Roku Developer Program

[mkenyon2]

I used to have Hulu plus and Netflix, but I dropped Hulu and only use Netflix. Why? Because I was frustrated that I was paying for Hulu and still couldn't watch certain shows on Roku. So, I kept Roku and dropped Hulu.

Has this changed any in the past 6 months?

Now, question, I've played a bit with Matcha. It puts shows up and shows if they are available on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon. It's pretty slick. Would something like that be possible on Roku?

[gonzotek]

"mkenyon2" wrote:
I used to have Hulu plus and Netflix, but I dropped Hulu and only use Netflix. Why? Because I was frustrated that I was paying for Hulu and still couldn't watch certain shows on Roku. So, I kept Roku and dropped Hulu.

Has this changed any in the past 6 months?

Now, question, I've played a bit with Matcha. It puts shows up and shows if they are available on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon. It's pretty slick. Would something like that be possible on Roku?

Nothing has changed with regard to Hulu/Hulu+. This is a contractual issue between Hulu and it's content providers:

http://www.hulu.com/plus

Why are some of the shows I watch on Hulu not available on devices?
We understand that the content difference can be confusing, and at times frustrating for our users, so we hope this explanation is helpful.

For background, when we launched the free Hulu.com service, we obtained licensing to stream content direct to the PC – and only to the PC. With the launch of the subscription-based Hulu Plus service, we had to start from scratch and acquire licensing to stream content on TVs, smartphones, and tablets as well as PCs. We tried to get as much overlap as possible. (We want it all, of course!) But there are still some exceptions that we are working to resolve.

Today, Hulu Plus includes hundreds of shows, some of which haven't been available online before, and full runs of many of them. (To see a full list please go to Hulu Plus Content page)

Still, we understand it's disappointing when you can't access some of your favorite shows on your favorite devices. Please know that we are working diligently to include as much content as possible in Hulu Plus so you can enjoy more of your favorite shows where and when you want, and we're confident the offering will improve over time.

For Matcha: That's an interesting (and useful) service. Unfortunately, nothing like that currently exists on Roku. Additionally, while it is possible for someone (matcha or others) to create a channel that aggregates the content options of the different providers, none of them are programmed to let a user start watching a specific program from outside of the channel. In other words, you couldn't start the (hypothetical) matcha.tv channel, choose a specific piece of content in netflix(or hulu, etc.), then start watching it directly. You'd have to exit the matcha channel, then switch to netflix(or hulu, etc.), then find the piece of content again to begin playing.

Roku has provided application hooks that would allow channel developers to add this functionality(and some smaller ones like the Shoutcast channel even support it). But none of the major providers have included support for it, they may not see the value in it for them 😞