To be clear, this is not a developer decision. I’m sure this was a conscious and necessary business decision for Roku. Like all streaming services, they are struggling for revenue sources, and it does take some money to keep the platform up-to-date. While I understand it, I do not approve of the tactics. There are better ways for them to monetize that could be more inclusive of their user base’s desires. I’m sure that these newest items that have just popped up have already been paid for by advertisers and therefore they are not going anywhere anytime soon I would guess. In addition, from other things, I have read in business articles, I’m not sure that this has been rolled out to everyone or even will be. I’m also not sure if these additions are supported by their older hardware because they have not appeared on any of my older hardware yet. The Google and Amazon platforms would face similar revenue challenges but at least their businesses are much more diversified, and not solely dependent on their streaming device business as is Roku. I would’ve hoped that selling things like our viewing habits to advertisers would have provided sufficient revenue to keep Roku healthy, but the demands of Wall Street are always relentless.
