Warner Music Group announced Monday that it has partnered with Roku to launch three, genre-based FAST channels, exclusively on The Roku Channel, the platform’s free streaming service.
The new channels – WMX Pop, WMX Rock, and WMX Hip-Hop – are free to stream on The Roku Channel, through the service’s Live TV Guide.
Each of the channels will feature music videos and concerts from Warner Music’s catalog of artists as well as original programming from the company’s media brands, including UPROXX, HipHopDX, Songkick, Cover Nation, The Pit and Lasso Nation.
The FAST channels will also premiere new, exclusive series, like “Iconic Records: Life After Death,” a new show about the world’s most iconic albums. The first installment will cover Notorious B.I.G’s “Life After Death,” which is hosted and executive-produced by radio personality Angie Martinez. There will also be new UPROXX series, like “People’s Party with Talib Kweli” and “Fresh Pair,” starring Just Blaze and Katty Customs.
“We’re extremely excited to partner with The Roku Channel to bring our robust music video catalog and original programming to every screen,” Ben Blank, President of Media & Content Business at WMX, said in a statement, adding the FAST channel space, made of Free Ad-supported Streaming TV, is “expanding rapidly, and this move enables us to further reach music fans everywhere they are. The Roku Channel has been an incredible partner, and as the market leader in FAST, their ecosystem provides the perfect environment to launch our channels.”
Ashley Hovey, the Head of AVOD for The Roku Channel, added: “The Roku Channel is an industry leader in FAST, and we’re thrilled to partner exclusively with WMX on their entrance into the space. Music is a top content category for our users, and we look forward to helping WMX harness The Roku Channel’s scale to bring audiences their favorite music video programming, exclusive WMX original content from in demand artists and more.”
The three WMX FAST channels are The Roku Channel’s first direct deal with a music company, though it has a lineup of channels from partners like Vevo and iHeartMedia.
WMX’s owned and operated properties include UPROXX, the youth culture & music destination; Songkick, the live music discovery platform; HipHopDX, a leading hip-hop media brand, Cover Nation, the largest community of cover song creators and fans, The Pit, the leading hard rock & heavy metal news publication, as well as Lasso Nation, the social-first country music and lifestyle publisher.
