Roku Developer Program

[kb1972]

Am I allowed to release a free channel without ads, then later add banner ads to it?

I'm thinking of this as my dev plan:
1. release free channel with no ads
2. release paid channel with more features (also no ads)
3. update free channel: add ads plus 'upgrade to paid channel' button
4. profit!

[thetick]

You forgot:

5: Angry customers .. very very small number of paying users that one can count on one's hand.

[kc8pql]

bait and switch...

[BradC]

It sounds like you might be trying to deceive people as to what they are getting... that is never going to go well for you.

Make sure to let people know up front what they are getting, and you should be fine. If you have the ability, you might consider adding a "free preview week" option to your paid channel that allows subscribed users to view ad-free for a set period, and at the end of that period they can upgrade to paid or continue with ads, plenty of other video services do this. Most of us are subscribed to netflix because we tried the free month and decided it was worth the cost.

[kb1972]

Yeah, I was worried that it might seem like a bait and switch. I'll look at ways for early adopters to remain ad-free.

Thanks for the feedback!

[RokuJoel]

A more user friendly way to move forward would be to add a notice to your channel that you will be adding advertising soon, and that you will have a subscription version of your channel available for those who like the channel but don't want to see advertisements.

- Joel