Channels & viewing

[bobinnavarre]

We need to block specific channels from YouTube (on our Roku TV). For example we would like to prevent everything coming from CCN. We understand that there is some way to turn on "Parental Controls", but we do not know if CNN can be added to a list of channels to block with "Parental Controls". Thank you for your help.

[Visitor45763 · Accepted solution]

When I visit the Youtube home page from my browser, all the tiles (recommended videos) show an vertical "..." when I hover over them. Clicking that symbol gives me to the choice of "not interested" and "don't recommend channel." The former supposedly will cause fewer videos like that to be shown (perhaps the topic, not the channel itself). The latter should cause the channel to stop being shown to you.

I don't think you can do this from the YouTube app on Roku. But, if you're signing into the same Youtube account when you use that app, then whatever you do from a browser should apply in the app. You just have to take care of business using a browser, and hope they recommend something from that unwanted channel there. You might actually have to watch some things on that channel to have its videos recommended to you (so you can then do the "... don't recommend channel."

I don't think the Roku's parental controls will give that much control into an app's content. YouTube has a YouTube for kids which I believe would give you more control, easily. But, that might not be the right way to do it. (You might not see all the youtube content. Something might not be deemed kid-friendly, and withheld by youtube to that interface.).

[jeff_net]

That's it? No way to block a youtube channel. The recommended list in roku youtube doesn't match that of android or computer browser, so how to unrecommend? This should be fixed on roku version of youtube, but they don't want to easily block THEIR garbage.

[shadoobie]

ROKU please allow us to remove channels from our YouTube recommended just exactly like the webpage does.  Who ever is asking you to force this content on to our recommended set, tell them no, and then give us the power.

[renojim]

@shadoobie, Roku has nothing to do with how Youtube works.  Take it up with the developer (i.e., Google).

[shadoobie]

Thank you, yes, I thought that might be the case.  I'm not sure how to do that exactly, but will look into it.  I'm hoping that ROKU can voice these concerns to Google on their user's behalf.  

[Sams2020]

What I found works is to down vote the video, then report it as spam or misleading (which certainly applies to CNN) once you do that, the channel should not appear...as much. ...or maybe not at all.

[Sams2020]

Ah ha! They did fix this...Just hover over the video then long press the center button, between the arrows, and you'll get a menu to not see the channel in the future.