Launching a channel in Germany

This article covers

• What you'll need
• Updating your channel in the Developer Dashboard
• Providing local content ratings for Roku Search
• Updating Roku Pay price tiers
• Testing your channel in Europe
• FAQs

Overview

Roku has recently made changes to the channel publishing flow to enable developers to publish channels in Germany.

Publishers with channels in the US, Canada, or Latin America can distribute their channels in Germany by following these very simple steps below.

What you'll need

Before getting started, you'll need:

1. To know an age rating that best describes your channel overall (options listed below);
2. A privacy policy URL;
3. A localized channel name and description in German.

Additionally, to enable a successful launch, you are also advised to:

1. Have local content ratings for the content in your channel, if participating in Roku Search;
2. Know the price you'd like to charge any channel subscription or purchase offerings in the local currency (EUR).

Updating your channel in the Developer Dashboard

Once you're ready to update your channel for distribution in Germany, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Manage Channels screen of the Developer Dashboard and click Preview and Update for the channel you wish to distribute in Europe.
   
2. On the Preview and Publish page, click Properties from the list beneath the "Update Your Public Channel" section.
   
3. On the Properties page:
   1. Under the Channel Stores section, select Germany.
      
      
      
   2. When you select a new country, the information previously recorded in the made for kids and Channel Age Rating sections will automatically be cleared, so you will need to complete both entries. For more information on what it means for a channel to be "made for kids" and its implications, see this document. Definitions for each of the four channel age ratings are provided in the Channel Age Rating section.
      

   3. Under the Languages section, select German. Failure to do so may prevent customers in Germany from being able to install your channel to their device.

      
      

   4. Channels built using the SDK that had not previously provided a Privacy Policy URL will need to do so before changes to this page can be saved. This field, which was previously only required under certain circumstances, is now mandatory for all updates to SDK channels.
      
      Channels built using Direct Publisher only need to provide a Privacy Policy URL if they monetize with ads. For Direct Publisher channels, this is configured on the Monetization page and is not a requirement for launching in Europe, so it is not covered in this article. (Read Monetizing a Direct Publisher channel for more information.)
      
      
   5. Click Save.
      
      
4. Next, click Channel Store Info. Here, you will need to provide localized metadata about your channel in German. If you did not select German on the Properties page, you can skip this step. The metadata to be provided includes:
   1. Channel Name — The name of your channel.
   2. Description — This description of your channel will appear whenever an end-user views your channel's information from their Roku device.
   3. Web Description — This optional field will appear whenever an end-user views your channel's information from Roku.com. It has a greater character limit than the Description field, allowing you to provide more information about your channel and its content.
   4. Channel Poster — This image will display in the Roku Channel Store. You may want to provide different localized channel posters for each language you support.
      
      
5. Click Save.
   
   
6. Once all of this information has been provided, you're ready to publish your channel. On the Preview and Publish page, schedule/reschedule your channel release and follow the remaining steps of the publishing process. Developers are encouraged to select the soonest launch day that the publishing scheduler tool allows, as this will ensure your channel can take advantage of new features and reach customers in new channel stores as soon as they become available. This is advantageous to your channel, as it is unlikely that there will ever be fewer channels in a country's Channel Store than when it first launches; making your channel available at launch time means it will have less competition when competing for the customer's attention.
   
   

7. Channels participating in Roku Search have the additional step of verifying that their content feed includes localized content ratings. This includes all channels built using Direct Publisher by default, as well as participating channels built using the SDK. More information on that below.
   
   

8. Channels that use Roku Pay for in-app purchases have the additional step of verifying the price customers will be charged in each new country. Roku Pay is only available to channels built using the SDK. More information on that below.

Providing local content ratings for Roku Search

Channels that participate in Roku Search must update their content feed to include local content ratings for Germany. Doing so will create a better experience for the end-user, and increases your channel's discoverability by helping Roku surface your content to relevant viewers more likely to engage with it. Content that does not include a local content rating may not appear in search results in certain countries.

This means channels in Roku Search in Germany will need to support ratings from the FSF or FSK sources. See the rating/source and rating/ratingfields of the Roku Search feed specification for more information. Channels built using Direct Publisher (which automatically participate in Roku Search) should see the rating object in the Direct Publisher JSON specification.

Updating Roku Pay price tiers

Channels that include subscriptions through Roku Pay are advised to review the purchase price for their in-channel products in Germany. To do this, visit the Manage in-channel products page of the Developer Dashboard.

When updating a product, be sure to click Add product name in another language to add a localized name for your product in German. The product name is displayed to Roku customers during your channel's on-device purchasing workflow and in subscription emails sent by Roku, so it's important to provide an intuitive name that's easy to understand in your customer's primary language.

As a reminder, Roku Pay uses "price tiers" to determine the purchase price a customer pays after tax. These tiers use a preset mapping configured by Roku to calculate a uniform price in each country based on currency conversion rates. However, if you would like to set a specific price for your products for EUR, or charge different rates in Germany, then you will need to create new in-channel products.

Once these in-channel products have been created, configure your channel to offer different products to the customer based on their country. To do this, use getUserCountryCode() to determine the Channel Store associated with the user's account (and therefore the currency they will be paying in) and call the correct Product IDs accordingly.

The Roku SDK documentation provides more information on Adding in-channel products and using the SceneGraph ChannelStore for making purchases with Roku Pay.

Testing your channel in Germany

Remove until Germany Channel Store is available in September

The Germany Channel Store has not been activated yet; therefore, there is no immediate way to test your channel. Roku will follow-up with you through a separate communication to notify you that the Germany Channel Store is now active, at which point you can begin testing your channel.

FAQs

Can I update multiple channels at once?

You must update each channel individually.

What if I don't have a localized channel description for my channel in languages other than English?

In order for customers to be able to install your channel from a given Channel Store, you must have selected that you support the predominating language spoken in that country.

If you do not, however, have a German description of your channel, for example, then you can insert English metadata when asked for German-localized metadata. This creates a suboptimal experience for the end-user, though, as they expect descriptions in the Channel Store to match their system preferences. Accordingly, providing English descriptions for non-English speaking countries should be treated as a temporary solution while you work on generating localized information.

Can I monetize my Roku Direct Publisher channel?

Roku Direct Publisher channels in select European Channel Stores are permitted to monetize through video advertisements. To configure your channel to take advantage of this opportunity, navigate to the Monetization page of the channel submission flow and provide the required information, including an Ad Server URL and a Privacy Policy URL.

How will I be paid for revenues from activity in my channels in Germany?

Roku's payout terms are the same in Germany as they are in the US. This means you will be paid monthly for revenues generated through Roku Pay, and quarterly (if eligible) for ad revenues due to you. All payments will be made in USD, unless otherwise agreed upon.

You can review Roku's standard payout terms in the Commercial Terms exhibit of the Roku Distribution Agreement.

I still need help. Is there someone I can contact?

Yes, you can send any additional questions to Roku's Customer Support team by filling our Partner Success Contact Form.