Roku, the maker of a set-top box used to stream online video on a traditional TV, will open its platform to any content provider over the next few months, says Roku CEO Anthony Wood, speaking at Streaming Media West.
"We're opening up the platform to anyone who wants to put their video service on this box," says Wood. "We're going to release the software developer kit, so anyone can publish any channel, and users can access web content on their TVs."
So in the future, Roku owners won't be limited to only stream content from Netflix.
Wood declined to give a hard time line, but he says "this is what we're working on for the future."
The move won't change Roku's business model -- the company still makes money from hardware sales. And the opened platform won't affect Roku's relationship with Netflix, according to Wood.
"They made a small investment in us . . . and they knew from the beginning that we were interested in working with other [content providers], just like they're interested in partnering with other boxes," said Wood. The announcement comes just a day after Netflix announced plans to offer streaming content from CBS and Disney to its subscribers.
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