Roku Bans XTV – Popular Pirate Channel Removed
Roku have just banned XTV, a popular uncertified channel that provides ‘illegal’ streams to Roku users. The move comes after Roku became tangled up in a lawsuit in Mexico that resulted in a ban on Roku devices on Mexican territories. XTV isn’t the first channel to be removed and probably want be the last either. Roku’s clamp down on private channels that offer illegal content started back in August.
Roku Bans XTV – Popular Pirate Channel Removed
Illegal Channels on Roku?
To those who don’t know, there are private channels that aren’t available on the public Roku store. When you attempt to add these channels to your Roku device, you’re usually presented with the following message.
“THIS IS A NON-CERTIFIED CHANNEL. Roku requires all channels to abide by Roku’s terms and conditions and to distribute only legal content. Roku does not test or review non-certified channels. By continuing, you acknowledge you are accessing a non-certified channel that may include content that is offensive or inappropriate for some audiences. Moreover, if Roku determines that this channel violates copyright, contains illegal content, or otherwise violates Roku’s terms and conditions, then ROKU MAY REMOVE THIS CHANNEL WITHOUT PRIOR NOTICE.”
Related: Best VPN for Roku Revealed.
Was XTV a Pirate Channel?
While we personally never tried watching content via XTV, it appears that the channel did offer some illegal streams. The Roku ban came as a result of that. Now Roku channel developers are required to use a verified email address, link at least one Roku device, and even register a payment method in their Roku account. It seems that these steps are aimed at identifying all independent Roku channel developers.
How Do I Know If My Roku Channels Are Legal?
In general, you should have nothing to worry about as long as all the channels you watch on Roku are available on the official Roku Channel Store. Private channels that are not found on the Roku store fall in a gray area as there is no way to find out what they have to offer unless one tries them out himself/herself. Keep in mind that the channels available on Roku Channel Store also differ from region to region i.e. channels available on the American Roku Channel Store differ from those available in the UK region for instance.
What’s Next for Private Channels on Roku?
Roku had initially introduced the ability to create private channels in order for developers to test their channels before making them available for the public. Whether Roku decides to scrap private channels all together is yet to be seen.
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About The Author
Charles
Streaming gadgets geek. Interested in every little thing there is to know about bypassing regional restrictions. An avid believer in the right to protect online privacy. Charles has also reviewed plenty of VPN service providers and knows how to separate the good apples from the bad ones.
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It’s completely crazy!!! Why oh why, do we have to pay for local network channels that air commercials??? The commercials pay for the service always have. Now you have to pay to watch commercials? What a crock!! The whole entertainment industry has gone stupid! I cut the cord but have to pay to watch a channel that is 5 miles down the road and has commercials every five minutes. Why do we have to have cable or satellite to stream local channels with commercials. It just drives me nuts. Airing the supper bowl pays networks millions in commercial fees, that’s just one example. It’s crazy
Channel Pear works just fine with Roku. Use the M3U Black (Ad-free) player and import that URL from your Channel Pear account. Once and done.
Our Roku just removed Netflix which we pay for and also YouTube putting up a federal piracy reasoning. If we cannot get legal apps that we pay for I want a refund. We have only had this for 4 months so we could cut the cord. Can’t even mirror it off my phone. Anyone else having this issue and know what to do?
That is some kind of separate issue. I think it was due to some kind of security update. If you update your apps it will work fine.
After the FBI bans of channels like XTV on Roku, the new trend fro Roku is the M3U IPTV live tv lists. People are crating groups in Facebook under the M3U IPTV keywords where they trade all sorts of M3U lists. M3U lists allow you to create customized list of livestreams available over the internet and centralize it all on Roku through one of the multiple M3U player apps now available. The apps cannot be dropped down because they do not stream illegal content. Instead customers decide what kind of content they link though their M3U Roku app lists.
I began using the Roku sometime in 2014. We very much enjoyed the device for several years and XTV made it even better. Since Roku banned XTV and similar apps due to copyright….we had to look elsewhere. We purchased an Amazon fire stick and installed KODI on it. It is like XTV on steroids!
I recommended the Roku to others…but no more. We find ourselves using the Roku less and less.
What puzzles me is how YouTube gets away with what happens there, seems like a similar situation in a lot of ways
YouTube is not a site intended to distribute full copyright protected films. It has pretty tough requirements for publishers, I know first hand. I think it was more wide open for a time but it is pretty strict with what kinf of content can be used in its app. On the Other Hand XTV was just a Roku channel fully intentended to share content it had no rights to share.
I really don’t think you are very familiar with all the content available on YouTube. Where are you getting your information? Can you share the YouTube “strict” policy / terms of service that you mention? If this policy exists, then how do you know it is being enforced?
