Roku boxes heading to U.K., Canada
Set-top box maker plans to make its first international foray next year with region-specific channels.
Roku is taking its streams across the pond.
The company announced today it plans to begin selling its set-top boxes to consumers in the U.K. and Canada in early 2012. Roku will also expand its platform to support region-specific channels.
The announcement follows Netflix's expansion in September into 43 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
"This year has been one of many accomplishments for Roku in the U.S.," Roku CEO Anthony Wood said in a statement. "And now we're looking forward to kicking off 2012 by expanding to Europe and Canada to give consumers the best in streaming entertainment--a natural evolution for Roku."
Roku announced earlier this year that more than 1 billion content streams have been sent to TVs through its set-top boxes, which currently range in price from $59.99 to $99.99. The company currently offers more than 350 channels of video, music, and games through its Channel Store, which allows people to add those channels to their personal menu and watch the content associated with them.
Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, and NBA Game Time are among the channels Roku offers, and it recently announced a partnership with Angry Birds creator Rovio to bring the company's video games to Roku's set-top boxes.