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Roku and FOX reach agreement after Super Bowl 54 streaming tiff

A new agreement between Roku and Fox will keep Super Bowl-streaming apps working without interruption after Roku threatened to remove apps.

Just two days before the Super Bowl was set to air on FOX, Roku said it was planning to remove FOX apps from its streaming service.

But, early Saturday reports surfaced that the move would not happen. 

As The Verge reports, Roku and Fox decided late Friday to reach a new agreement that would keep Fox apps working on Roku without interruption.  

In a statement to The Verge, Roku wrote "we are delighted that we reached an agreement with FOX to distribute FOX channels on the Roku platform. Roku customers can stream the Super Bowl through FOX Now, Fox Sports and NFL in addition to other ways.”  

Fox also released a statement saying, “We are pleased to have reached a successful agreement with Roku. FOX’s leading suite of apps will continue to be available on the Roku platform.”  

Earlier it was feared that Roku customers planning to stream the Super Bowl on the FOX NOW or FOX Sports app might have been left scrambling for a back-up option.

Roku explained on its website that the company's distribution agreement with FOX expired on Friday. The statement added that if a new agreement can't be reached, "we will be forced to remove FOX channels from the Roku platform because we can’t distribute content without an agreement."

The seven Fox channels that were set to be pulled down were Fox Now, Fox Sports, Fox News, Fox Business, Fox Soccer, Big Ten Network and Fox Nation, the Verge reported. 

In response, Fox called Roku's threat a "naked effort to use its customers as pawns." 

"Roku’s tactics are a poorly timed negotiating ploy, fabricating a crisis with no thought for the alarm it generated among its own customers. Even if Roku unilaterally decides to remove FOX apps, savvy Roku customers know Super Bowl LIV on FOX will be ubiquitously available through streaming providers, FOX apps on the biggest streaming platforms and our website," FOX said in a statement to multiple media outlets

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Roku added that even if it did pull the apps, customers would have been able to watch the Super Bowl through other paid streaming options like fuboTV, Sling TV, Hulu + LiveTV, and YouTube TV.

While customers have to pay for those options, most offer seven-day free trials, so fans could sign up and cancel after the game is over. 

Another way to watch the game on Roku without FOX is by simply downloading the NFL's app. It'll be offering a free HD stream of the game, but the video won't be in 4K. 

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