It doesn’t bother me that you don’t think I know what I’m talking about. I can tell you that producers I know have had take down notices issued over origional music that they paid to have produced for their projects. I can tell,you I have been pinged a number of times for 3 seconds of a video playing. But I’m not going to go back and forth with you because it doesn’t really matter to me if you get it. This is the simple truth. XTV doesn’t have to right to distribute D.C. Films. They didn’t have the right to distribute Star Wars Moives or a number of things that they did. They did not have the right to distribute access to live feeds of the cable channels they linked to. They just didn’t. It really isn’t ambiguous. That’s why Roku took it down. I know cable costs too much. But that does not give people the right to give away movies and tv shows like they are at a free community exchange. it doesn’t matter if you think everyone in Hollywood is rich or if you hate cable execs or anything.
Wow! This seems like a pretty hostile reply to someone just asking a simple question. But the truth is, he’s right. If you know where and how to search for movies or other content on YouTube, it’s possible to fine copyrighted material. It’s just hidden to make it more difficult to find. That’s not saying it right by any means but I don’t think the hostility was needed.
Take another look at what I responded to. I was being called out. I was being told I don’t have a clue what I’m talking about. And I do. People need to stop complaining that they have to pay for professionally produced content. All of these people having fits over Roku protecting its business from pirates is nonsense. I might seem mean, but I’m telling the truth.
I loved xtv. It was so convenient. I’d love to find some kind of alternative if there is one. Most of the ones I’ve found you have to pay for. I guess the next best thing is channel pear. It’s just such a p.i.t.a. to load channels.
channel PEAR for Roku is no more. Pulled by Roku for third party copyright infringement and violation of Roku’s terms of service. Same as XTV and XTV2.
ChannelPear offers up to 5 FREE channels on up to 2 devices. More channels cost three bucks a month…Check out ChannelPear, sign up for free and enjoy…Not as good as XTV, but it adds quite a bit for little or nothing.
I am in a dead zone as far as OTA channels go. I used XTV for maybe 2 hours a week to catch a show that I missed since I moved from Chicago. I had been considering buying a few more Roku devices but they can keep them now. I won’t be giving them any more money…as a matter of fact, they may end up in the bottom of the deepest lake I can find. I guess because Roku’s not making money off of it, we have to miss out.
I am pissed that XTV got banned that is the only app I used especially for the kids all of the old cartoons where on there and so easy to view not like Hulu a comercial for. Every 5 minutes of tvtime so wherever xtv decides to move to I will definitely be moving to that so disappointed.
There are so many cartoons on Netflix and the pbs kids app. There are are not nearlyvas many commercials as people are claiming therecare on Hulu. Plus they have commercial free version. People distributing other creators content have no right to do so and ask for donations etc. How do people not get this? Throw your Roku away if you want but this is going to continue to happen across all platforms.
It was great to get the loca channels. I live in a low spot and can’t get an antenna high enough to get a good signal.
Ahoy, matey! Ye be a scurvy dog, now walk the plank.
And I literally have Roku on all of my TVs and the only thing I watch is xtv! Looks Like A Change Is Coming real soon. Best Channel Roku had to offer even over the paid ones
I totally agree, guess I will unsubscribe to ROKU, I watched XTV every night, the rest are lousy and not worth a dime. Television sucks it used to be a free entertainment, antenna and all it was worth watching back in the day, now a days it’s all about the money, greed and indoctrination.
I watched some old old shows on XTV. I can’t see how Scooby Doo from 1968 is pissing on anyone’s shoes. I’m for throwing my Roku in the garbage, because the commercials make the other channels unwatchable.
I must say I adored XTV but it was wrong.It had Games of Thrown’s up to the last episode.
Throwing my roku in trash also and using firestick from now on…..Maybe xtv will come to firestick shortly..
>>>Whether Roku decides to scrap private channels all together is yet to be seen.<<<
I seriously doubt ROKU would ban all private channels. That would be a huge mistake. I think they'll just continue to target one channel at a time, when they are blatantly streaming illegal content. Just before my X TV was shut down I could watch ESPN, I was wondering what was going on!
I just started Roku-ing in Aug ’17 and found it amazing that MLB and ESPN streams were on XTV. They pushed it too far!
Have to agree that xtv did push it a bit too far with espn, game of throwns etc….
But I didn’t even use it for that, what I really miss are the 24hr streams of old episodes of Maried With Children, DBZ, Spider-Man from the 80s etc. Man it was a joy watching those, you didn’t get to pick what you were watching, it was just on. Fun way to veg out after a long day of work.
Get you a fire tv box or stick or android box and you can install apps to have your 24/7 channels back again..ROKU stinks compared to free programming that android boxes like firestick offer…