Roku just added 11 new free channels including live news, sports, and more

If there’s one thing I have to give Roku credit for, it’s how consistently it adds new free channels to The Roku Channel. Since launching in 2017, Roku has added hundreds of channels, and its FAST (free ad-supported television) app now offers more than 500 free channels.

2025 in particular has been a full-on free-channel spree for Roku. The company has rolled out new additions almost every month this year, with a few standout moments — like April, when it added 24 new channels, including Warner Bros. content, and June, when it introduced 13 new channels, including an MGM channel that plays classic films from the studio’s movie library.

Now, just before the end of the year, Roku is adding even more free channels to The Roku Channel to cap off an already impressive 2025, with 11 new channels arriving this month (via Cord Cutter News). Some of the December 2025 highlights include a dedicated BBC News channel, Tennis+, and the popular game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. You can check out the complete list of new channels and their numbers below.

All the new channels that have landed on Roku

Roku also recently launched its latest Roku OS 15 update

Roku has added a mix of new channels in its latest update, including sports, entertainment, news, and home DIY.

Here are all the new free channels that Roku added this December, in order of channel number (via Cord Cutter News).

• 144 BBC News
• 198 Tennis+
• 315 The Virginian
• 370 Home Improvement
• 387 My Wife and Kids
• 497 PBS Genealogy
• 617 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
• 734 Love After Lockup WE TV
• 834 Overtime
• 1008 TV Amor
• 1018 Mi Raza

If you want to check out Roku’s latest free channels, you can find them using the search function in Roku OS or by pressing the voice button on your Roku remote and asking for them. Even if you don’t have a Roku streaming device, you can still watch by downloading the Roku app from your device’s app store. Personally, I’m most excited to check out the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire channel, as I’ve always seen clips of the show online but never watched it in full.

If you’re looking for even more free channels, apps like Plex, Pluto TV, and MyFree DirecTV are also worth checking out. If you have Google TV, Google recently updated Google TV Freeplay with more channels, bringing the service to over 250.

In other Roku-related news, the streaming giant began rolling out its Roku OS 15 update in November. The update brings several improvements to the Roku experience, including behind-the-scenes optimizations that make devices run faster, as well as improved HDR10+ and Dolby Vision passthrough on compatible TVs. It also adds better accessibility features, such as new voice commands that rely on more natural language, making it easier to control playback, adjust volume, and launch apps using the voice assistant button on the Roku remote.

If you’re not sure whether your Roku has been updated recently, I highly recommend checking to make sure it’s up-to-date for the best possible streaming experience. To do so, press the Home button on your Roku remote, select Settings, then go to System > Software update and choose Check now. If an update is available, it will download and install automatically.