US AVOD platform The Roku Channel is launching the first Spanish-language section on its kids and families service to meet high demand from audiences.
Roku already has a Spanish offering for older viewers called Espacio Latino, which includes original and acquired content. Now it’s taking the same approach to serving a younger demo.
Available this month as a new kids and family hub option, it features nearly 1,000 free ad-supported series and movies, such as Astroblast, Pinkfong & Baby Shark’s Space Adventure, Gallina Pintadita (The Little Painted Hen), Stellaluna and La leyenda de la Llorona (The Legend of the Weeping Woman). More content will be added in the coming months.
Spanish-language content is an in-demand category among Roku’s 80 million users. According to senior director Ashley Hovey, a recent survey the company conducted found that nearly 70% of US households that watch The Roku Channel in Spanish do so more than three days a week—and they don’t have pay TV.
Hovey says the goal of the new section is to offer co-viewing content, since the survey also found that 23% of Roku’s Hispanic audience watch TV with their kids.
These Hispanic users are also the fastest-growing audience in the US, making the platform’s new section a timely addition, Hovey adds. The Roku Channel launched its kids and family offering in 2019, and it now features music, games and more than 18,000 kids shows and movies, including Angelina Ballerina and Barney & Friends.