Creating a Roku channel is a big step for many creators – it gets their content in front of millions of viewers, helps them build a stable revenue stream through subscriptions, and provides a great user experience.
But how, exactly, does one go about creating a Roku channel? We’ll walk through three different methods, each of which has specific benefits and drawbacks.
Before we jump into the details, though, let’s answer a question that might be on your mind:
Why create a Roku channel?
Roku is one of the biggest names in smart TV streaming, boasting over 85 million active users that average over four hours of streaming time per day. Roku apps are included with many smart TVs, and their streaming devices are consistently reviewed as some of the best available.
For these reasons and more, we recommend that Roku be the first smart TV app you launch.
It’s also Uscreen’s most commonly used TV app, representing 80% of all the watch time from TV apps that we’ve created. (Note that we’re using “Roku app” and “Roku channel” interchangeably – they refer to the same thing.)
But what does a Roku channel do for you, specifically, as a streaming content creator?
Increased revenue stability
Getting access to Roku’s user base means you have a huge audience available – and that audience is financially valuable. Between video-on-demand, subscriptions, and ad revenue, you can build a very stable stream of revenue that puts platforms like YouTube to shame.
According to Uscreen data, creators that offer content through apps (including the Roku app, using their own channel) sell 60% more annual subscriptions than those who only make content available online. Those annual subscriptions are the basis of a very stable revenue stream.
Predictable pricing
After tax, you pay Roku 20% to 30% of what you earn from your channel. 20% from transactions like subscriptions or rentals, and 30% of advertising revenue.
It’s that simple. No monthly fees, no tiered pricing structure, no extra costs for bandwidth. If you have an idea of what your audience will buy in a given month, you’ll know about how much you’ll be paying to Roku.
Monetization options
Want to offer annual subscriptions that unlock access to all of your content? How about give them limited-time access via rentals right from their remote? Run special events? Offer an ad-supported version of your channel?
Roku supports all of those – all you have to do is set it up.
Great user experience
Roku apps make your business look professional. An easy-to-navigate catalog, support for the Roku remote, and polished looks are all built into your Roku channel from day one. Providing this user experience is a crucial part of providing value to your audience – if they see that they’re getting a high-quality experience, they’ll be more likely to click “Buy.”

Flexibility for all kinds of content
All of the reasons above make Roku apps great for a wide variety of content. It’s great for fitness apps, for example, because users can watch on a big screen and get a workout right from their living room. But it also works great for entertainment or educational content – Filmmakers Academy, for example, reaches their audience of aspiring filmmakers through a Roku channel.
Case Study: How Filmmakers Academy migrated and scaled their membership by 180% with Uscreen

No matter what kind of content you want to share, a Roku channel will help you get it to the people who want it.
3 ways to create a Roku channel
We’re going to cover the details of three different ways to create a Roku channel: using a no-code platform, using Roku’s direct publishing tools, and hiring a Roku developer.
Here’s a quick summary of each method:
Method | Best for | Estimated cost | Timeline to launch |
---|---|---|---|
No-code platform | Launching a Roku channel quickly with no technical effort. | Moderate | 30–45 days |
Roku direct publishing | Maximum control over your app if you have technical expertise. | Lowest | A few days to several months |
Hiring a Roku developer | Outsourcing fully custom Roku development. | Highest | Several months |
Keep reading to get the details on each approach.
1. Creating a no-code Roku channel with a dedicated platform
Best for: Launch a Roku channel quickly with minimal technical effort.
Timeline to launch: 30–45 days
Approximate cost: Less than $500 per month (dependent on platform; see below)
If you want to quickly fire up a Roku channel (or build any smart TV app) while minimizing technical requirements and expense, a no-code option can’t be topped. You’ll partner with a video streaming platform and let them handle the practical requirements, then upload your content, make a few design decisions, and presto: you have a Roku channel!
Let’s take a look at this process in a bit more detail.
The channel creation process
Here’s what it looks like to launch an app with Uscreen:

