Roku Devices Get Access to Apple's OTT App; Apple TV Plus Support Coming Nov. 1

The free Apple TV app is available on the Roku platform, and Roku users will be able to subscribe to the premium Apple Plus service through the platform when it launches Nov. 1, said Roku Tuesday. Apple users can subscribe directly to Apple TV channels using their Apple ID and password, it said. Supported Roku streaming devices could add the Apple TV app as of Tuesday in Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Ireland and the U.K. Roku shares closed 11.5 percent higher Tuesday at $132.82. Last month, the streaming service provider's shares plummeted 19 percent after an analyst (see 1909200051) predicted increasing competition would drive prices for over-the-top video devices such as Roku’s streaming stick “to zero,” while squeezing ad revenue. Pivotal Research Group's Jeffrey Wlodarczak said then that Comcast’s announcement it's providing its Xfinity Flex OTT device to customers for free is a model likely to be followed by other MVPDs.