The CW strikes next-day streaming deal with Roku in the US  

American broadcaster The CW has inked a next-day streaming deal with Roku in a move that significantly expands the distribution of its original and licensed programming in the US.

Brad Schwartz

Under the deal, which begins this autumn, scripted and unscripted shows from The CW will stream on AVoD platform The Roku Channel the day after they air on broadcast.

Unscripted titles included in the deal are Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit and scripted drama Sherlock & Daughter, in addition to upcoming Canadian procedural Private Eyes West Coast, which it recently acquired, and new episodes of WWE NXT.

In addition to the next-day part of the deal, The Roku Channel will also carry a CW-branded hub featuring more than 800 hours of library content from the broadcaster. Wild Cards, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, Children Ruin Everything and Good Cop/Bad Cop will all be part of the catalogue.

The CW unveiled the new partnership ahead of its upfront presentation to advertisers.

In addition to the Roku pact, it also signed a deal with Disney-owned sports brand ESPN. Through the deal, around 800 hours of The CW’s sports programming will be made available on ESPN annually.

“Partnering with Roku supercharges the reach and accessibility of The CW’s premium entertainment content,” said The CW Network president Brad Schwartz of the Roku deal.

“By combining The Roku Channel’s expansive audience with The CW’s nationwide linear footprint, we’re bringing together the best of broadcast with the best of streaming to unlock unprecedented scale for our content, our audience, and our advertisers.”