Peloton App Launching on Roku in U.S., Canada and (Eventually) the U.K.

Todd Spangler
·3 min read

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Now there’s a new way to get Peloton fitness instructors to bark commands at you from the TV.

Roku and Peloton inked a deal under which the Peloton App — with thousands of on-demand workouts, as well as live classes — will be available on the streaming-media platform starting this month. Peloton launches on Roku devices in the U.S. on July 1, followed by Canada on July 2. Peloton was originally slated to go live in the U.K. this week, but Roku said the launch date is TBD.

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The pact expands Peloton’s reach across Roku’s growing base of users, which totaled 39.8 million active accounts at the end of March (and has climbed higher during COVID-19 lockdowns). Peloton’s content is already available on iOS and Android devices, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast and Android TV.

For Peloton, the distribution deal is an effort to boost signups for its Peloton Digital Membership package, priced at $12.99/month — which doesn’t require one of the company’s pricey bikes or treadmills. Adding Roku access also is a customer-retention play aimed at those who have purchased Peloton hardware and subscribe to Peloton All-Access Membership ($39/month), as they can use the same credentials to log in on a Roku device.

During the pandemic, Peloton had offered three free months of the digital subscription tier. As those free trials roll off, adding Roku access is another way to encourage home-workout enthusiasts to pay $12.99 monthly.

At launch, Peloton will use Roku’s machine-learning targeting capabilities, which analyze more than 100,000 different anonymized data signals, to promote the Peloton app to Roku users whose viewing patterns indicate they’re in the market for a home-fitness routine.

“We are excited to roll out our best-in-class streaming fitness service onto the Roku platform,” said Karina Kogan, senior VP and GM of Peloton Digital. “We’ve seen growing engagement with our TV apps, especially as more and more consumers look for at-home fitness solutions to keep them physically and mentally fit.”

In addition to growth in Peleton’s trademark cycling and treadmill routines, the company says it has seen a surge in usage across “floor-based disciplines” like strength conditioning, yoga, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and dance cardio, as well as meditation.

Roku says viewing of health and fitness programming in the U.S. has boomed during coronavirus quarantines — viewership in the category spiked 130% in May, bigger than any other genre. “As people continue to stay home, the television is increasingly becoming their window to the world,” said Regina Breslin, director of content acquisition at Roku.

Peloton Digital Membership is available for a 30-day free trial to new customers. After that, it’s $12.99 per month. Roku users can sign up for a Peloton Digital subscription through Roku Pay (which stores payment info); as under its standard agreements, Roku takes a 30% cut of subscription revenue.

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