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How To Watch Roku's New 'Weird Al' Movie Without Ads – TechHive

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn't affect our editorial independence.On Friday, Roku will debut Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, its splashiest original film yet. The openly exaggerated biopic will stream exclusively on the Roku Channel, and you can tell it's a big deal for Roku, which has even added a new home screen section on its streaming players and smart TVs to promote the film.But like everything else on Roku's streaming service, the free content comes at a cost: The Roku Channel is ad-supported, with no option for ad-free viewing. If you want to watch Daniel Radcliffe's interpretation of Weird Al, you'll have to sit through commercials.There is, however, a workaround: By using a little-known service called PlayOn, you can record any movie or show from The Roku Channel, then use that recording to skip through the ads.This little trick is worth keeping in mind whether you're interested in a Weird Al biopic or not. As more companies introduce ad-supported options as an excuse to raise prices on their ad-free tiers, rolling your own recordings might help defray the costs.The desktop version of PlayOn lets you record videos to a Windows PC.Jared Newman / FoundryPlayOn is a service that can record video from on-demand streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and of course the Roku Channel. Once it creates a recording, the resulting video file is yours to keep, and you can skip through any ads that are embedded within. (In my experience, the recordings also tend to strip out the ads to begin with.)PlayOn offers two versions of its service, each with different hardware requirements and costs:Once you've made a recording, you can watch it through PlayOn's mobile apps, or you can cast the video to Fire TV, Chromecast, Android TV, Roku, or Apple TV devices. If you're a bit more tech-savvy, you can also use media server software such as Plex or Channels DVR to stream PlayOn's video files.PlayOn Cloud lets you set up recordings on your phone, then stream them to your TV.Jared Newman / FoundryIf you're wondering whether this is legal, the answer is "probably." PlayOn's recording capabilities have been around for nearly a decade, and the company says it's never been sued. It argues that the service functions the same as a traditional DVR for personal recordings, and the start of its videos include the user's name and IP address to discourage illegal distribution.Still, PlayOn has its downsides: Because it's capturing the actual video, recordings aren't available until they've played in their entirety. The Home version is also notoriously finnicky and doesn't support 1080p video, and neither version allows for 4K or HDR.Because of those issues and the ongoing costs involved, PlayOn isn't for everyone, but it's the perfect fit for a film like Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. In lieu of a commercial-free option from Roku, this is the next-best thing.Adding the movie to your Save List first will make it easier to find inside PlayOn's menus.Jared Newman / FoundryFor most users, PlayOn Cloud will be the easiest solution for skipping ads, as it doesn't require any additional hardware or ongoing subscription costs. And if you're new to PlayOn, you can set up a free trial to record the Weird Al movie at no charge.First, a couple prerequisites:Now, here's how to use PlayOn's app to record the movie and watch it without ads:Start your free trial, then immediately cancel it, and you'll get seven recording credits at no charge.Jared Newman / FoundrySince this story is being published ahead of the Weird: The Al Yankovic Story release, let's use UHF as our example instead.Jared Newman / Foundry

Jared Newman / FoundryNow that you have a sense of how PlayOn works, you might come up with other ways to use it.Its commercial-skipping capabilities, for instance, may be useful for other services that charge extra for ad-free viewing, such as Peacock Premium, Disney+, and (as of this week) Netflix. The math admittedly gets a bit tricky here, since PlayOn's own costs can offset the savings of these services' ad-supported tiers, but it is possible to come out ahead.You can also use PlayOn to maintain access to movies or shows you've recorded, even after your streaming subscription has lapsed or the content has moved to another service. And if you're running a media server, those recordings can help centralize more of your TV viewing into a single app.I've long said that the easier cord-cutting is, the less money it saves. As streaming services come up with new ways to charge you more money or make you sit through more commercials, creative workarounds like PlayOn are worth keeping in mind, even if they involve small costs of their own–and a little extra effort.Sign up for my Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more ways to stay a step ahead of the cable and streaming companies.

