX channels were removed from the Roku Channel Store. You can view FOX programming, including the big game through Fubo, Sling, Hulu Live, YouTube TV, and other ways. Many of these services offer a free trial.”
A representative for Roku also revealed that Roku TV customers can watch Fox’s broadcast channels, by way of antenna, Variety reports.
Roku also revealed that they’ve been in continuous talks with Fox Corporations and that “the company offered Fox an extension to their previous agreement while they worked out a new deal but that Fox turned it down.”
However, in a statement to Variety by Fox Corp., the company claims that the removal of Fox from Roku is “a naked effort to use its customers as pawns.”
“To be clear, Fox has not asked Roku to remove our apps, and we would prefer Roku continue to make them available without interruption,” the statement read. “Roku’s tactics are a poorly timed negotiating ploy, fabricating a crisis with no thought for the alarm it generated among its own customers.”
While Fox has been removed from Roku’s channel store, users that previously had the channel downloaded already will be able to keep the channel on their device for the time being.
“Only Roku can pull apps from its customers’ devices, and we would urge them to stop the intimidation tactics and reconsider the merits of irritating their best customers in pursuit of Roku’s own interests,” Fox Corp. continued in its statement.
The following apps have been removed from the Roku store, including Fox Now, Fox Sports, Fox News Channel, Fox Nation, Fox Business, Fox Soccer, and Big Ten Network.
But since the removal, Roku’s stock has dropped more than 5% in morning trading.
However, Fox wants people to know that the Super Bowl LIV will be “ubiquitously available” through “the biggest steaming platforms and our website.”
According to Variety, Fox and Amazon have a partnership in which the Fire TV platform is being promoted as its “preferred 4k streaming experience” for the Super Bowl, which is the most-watched televised event each year.
The Super Bowl is set to take place Sunday at 6:30 p.m. est, with the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs set to fight for the title.
