Roku's Sports Hub

Roku has launched a Sports hub on its devices. The goal is to help users find live and upcoming events. And that is something that is needed. But how well did Roku do? Not as well as I had hoped.

If you're a streamer, you may know that there are ways to watch a lot of content. Only, there is no one way to watch everything. Of course, that's true of cable and satellite as well.

Some games are available over the air, and most cable systems will carry those, but satellite can be another matter. And, depending on where you live, and how easy it is to put up an antenna, you may or may not be able to watch live local channels for free. This is true of streaming as well.

A lot of various networks may be necessary to watch your favorite team. In fact, it's likely that you'll need to be able to watch multiple networks to catch all your team's games. And that can lead to a lot of frustration.

I'm using football as an example because it's football season, but this is generally true for any sport. One thing you can do is check each week and see who's carry your team. And that's what a lot of people have to do. My weekly posts about how to watch the college games the current weekend are some of my most read posts. But wouldn't it be nice if there was another way, an easier way, to just sit down and find your game?

That's the idea of the new Roku Sports hub. They call it the Sports Experience. And it does okay, but it's not perfect. They carry information about a lot of games.

Currently, our new sports experience includes pro and college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, baseball, and soccer from DIRECTV, FOX Sports, FuboTV, Paramount+, Peacock, Prime Video, Sling, The Roku Channel, TNT, TBS, and truTV, as well as games coming over the air through an antenna connected to Roku TV models, with more sports and viewing options expected in the coming months.

Checking this weekend's Top 25 games, I see it falls short. And yes, a new CFP Top 25 will come out tonight, but the current listing is close enough to show my concerns.

Using the Roku Sports Experience, I don't see the Georgia-Kentucky game listed. Georgia is the number one team, but the game isn't listed. Yes, it's on CBS, but livw local CBS is included with Paramount+ Premium service.

Number two Ohio State's game with Maryland isn't listed either. That game is carried on ABC, but isn't on the Roku hub.

Number three Michigan's game with Illinois is there, and it's on ABC ahead of the Ohio State game. So, one game on a certain network shows, but another game involving a higher ranked team, carried on the same network, is not.

Number four Texas Christian vs Baylor (on Fox)? Nope.

Number five Tennessee vs South Carolina? Nope.

I won't go on, because my point is made. The project needs work. However, it is better than not having it. Just realize that it's not perfect. Still, it's an important thing for a Roku user's Steaming Life.