- Submit your app assets to Uscreen using our convenient App Builder form (these are things like your app name and icon, accent colors, launch screen images, header images, and app store descriptions).
- The Uscreen team will review your app in three to five days and let you know if anything’s missing.
- Over the course of the next week or two, our team builds your app.
- Once your app is ready, you’ll have a chance to review it and request any changes.
- Within the next five days, we’ll submit your app to the relevant app stores (including Roku).
- If any app submission support is needed, the team will help you out, including tips on promoting your app from your onboarding specialist and success manager.
- Smart TV apps are updated every two to three months or upon request – we take care of ongoing maintenance and updates for you.
If you’d like to read about this process in more detail, you can check out our guide to launching Uscreen apps for more information. It’s worth noting here that creating a Roku developer account is free, which isn’t true of every platform.
While the process may be different for other no-code platforms, the overall workflow is likely to be quite similar.
Monetization
Roku’s monetization options are straightforward:
- Advertising (you keep 70% of advertising revenue generated in your app, assuming you meet the content appropriateness requirements – this is technically an inventory split, not a revenue split, and if you’d like details, you can find them in Roku’s video advertising documentation)
- Subscriptions (including tiered subscriptions – you pay 20% of this revenue to Roku)
- One-time purchases (app installation, rentals, special events, pay-per-view, etc., of which you’ll also share 20% with Roku)
No matter how you create your Roku channel, you can use these options.
However, using a third-party platform like Uscreen opens up other monetization possibilities. For example, you can offer access to a community space where users can connect with other fans of your content, ask questions directly to you as the creator, and otherwise engage in your community.

You can also partner with the platform to release other mobile and TV apps, further increasing your monetization potential. Uscreen creators who use apps see double the watch time on their apps as they do on their membership websites, and more watch time helps boost retention . . . and earnings.
Pros
- No technical knowledge required: Don’t know the difference between an API and an algorithm? No problem – the no-code platform will take care of all the technical parts for you.
- Fastest deployment: Uscreen apps, including Roku channels, are deployed in 30 to 45 days. Unless you can whip up an app yourself in less time than that, there’s no faster way.
- Expanded monetization options: Roku’s built-in earning options are great, but adding additional options can only help you (see, for example, how The Bloom Method used Uscreen’s membership and streaming options to get over $1 million in annual revenue).
- Maximizes reach: With over 85 million active users, a Roku channel has huge reach, but using a no-code platform to build other smart TV apps, mobile apps, or a browser-based website can grow your audience.
- Community features for retention: Uscreen creators with an active community see half the churn that other creators do – being able to take advantage of this alongside your Roku channel can create significantly more stable revenue.
Cons
- Fewer customization options: If you code up a Roku app yourself, you’ll be able to use absolutely every customization option available. Using a no-code platform may limit your ability to tweak the smallest details in your app.
- Fewer features: Direct access to the Roku SDK means you can use features that a no-code platform may not make available to you. If you know you want a voice-enabled app, for example, you should make sure the platform you partner with makes that feature available.
- Less brand differentiation: Building an app through a no-code platform means you may have fewer opportunities to visually differentiate your app from other channels (though most Roku apps look relatively similar anyway).
- Lack of performance optimization: With full control over the development process, you can optimize the performance of your app to make sure it’s as fast and smooth as possible. You’ll give up control of this with a no-code platform, so it’s important to make sure this is something that the developers prioritize.
- Dependency on third party: Partnering with someone else on creating a Roku channel means they’ll take care of making updates, performing maintenance, and fixing bugs . . . but that can take longer than if you’re able to do it yourself.
Case Study: Bloom Method, with mention of using TV apps to get to $1M revenue

Cost
With Uscreen, a Roku channel is available as an add-on to the App Essentials plan ($499 monthly, or $449 if you pay annually). The plan comes with everything you need to launch your streaming business: two mobile apps for iOS and Android, plus core features like video hosting, monetization tools, marketing features, and analytics.

The exact cost for a TV app depends on your specific needs, so our team can provide tailored details to help you make the best decision for your business.
How Filmmakers Academy grew its member base by 180%
Filmmakers Academy is an online platform that helps aspiring filmmakers learn from the pros, including courses led by award-winning filmmakers, podcasts with industry veterans, online masterclasses, and special live events.
Before migrating to Uscreen, Filmmakers Academy used a custom backend setup that made it difficult to integrate third-party services, build community among members, and create a solid marketing funnel. After migrating to Uscreen, though, the company has seen tremendous growth, including 180% more members, as well as an 8% increase in members month over month.

One of the important contributors to this growth was Filmmakers Academy’s ability to release mobile and smart TV apps with Uscreen. Members can currently access videos on iOS, Android, Roku, and FireTV (you can see their Roku app here).
“Our members love having us in their pocket to reference on set,” says Lydia Hurlbut, cofounder of Filmmakers Academy.” The ability to ask questions and get help in real-time is invaluable.”
2. Creating a Roku channel with Roku direct publishing
Best for: If you have technical expertise and want to build it yourself and want maximum control over your Roku app. Limited for non-technical users.
Timeline to launch: A few days to several months, depending on technical expertise.
Cost: Low.
Creating your own app with Roku direct publishing can be a great option for creators who have technical expertise. If you understand SceneGraph and BrightScript, the languages used to develop and deploy Roku apps, and have experience using a software development kit (SDK), taking the project on yourself can give you a great deal of control over your app and content.
The channel creation process
To get a detailed explanation of how to build a Roku app, your best bet is to consult the Roku developer documentation. It includes information on how to host content, how to use SceneGraph and BrightScript to build your app, how to get hosted content into the app, and how to deploy it to the Roku Channel Store.
There are three main requirements to building a Roku app:
- Original or licensed video content
- A place to host your content online (which you’ll need to find and pay for)
- A feed, which gets your content onto the Roku platform

