For a couple of companies that fiercely compete for U.S. streaming device market share, Amazon and Roku seem to get along remarkably well.
Latest case in point: Amazon’s IMDb TV, a free ad-supported streaming service, will be available on Roku devices. The launch will provide a significant boost in potential audience reach for the service. It was already available to 50 million Amazon Fire TV users and now it will be available to another 51.2 million Roku users.
“We are thrilled to provide customers a seamless and easy way to view our broadly appealing content with the distribution of our IMDb TV app onto millions of Roku devices,” said Mark Eamer, vice president of IMDb TV, OTT and brand advertising at Amazon, in a statement. “We look forward to delivering our catalog of hit movies, acclaimed series, nostalgic TV and inventive IMDb TV originals to Roku’s engaged customers.”
RELATED: Roku Channel launches on Amazon Fire TV
The news comes roughly three months after the Roku Channel, another free ad-supported streaming service, announced plans to launch on Amazon Fire TV streaming devices, Fire TV Edition smart TVs and Fire TV Edition soundbars in the U.S.
“When we launched The Roku Channel in 2017, our goal was to deliver great, free entertainment to the masses. Since then, we’ve continued to drive choice, value and simplicity to the millions of households tuning into The Roku Channel every day,” wrote Rob Holmes, vice president of programming at Roku, in a blog post. “Today, we’re building on our commitment to make The Roku Channel even more accessible by expanding onto streaming devices such as Amazon Fire TV. We know how much customers crave free entertainment and we’re thrilled to bring The Roku Channel to even more households.”