How will porn being banned on Roku affect the future of adult entertainment?

In the past, Roku looked the other way when it came to the availability of unlicensed channels on their smart TV streaming devices. Many of these unlicensed channels are used by adult entertainment providers such as Pornhub, Adult Empire Wicked, Adult Time, Naughty America & AEBN. Now Roku has had a change of heart and is doing away with all porn content on their streaming platform. 

This adult content isn’t available in Roku’s main channel store where users can find popular streaming apps like Netflix, HBO & Hulu. However, it’s common knowledge that explicit content is accessible through unlicensed or private channels. A simple google search ‘porn on Roku’  can get you there. 

Roku has received a lot of backlash for their lack of regulation of their private channels–getting them into some hot water. According to the website Android Authority, “Mexico briefly banned the sale of Roku streaming boxes because of how easy it is to access unlicensed content, for example.” In efforts to right their wrongs, Roku is now doing away with porn and trying its best to make it completely inaccessible.

Roku is saying no more! 

During Roku’s annual developer conference earlier this week, they announced plans to remove the Pornhub channel along with other porn companies from its platform by March 1st, 2022. Meaning, no more porn on Roku!

Roku explained they will begin the ban by restructuring the way channels will be available in their channel store. Experts are currently working with beta channels to experiment & improve upcoming changes with about twenty users at a time. 

Protocol.com says “Beta channels are effectively replacing what are commonly known as private channels: These channels aren’t listed in the Channel Store, but can be activated by Roku users with a code or direct link via Roku’s website.”

These links & codes are how many major porn companies gained access to millions of Roku users. In the past few years, the platform has been surging in popularity. TheWarp.com states, “the streaming device company has been experiencing tremendous growth as its ad revenue surged 117% in Q2 and added 1.5 million accounts to a total of 55 million.”

The porn loophole 

Private channels are also used for testing purposes but porn companies used it as a loophole to target Roku users with unapproved content. This means the adult entertainment industry was highly benefiting from streaming platforms without having to go through the red-tape & approval of Roku themselves. 

It seems as though the adult entertainment industry has always found ways around restrictions. Other streaming platforms such as Amazon’s Fire TV & Google’s Android TV maintain loose reigns on the availability of porn content for their users. The rapid use and illegal downloading of X-rated content aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, except on Roku.

Roku original content 

Without porn on Roku, the company is now promoting its original content of shows & movies. “Roku recently began introducing its slate of original content following its acquisition of more than 75 shows and movies from Quibi earlier this year,” says TheWarp.com. 

Roku hopes to push the envelope of other content, getting the users excited about new original movies & shows only available on their streaming platform. 

Let’s face it, porn will always find a way around restrictions and onto the screens of the everyday user. But who is to say that Amazon Fire TV & Google’s Android TV won’t follow in Roku’s footsteps? In the future, this path may prove itself a difficult obstacle to overcome for the porn industry. For now, if users want porn on Roku, they may have to consider other Smart TV streaming providers.