How Roku’s $2.99 ‘No-Ads’ Streaming Service Could Disrupt a $100B Market

Roku’s CEO is positioning Howdy as a David against Goliath in the streaming war—by charging less, showing less ads, and avoiding the hype machine.

The service, priced at $2.99/month, offers ad-free access to a curated selection of content, directly challenging platforms that have raised subscription fees and saturated screens with commercials.

Anthony Wood, Roku’s CEO, emphasized the gap Howdy fills: “The part of the market where it actually started — low-cost and no ads — is gone now.” His remarks underscore a strategic pivot toward affordability and user experience, a stark contrast to competitors like Hulu, which recently expanded its ad-supported free tier but still forces viewers to tolerate interruptions.

Howdy’s pricing model raises a practical question: Can a family afford to subscribe without cutting back on other streaming services? At $2.99/month, the cost is roughly 10% of the average U.S. streaming budget, making it a viable addition to existing subscriptions rather than a replacement.

Wood’s claim that Howdy is “a big streaming service” hints at potential scale, though the lack of disclosed subscriber numbers leaves room for skepticism.

Expansion plans are equally ambitious. Wood stated, “We want to distribute it everywhere,” with Howdy currently available on Roku devices and set to launch as a standalone app “on any device.” This move could broaden access but also tests Roku’s ability to maintain its ad-free promise as the platform grows.