Channels & viewing

[RokuTakashi]

Thanks for keeping us posted, @ElBarto

Have you tried connecting to an alternative network such as a mobile hotspot or other connection? Also, we recommend restarting your modem since an app that shows behaviors of going back to the home screen implicates a problem rooted in the network and access category.

We hope to hear a response from you.

All the best,
Kash

[ElBarto]

I have isolated this issue and have a workaround. It brings up a question though, is there an endpoint that Roku requires to function for some apps (not all), e.g., I see thousands of attempts to hit "scribe.logs.roku.com" as a for instance?

The need to do so coincides with the 12/14 update I did to the Roku software and is observed on all three of my Roku devices. If not that, it looks like "metrics.nfl.com" may be required by the NFL app, which was also updated at the same time.

For posterity, the NFL app is the only app that is having an issue - all other Roku apps work as expected. There is something unique about the Roku software and the NFL app for Roku that has issues if it cannot hit very specific analytical endpoints. The NFL app works on my iPhone as well FireTV, on the same network.

I am going to test the two suspect endpoints and report back. Since all other Roku apps work, my guess is that the NFL "enhanced" the Roku app to require it to collect analytical data, or, introduced a bug that causes it to crash when it cannot. Thanks for the support @RokuTakashi. More to come.

[ElBarto]

It appears that either Roku or the NFL app switched to an Adobe Audience Manager product that is trying to do a GET to an end point that is blocked as malware and/or tracker. This is likely a bug (it should not crash if it cannot perform an ancillary API operation); the endpoint in question is dpm.demdex.net.

Note, you do NOT have to whitelist the IP; it just needs it to get past the loading stage (enable/disable the blocker). Also, Roku has great AirPlay capabilities, so, for me anyway, I am just using my iPhone to cast to the TCL until either the Roku or NFL app gets updated (still not sure which one insists on sending my activity to Adobe). Enjoy!

[Jody66]

I have a Roku Ultra and also can’t get the NFL app to load. It starts looking like it will then returns me to the home Roku menu . I deleted the NFL channel and downloaded it but this didn’t resolve the issue 

[Jody66]

I have removed the app, rebooted my Ultra Roku and NFL app never loads. Screw the NFL if they can’t provide an app that works I won’t use it. All mg Roku channels work except NFL

[ElBarto]

I did the same. Casting from iPhone is just as good. It is a just bad code. When I let them run their completely unnecessary tracking POST to Adobe, it works. Buggy.

[RokuEuniceL]

Hi Community users,

Thanks for keeping us posted here in the Roku Community!
Have you tried reaching out to NFL customer support to confirm if there's a running issue on their end? Please reach out to them so they will be notified. The channel developers themselves maintain channels on Roku; an issue within that specific channel might need to be addressed with an update from them.
Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to help you.
Best regards,
Eunice

[ElBarto]

Thanks. This is understood, but worth mentioning to be sure. Reaching out to the NFL, to fix their Roku app, is an undertaking of extreme woe. I have tried this in the past to no avail; once is enough.

[RokuJohnB]

Hi @ElBarto,

Thank you for updating us here in the Roku Community!

We'd like to take a closer look into this issue that you're having with the NFL channel. May we know what troubleshooting steps you have taken so far?

We'll wait for your response.

Thanks,

John

[ElBarto]

The issue was that the NFL app (perhaps the Roku) was unsuccessfully trying to callout to Adobe Audience Manager when starting the NFL app. The app was trying to do a POST (the end point is detailed in my previous post). 

I have a proxy in place that stops requests to IP’s flagged as malware/adds. To test, I verified the app worked without the proxy, then, did a packet capture to figure out, when the app actually failed, what it was trying to do. After that, I whitelisted the problematic IP and ran the app again with the proxy in place; it worked.

In the end, I removed the IP from the whitelist (as it only impacted this single app on my entire network) and then removed the app as only the NFL app running on Roku was/is impacted.