Roku Developer Program

[eyebeams]

I am filming and making a UK Teacher to Teacher CPD (specialist education) channel which I wish to develop for the UK (http://tv.L4L.co.uk) and globally but if I can't even get the MIT Channel here in the UK on the ROKU 3 then what chance have I of publicising my own in the UK never mind the US?

I will go ahead and start development but as I have just added the ROKU 3 box today it will be interesting to see when the UK can add channels from the web either officially or unofficially - I have just discovered there is no "search" function after buying a box :(. I am only interested in specialist education channels and I don't see any at all in the UK at present apart from paid language ones.

Anyone help me out with what is probably a very basic question here.

How do I add the MIT Channel to the UK ROKU? What is ROKU's roadmap to open up progarmming in this area in different geographical regions?

Leon Cych

[kc8pql]

"eyebeams" wrote:

How do I add the MIT Channel to the UK ROKU? What is ROKU's roadmap to open up progarmming in this area in different geographical regions?

Individual channel owners are free to choose where their channels will be available. It would be up to the MIT channel owner to make
the channel available in the UK, not Roku.

The steps to developing a channel are the same no matter where you are : http://forums.roku.com/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=36014#p232851

[eyebeams]

Thank you - so the channel owners are restricting the geographic area? Interesting.

[TheEndless]

"eyebeams" wrote:
Thank you - so the channel owners are restricting the geographic area? Interesting.

Not necessarily intentionally. By default, only the region the developer's account is registered to is selected when publishing a channel. The developer has to explicitly select the other regions to make the channel available there.
It's also possible that the content isn't licensed for other regions, in which case, the developer/channel owner would only be able to make it available in the regions it's licensed for.

Either way, as kc8pql said, it's the developers/channel owners who decide what regions to make a channel available in, not Roku. So, as long as you have the rights to distribute the content you're making available in your channel, you can make it available anywhere you want.

[eyebeams]

Yes I noticed in the SDK and other documentation. I'm a little surprised because MIT and others are pushing MOOCs in education which are worldwide although there is a signup process. Maybe this is not the ideal medium for that.

The rights issues are interesting as everyone I film - including in schools - has to agree to a waiver and disclaimer or have a policy around that. All films are CC and most sponsorship is put into community education film projects. Nice to know there is a global market out there and we have the rights 🙂

[RokuJoel]

I've sent an email to the developer of the MIT Open Courseware channel in case they are interested in expanding the regions outside the USA.

- Joel

[RokuJoel]

FYI, the MIT Open Courseware (unofficial) channel should now be appearing in all regional channel stores (except Sky UK boxes).

- Joel

[RonHensley]

essay have:

There's plenty of trash TV on MANY cable channels including channels that use to focus of more intellectual subjects like the History, Science, NatGeo channels. There are all of these stupid shows based on conspiracy theories.

[LeonCarter]

The lack of education channels in the UK is a concerning issue that hampers accessible learning opportunities. Expanding educational programming on television can provide valuable resources and foster lifelong learning for individuals of all ages. Collaborations between educational institutions, broadcasters, and government bodies can help address this gap by investing in and promoting the development of educational channels that cater to diverse subjects and age groups. A more extensive range of educational channels would empower individuals across the UK to pursue knowledge and enhance their educational journeys.