You can also check out Roku’s online video course that walks you through the entire process. Here’s one of introductory videos to get you started:
Once you’ve hosted your content and built your app from scratch, you can explore Roku’s content engagement features to get your channel in front of more people.
This is a very simple overview of how you’ll go about using the Roku SDK to build an app yourself. We’ve skipped over the technical details here, but if you want to know more, the developer docs will have all the answers you need.
Monetization
As mentioned previously, there are three ways you can monetize your subscription channel:
- Advertising (you keep 70% of advertising revenue generated in your app, assuming you meet the content appropriateness requirements)
- Subscriptions (including tiered subscriptions – you pay 20% of this revenue to Roku)
- One-time purchases (app installation, rentals, special events, pay-per-view, etc.)
You can also use several customer acquisition and retention tools, including free trials, easy upgrades and downgrades, and automatically linking new devices. Because the monetization options are straightforward, you probably won’t see any advantages here with coding your own app.
Pros
- Maximum control: When you build your app from scratch, you’ll get to customize absolutely everything, and you’ll have access to every option and feature that Roku offers.
- No third-party involvement: You don’t have to worry about communication, project management, or waiting on other developers to run updates.
- Low- to no-cost: If you have the technical expertise, there’s no cost to building your own Roku channel. You’ll pay fees for content hosting and advertising splits, but the development and deployment costs could be zero.
- All features available: If it’s possible on Roku, you can do it. You have access to the base-level code and can use the full power of the SDK to use every feature that Roku offers.
- Performance optimized: Building an app from the ground up means you can optimize your channel for performance. Even with lots of content, you can make your app as fast and responsive as possible.
Cons
- Requires technical expertise: If you’re going to build an app from scratch, you’ll need to be comfortable with SceneGraph and BrightScript (or learning them) and using an SDK.
- More responsibility: No one is running updates for you – you’re the maintenance team.
- Fewer monetization options: You can use Roku’s built-in monetization options, but you’ll miss out on some of the flexibility offered by a third-party platform.
- No community: Without the added offerings of a platform like Uscreen, you won’t get the retention-boosting effects of a strong community.
- More complex analytics: Roku offers basic analytics on channels, but if you want anything more complicated, you’ll need to use the Analytics Component Library, which integrates with third-party analytics platforms.
Cost
Using the SDK itself is totally free, making this the cheapest option for creating a Roku channel.
That doesn’t mean this method is totally free, though. You’ll need to pay for content hosting, for example. That’s generally pretty cheap (Amazon Web Services, for example, has a free tier that lets you transfer a terabyte of data for free every month), but if your app becomes extremely popular, it could add up.
You’ll also still need to pay the revenue share with Roku, which is essentially a 70/30 split on advertising and an 80/20 split on transactions.
3. Creating a Roku channel by hiring a Roku developer
Best for: Outsourcing fully custom Roku development.
Timeline to launch: Several months.
Cost: $500 to over $75,000, plus ongoing fees.
If you have a very complicated project that needs custom features or extensive technical knowledge, hiring a developer can make the process significantly easier. That being said, it will also cost you a lot more. You’ll have to balance the cost with the extensive support you can get from a professional Roku developer (either an independent one or an agency).

The channel creation process
Hiring a Roku developer to create a custom channel for you starts with knowing exactly what you want. What features are you looking for? How much content do you have or plan on having? What special requirements do you need to make sure are met?
After that, it’s time to find a developer. There are two main ways you can approach this:
1. Find an independent developer
Using a site like Upwork or a quick search engine query, you can start assessing freelance Roku developers. Take a look at their portfolios, get in touch and ask about your requirements, and get pricing information.

