@snoopyfix2000 wrote:... Vidangel has persistently contacted Roku to be a certified/supported channel and Roku has declined to do so. ...
So I've read from VidAngel. But I've also seen other stuff VidAngel has said that wasn't true, so I'm not considering them a reliable source. If you choose to believe a company that violated copyright law and lost a multi-million dollar judgement over their actions, go ahead.
Even so, I think that this situation is similar to that with PlayOn some years back. You probably don't know about that, so let me fill you in. And everything I'm about to say is verifiable.
PlayOn had non-certified apps on Roku that allowed users to violate content owner rights, similar to VidAngel. The difference was that PlayOn was upfront about it. (Whether or not VidAngel realized they were breaking the law, I don't know. PlayOn didn't care.) PlayOn didn't actually do the copyright violatioin, but they made it really easy for users to, with instructions and everything. And Roku deleted their apps. Roku was quite upfront about it, too. Roku even locked, and in some cases deleted, posts on this board (the predecessor to it, actually) and banned some users who promoted PlayOn. This went on for a while.
Then, over time, PlayOn changed their tactics. They stopped being promotors of piracy. They still accomplish some of the same things as before, but they're doing it legally, and not actively promoting piracy. Eventually, they submitted apps for certification and they were accepted. They actually have two apps in the Channel Store.
Roku has a history of admitting when they target apps. The removal of VidAngel was not a targeting of VidAngel, despite claims otherwise.
Has VidAngel submitted to Roku for certification? I don't know. Maybe they have. Has Roku rejected their apps? If submitted, I expect so. VidAngel operated in a way that would have been a huge financial liability. And that liability is only in regards to two studios: Disney and Warner Bros. What VidAngel is currently doing excludes Disney and Warner Bros content.
So, their current model excludes Disney and Warner? Does that mean that they'll be financially liable if other studios decide to take legal action? I don't know. And I suspect -- I don't know this, just speculating -- that Roku will wait until their legal department looks long and hard at doing business with them.
Now, in case you're wondering why a financial risk would befall Roku, it's because Roku requires all apps to hook in with Roku Pay. That doesn't mean users of an app must use Roku Pay, but Roku Pay must be an option. So any potential VidAngel app would have to allow Roku Pay, of which Roku would get a cut.
Again, Roku Pay isn't required to be used, but it must be an option. Personally, I don't use Roku Pay. However, many do. And, if there was a VidAngel app, Roku could make money from it by its share of subscriptions. And I think -- again, my thoughts, not facts I have confirmed -- that Roku would be worried about any financial liability should another studio sue and receive damages.
Apps in the Non-certified library were, by default, not certified and Roku didn't receive a cut. A certified app would have the option for Roku to get a cut (via Roku Pay) and perhaps open Roku up to liability if the whole legal things surfaced again. And that's why I think Roku won't certify a VidAngel app until their legal department assures the head honchos that Roku would not be liable financially.
In the meantime, VidAngel is available on other platforms. I don't know if their apps on Fire TV, Apple TV, or Android/Google TV allow purchases through the app. You would know better than I would. If they do, that indicates that those platforms are comfortable that any future legal action would not hold them liable. That would indicate that Roku's legal team might eventually come to the same conclusion, and we'd see VidAngel on Roku in the future.
DBDukes
Roku Community Streaming Expert
Note: I am not a Roku employee.
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