- Roku adds more free channels covering reality shows and westerns
- Instant Resume comes to popular streaming apps
- Roku Store apps of a certain size must use the feature starting October 2026
Roku has added six more free channels to its Roku TVs and Roku streaming devices. As with previous additions, there’s a great mix here, with classic westerns, comedy, reality TV and music, as Cord Cutters News discovered.
Roku also plans to improve its Instant Resume feature. Starting October 1, 2026, the feature is coming to tons of apps in the Roku streaming store, again according to Cord Cutters News.
High-traffic streaming apps that meet certain criteria (audience size, streaming hours) will be required to support Instant Resume, which allows you to pick up exactly where you left off, even if you’ve been watching on a different device or haven’t used your device in a while. It’s a useful feature and a welcome addition to third-party streaming apps.
Article continues below.
New free Roku channels for April 2026
The first new channel, channel 313, is dedicated to the classic television show. Rawhide. Rawhide is one of the most famous Western shows of all time, it has one of the most famous theme songs of all time (a song that also soundtracked a memorable part of The blues brothers movie) and introduced the world to a young actor named Clint Eastwood. It’s a classic TV show from the ’50s and ’60s and I have the theme song in my head right now. Ha! Rawhide!
Look
There are more westerns where that one came from. Channel 6036 will broadcast a wide selection of classic and vintage cowboy movies and shows, and will once again broadcast gunfights, cattle ranches, standoffs, wagon trains and outlaw gangs 24 hours a day.
Meanwhile, on channel 314, there is another classic: the Beverly Hillbilliesthe much-loved 1960s show that follows the adventures and misadventures of the Clampett family as they bring their simple, folksy ways to the wealthy neighborhoods of Beverly Hills.
If you prefer a bit of reality, channel 624 is where you’ll find ink master. It is a reality show competition in which tattoo artists take on challenges that push their skills and patience to the limit. We are promised drama, excitement and dramatic revelations.
For younger Spanish speakers, channel 978 offers MTV en Español, a high-energy, youth-oriented channel that mixes music videos (an MTV that still makes music!), reality shows, celebrity interviews, and “culturally resonant programming” showcasing Latin music and lifestyles.
Last but not least, there’s Toso.o on channel 815. This one intrigues me, because the description doesn’t really describe anything: it’s “vibrant,” “eclectic,” “unique,” and offers a “variety of niche content.” How mysterious.
Are you thinking of buying a new television?
Try our TV size and model finder! You tell you how far you sit from your TV, we’ll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from picture quality experts, and we’ll recommend our three best TVs in that size at different prices.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds. Be sure to click the Follow button!
And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and tiktok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form and receive regular updates from us on WhatsApp also.