Jared Newman has been helping folks make sense of technology for over a decade, writing for PCWorld, TechHive, and elsewhere. He also publishes two newsletters, Advisorator for straightforward tech advice and Cord Cutter Weekly for saving money on TV service.Streaming MediaSmart HomeSmart Assistants Home SecurityHome EntertainmentHeadphonesNewsletter

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More Than 'Weird': Roku Embraces Original Programming – The New York Times

AdvertisementSupported byThe streaming media device company wants to attract more viewers and advertisers to its channel. A coming biopic of "Weird Al" Yankovic is its most ambitious project to date.By Nicole SperlingNicole Sperling covers Hollywood and the streaming business. She visited the set of "Weird" in Pomona, Calif., while reporting this article.The gray, rainy weather of an early March day was no match for the joy emanating from a rented bungalow on the campus of the California State Polytechnic University in Pomona.Accordion music wafted over a production set that was tucked into a tree-lined street and teeming with crew members wearing Hawaiian shirts. Welcome to the set of "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story," the unconventional biopic of the beloved parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic, featuring Daniel Radcliffe in the titular role.It was Mr. Radcliffe's last day shooting — and Julianne Nicholson stood in front of the camera portraying Mr. Yankovic's mother, a woman much more interested in discussing her son's dietary issues than his burgeoning career. In the scene, Al has called to tell her he just landed a 25-night residency at Madison Square Garden. (Mr. Yankovic never actually landed a 25-night engagement at the arena.) She wants to know if he's eating enough bran."The script is kind of ridiculous," said Mr. Yankovic, who co-wrote the film with the director Eric Appel. He was reluctant to reveal plot details but appeared giddy about the whole experience. "It's just fun having these top-notch actors doing this silly material," he said. "I just can't believe that we're actually getting to do this."The reason the film exists is Roku, the streaming media device company with more than 63 million active accounts in the United States. In the past year, Roku has moved into original programming, acquiring the library of the short-lived Quibi app and paying $97.8 million in cash for This Old House Ventures, the company behind the long-running home improvement show.Roku Originals has since made a two-hour movie adaptation of the canceled NBC show "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist," greenlit second seasons of Quibi content, like Kevin Hart's action-comedy show "Die Hart," and the odd home renovation show "Murder House Flip," where notorious crime scenes are turned into sparkly remodels. It has also signed deals with Martha Stewart, Emeril Lagasse and Jessica Alba for unscripted content and is planning a broadcast next month of a live-captured performance from London's West End of "Heathers: The Musical.""Weird" is the company's most ambitious programming move. The film, produced by the comedy studio Funny or Die, cost around $12 million to make. "Weird" will debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, before becoming free on Roku in November."I can't say there was a bidding war," Mr. Yankovic said with a laugh, before adding that other parties were interested. "Roku was the only company that whipped out their checkbook. Because of them, this movie is getting made."The film is part of Roku's effort to persuade those who use the device to access paid apps like Netflix and Disney+ to spend more time perusing the free content offered on the Roku Channel, which now includes 40,000 movies and television shows and 150 linear channels. Keeping viewers on the platform longer is a way to bolster its advertising revenue for a business that has come to rely more heavily on ad spending and content distribution than device sales. Currently, device sales contribute just 12 percent to the company's bottom line. Keeping users on the Roku Channel is imperative to its success.David Eilenberg, Roku's head of originals, said in an interview that the company's strategy in this early phase of creating new content was to assure the creative community that when Roku takes on a new project, it will be willing to spend the money to support it properly."The spending strategy has always been surprise and delight rather than shock and awe," he said. "'Weird' is a nice indicator of that, which is the sort of the thing nobody knew they wanted until it existed. That's a very tricky thing to commission, but when you get one of those, you put both arms around it and support it to the best of your ability."Roku became a trending topic on Twitter at the end of July when it released the trailer for "Weird" as part of its upfront presentation, which the company says resulted in $1 billion in commitments from the seven major advertising agency holding companies for the upcoming television season.Yet Roku's expansion into originals comes at a difficult time for the company. During its second-quarter earnings call last month, the company pulled its full-year guidance because of the challenging advertising environment and lowered its third-quarter estimates to only 3 percent growth in total net revenues. (The analyst firm MoffettNathanson previously estimated growth for that quarter could reach 29 percent.)The company has sought to assure investors that it won't be laying off employees or changing its business strategy as it deals with the advertising slowdown. That hasn't stopped some analysts from lowering their price targets for the stock, but most remain bullish on the company's future as the connected television market continues to grow and consumers are increasingly interested in finding all their different streaming channels in one place (much like traditional cable).MoffettNathanson detailed the challenges facing the company in a recent investor note, calling Roku's hurdles a "three-sided war." On the connected TV side, Roku is fighting against Amazon, Alphabet and others. For audience, it is up against "nearly every streaming platform under the sun." And for advertising dollars, its competitors now include Netflix, Disney, Amazon, YouTube, Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global."Obviously this is not an ideal market structure," the firm said in the report.For Rob Holmes, the head of the Roku Channel, the strategy has always been to rely primarily on licensing content with a smattering of new originals — the company has yet to find another project with "Weird"-level enthusiasm — to pique consumers' interests. It recently announced the revival of ABC's "The Great American Baking Show," with Ellie Kemper ("Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt") and Zach Cherry ("Severance") set to host. The show, which will bow in 2023, is intended as a companion to all 12 seasons of the long-running "The Great British Baking Show," which will become available on the Roku Channel at the end of this year.Reports suggest that the annual amount the company spends on content is $1 billion, far beneath Netflix's $17 billion content budget or the $30 billion Disney will spend across all its divisions for 2022. (Roku declined to confirm its annual budget.)"One of the things about ad-supported streaming versus SVOD is if I watch one thing on SVOD, that month I still sign up and pay," said Mr. Holmes, referring to subscription video on demand services like Netflix and Disney+. "But from an AVOD standpoint" — that's advertising video on demand — "you need that engagement to generate that volume that allows you to support that advertising business."Complicating matters is the fact that Roku's competitors are also its partners. Mr. Eilenberg admitted that when he is pursuing new content his primary competitors are often other advertising VOD services like Amazon's Freevee, Fox's Tubi and Paramount's Pluto. But there's significant overlap: The Roku Channel is available on Amazon Fire devices, for example, while Tubi is a popular channel on Roku. Paramount+ will be joining the Roku Channel later this month.But Roku can also find itself competing against Netflix. What's the pitch when facing such a behemoth, albeit one that's been knocked down a bit recently?"The very fact that we're actually not doing a zillion shows, allows us to sort of credibly say to creators, 'Your show will have its day in the sun,'" Mr. Eilenberg said. "There's only one Roku Originals slate. Creators are going to be attended to."Mr. Yankovic certainly feels that way."I think we're sort of like — what's the saying? — a big fish," he said. "We're not going to get lost in somebody's lineup. They're very invested in having this be successful, as we all are. It's nice that we're all on the same team."Nicole Sperling is a media and entertainment reporter, covering Hollywood and the burgeoning streaming business. She joined The New York Times in 2019. She previously worked for Vanity Fair, Entertainment Weekly and The Los Angeles Times. More about Nicole SperlingAdvertisement