Smaller developers will be less expensive than hiring an agency, but they may also have fewer resources to dedicate to your project, so you’ll need to ask about their development timelines and how they approach ongoing maintenance.
2. Contract a development agency
A quick search will show you that there are lots of development agencies that will build a Roku app for you. They have multiple developers and may have project managers, marketing specialists, and other professionals who will be very helpful in making your Roku channel launch a success.
But there’s a tradeoff: hiring these agencies can be very expensive (see below for a few pricing examples). If you have the resources to make this happen, it’s a great way to go . . . but if you’re strapped for cash you’ll find it difficult to afford development and ongoing maintenance from an agency.
No matter which option you choose, be sure to look at their previous work, ask questions about their process, and get a feel for the quality of their work and working relationships.
Once you’ve found a developer, they’ll walk you through the process of getting your channel launched. They’ll ask about designs, features, content, and everything else you’ll need to think about for your Roku channel. Over the next weeks or months, they’ll build, test, and review your app – likely with your input in the review phase – and get it launched to the Roku Channel Store.
If you pay your freelancer or agency for continued maintenance, they’ll take care of that, too. This can also get expensive over months and years, so be sure to ask about the rates you can expect to pay for this ongoing service.
Monetization
Just like coding an app yourself, you have three built-in options for monetizing your Roku channel:
- Advertising (you keep 70% of the advertising revenue generated in your app, assuming you meet the content appropriateness requirements)
- Subscriptions (including tiered subscriptions – you pay 20% of this revenue to Roku)
- One-time purchases (app installation, rentals, special events, pay-per-view, etc.)
Pros
- No technical knowledge required: This is a great way to get access to the most up-to-date and advanced features without needing to learn how to use the Roku SDK.
- Custom, professional design: Having a professional designer on your side will ensure that you get the most professional-looking channel possible, which is good for branding and user experience.
- Full power of Roku developer tools: Experienced Roku developers will be able to take advantage of everything that the Roku SDK offers, including lesser-known features and advanced options.
- Maintenance and updates included: If you pay for ongoing maintenance, you don’t have to worry about updates, bug fixes, or standard maintenance: your agency will take care of it for you.
- Expert guidance: Working with an experienced developer means you can take advantage of years of experience in building smart TV apps, and you’ll get answers to any of your questions related to creating and releasing a Roku channel.
Cons
- Very expensive: Having an agency develop a complex app for you can cost tens of thousands of dollars, making this an option most accessible to corporations or individuals with a lot of resources.
- Budget may be unpredictable: While some developers have a set price for their services, many charge hourly, meaning that unexpected complications can add to costs.
- Longer development time: Working with a developer means you’re on their schedule, which can sometimes conflict with other clients or priorities. It’s best to get a commitment early on.
- Continued cost of upkeep: After launching your app, you’ll probably continue to pay the developer for maintenance, bug fixes, and updates.
- Added project management overhead: Depending on the size and structure of the developer or agency you work with, you may be communicating with an account manager or project manager instead of directly with developers, adding a level of complexity.
Cost
There’s a huge range of prices that you might find when you’re looking for a developer to build a Roku channel for you.
Mac Millan Interactive Communications, for example, charges $399 for a basic app plus a monthly hosting fee of $24.95 or $49.95, depending on if you’re running a free or subscription channel.
If you want to hire a freelance Roku developer on Upwork, you might find that you only need to pay $25 per hour, or you could be looking at over $200 per hour. The complexity of your project will likely determine how many hours of development you’re looking at.
On the other hand, a large, award-winning agency like Lampa Software can give you extensive support in launching a Roku channel for a price. Roman Tymoshchuk, co-founder of Lampa, says that a basic Roku app typically costs between $25,000 and $35,000.
“For more advanced apps, featuring complex animations, remote control functionality, and other enhanced features,” continues Tymoshchuk, “the price usually falls between $45,000 and $65,000, as such projects require more resources and development time.”

What do you get for this price with a large, experienced agency?
“The price includes a full-cycle development (Design, Development, Testing and Project Management by our dedicated team) where we handle every aspect of the process, from registering a Roku developer account to publishing the app on the store and providing ongoing support after launch.”
With a large, complicated project for a company with extensive resources, this could be a great way to go – but it’s likely out of reach for smaller creators.
What’s the best way to create a Roku channel?
The best way to build a Roku channel depends on a few factors. Here are some things to think about:
If you want affordable and fast, work with a dedicated no-code platform like Uscreen. You can get a Roku channel built and deployed in less than two months, and they’ll handle the ongoing maintenance. You’ll also get access to additional monetization options that can help build a stable revenue source – with Uscreen, for example, you can easily build and manage LG TV, Samsung TV, Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV, and other kinds of apps.
(It’s also worth mentioning that Uscreen is highly experienced in migrating apps and websites from other platforms, so if you’ve already started building a membership site or a social media following, we can help with the migration!)
If you have a lot of technical expertise, and you like using it, building your own Roku app gives you total control over the end product. You’ll need to understand how to use an SDK and be willing to learn SceneGraph and BrightScript, but you’ll save a lot of money doing it yourself.
If you have very complicated requirements, hiring a developer or an agency gives you access to years’ worth of experience and expertise. You’ll pay a lot for it, but having a professional or a whole team of developers working for you will result in a high-quality, fully custom channel.
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