Roku, a cord cutter favorite for over-the-top video streaming that’s now approaching 5 million units moved, is trumpeting the imminent arrival of Time Warner Cable onto their platform here at CES. The app, scheduled to drop this first quarter of 2013 and available to current Roku models, will bring 300 channels of cable to TWC subscribers. Similar to what competing provider Verizon once demoed. Yet, without a numeric keyboard on the remote and given presumably Internet-streamed video, changing channels won’t exactly be “television” like and we suspect this “cable” box would be most suitable for secondary rooms and home gyms. And it’ll be interesting to see if TWC counts this data usage against their metered broadband, unlike Comcast’s brushes with net neutrality piping Xfinity to Xbox.
In other Roku CES news, they’ve hit the 700 channel milestone. While you won’t be interested in most, there’s bound to be a few worth catching. And amongst the new offerings, Vevo and PBS will surely joining my rotation. Additionally, the Roku Streaming Stick is now compatible with several new MHL-equipped HDTV partners — although I’m not convinced there’s a market for this poorly understood technology. No mention yet of a possible YouTube channel or the promised UI refresh… but the show is still young and Roku will be on display tonight at the Digital Experience press event.
UPDATE: As of 3/5, the Time Warner Cable channel is now available to TWC subscribers with Roku 2 models.