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Elton John And Weird Al Yankovic Among 2023 Emmy Nominees

Elton John, Weird Al Yankovic and the Fleetwood Mac-inspired series Daisy Jones & the Six were among the nominees announced for the 2023 Emmy Awards.

Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium racked up a total of three nominations, including Best Variety Special (Live). A win in the category would elevate the Rocket Man to EGOT status – he already has a Grammy, Oscar and Tony.

"It's an honor for my Special to be recognized by the Academy. My final Dodger Stadium performance was bittersweet and an evening that I will never forget," John said via statement following his nomination. "My team at Rocket Entertainment, the talented Fulwell 73, and everyone at Disney+ went above and beyond to create a magical production, not only for me as I said goodbye to North America, but for my fans all over the world to enjoy for years to come."

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, a tongue-in-cheek (fictitious) biopic of the beloved parody singer, scored an impressive eight Emmy nominations. Yankovic himself was nominated in two categories – Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for the song "Now You Know." Meanwhile, Daniel Radcliffe, who portrayed Yankovic in the film, was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.

"Sorry for screaming at the top of my lungs, but WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY JUST GOT EIGHT EMMY NOMINATIONS!!!!" Yankovic tweeted shortly after the Emmy nominees were unveiled.

Daisy Jones & the Six, the Amazon original series loosely inspired by Fleetwood Mac, picked up nine nominations, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Outstanding Music Supervision and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for the show's star, Riley Keough.

Other notable Emmy nominations include the David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream, which received five, and Dolly Parton's Mountain Magic Christmas, which is up for two awards. Animated rock group Gorillaz received a nom in the Outstanding Emerging Media Program category, while the broadcast of London's Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert is nominated for Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special.

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