YouTube Comes to Roku as Google Bets on Content

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YouTube Comes to Roku as Google Bets on Content

One small step for man, one giant leap for cat videos — Roku now has a dedicated YouTube channel.

YouTube and Roku both announced the moved today in respective blog posts (Roku) (YouTube). In addition to being able to access YouTube videos in HD, the new service will also include a "Send to TV" option that gives users the option to navigate with their smartphone. For now, only the Roku 3 will have the YouTube app.

Representatives of both Roku and Google, which owns YouTube, declined to comment on the deal beyond the blog posts.

The deal represents a major coup for Roku, which lost its unofficial YouTube channel in 2010. Since then, Google struggled with its "Google TV" products and went in a different direction with Chromecast, which streams online content directly to a television.

Google's decision to bring YouTube back to Roku highlights an acceptance that in order to become a major content provider, Google will have to partner with companies that compete in other areas, such as streaming devices, says Rob Frieden, a professor of telecommunications and law at Penn State University.

"It's better to get that content out there and take advantage of new possibilities for ratings," he says. "Google is going to win, and if they have to cut in Roku and the black box having failed with Google Television that's fine. They're willing to make that trade off."

He adds that content providers have slowly warmed to the idea of allowing their content to be sent over multiple screens despite the lack of control.

"The more deals like this, the more comfortable content creators are going to be about multiple screen access," he says.

Image: Flickr/Rego Korosi