Roku's introducing a new home for live TV, and even YouTube TV's along for the ride - Android Police

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Traditional streaming services are so 2020 — live TV is where all the cool kids are. Whether you're looking at a cable replacement service like YouTube TV or a free, ad-supported platform like Pluto, the days of watching The Shawshank Redemption with ads on a lazy Sunday afternoon are back in full force. Roku has spent the last couple of years doubling down on its live offerings. With a new update, it wants to make finding your next binge-watch a whole lot easier.

The Live TV Zone is Roku's new hub where you can discover all available and future streaming channels, as reported by The Verge. Although the company plans to highlight and promote its own live services, it'll also make for a great place for subscribers to any cable replacement app. YouTube TV — having rejoined the platform late last year — Hulu with Live TV, fuboTV, Philo, and Sling will all be discoverable and accessible within this space.

Of course, if you don't subscribe to a paid live service, you won't miss out on the Live TV Zone. As of last year, Roku offers more than 200 live channels to pick from, including news, sports, movies, and more. It's pretty similar to the ever-popular Pluto TV service, though with an even wider selection of films and yesterday's television classics to sort through.

Roku's struggle with keeping prominent streaming apps on its platform has been well-publicized over the last year. In addition to losing out on YouTube TV for several months, rumors spun up late last year indicating Amazon Prime would be next — although, thankfully, a conflict between the two companies has yet to pass. Roku has responded by beefing up its own original content, buoyed in part by acquiring Quibi's legacy titles.

In addition to making it easy to select and sort through live offerings, this new Zone shows off recently watched content. Users can find Roku's new space by selecting "Live TV" from the main navigation menu. You can also search for "Live TV Zone" to bring it up automatically.

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Will Sattelberg (795 Articles Published)

Will has been an Android enthusiast since he got his first smartphone in 2011. He loves watching movies, has a never-ending backlog of video games, and produces a comedy podcast in his spare time. He lives in Buffalo, NY and is willing to give you chicken wing recommendations at any time. Just ask.