Roku is expanding its NFL Zone beyond the U.S. to Canada, Mexico and Brazil as the streaming platform seeks to give international viewers a centralized destination for NFL content throughout the season.
The NFL Zone is available immediately in each of the three markets and is part of Roku’s Sports experience, bringing together live and upcoming games, NFL Fast Channel highlights, clips and other NFL content.
International expansion
The expansion extends a partnership between Roku and the National Football League that previously made the NFL Zone available to U.S. viewers. Roku said the move follows the rollout of its Sports experience in Mexico in 2025 and in Brazil and Canada earlier this year.
The company said its U.S. Sports experience recorded a 122 per cent year-over-year increase in streaming hours and an 80 per cent increase in unique visitors in the second quarter. Roku said the international expansion of the NFL Zone is intended to broaden access to NFL programming as the new season gets underway.
“With the NFL Zone, we’re bringing the League’s content together in one place,” said Joe Franzetta, head of sports at Roku Media. “We’ve seen the success of the NFL Zone domestically, and we’re excited to bring that experience to Canada, Mexico, and Brazil this season.”
The NFL Zone in Canada, Mexico and Brazil will feature officially branded NFL clips and highlights along with live and upcoming games. The expansion also introduces the NFL Channel to viewers in the U.K., Canada, Mexico and Brazil.
NFL Channel expands internationally
The NFL Channel is the league’s free, ad-supported service offering programming around the clock. The international rollout gives viewers in the four markets free access to the channel’s 24/7 programming for the first time, according to the release.
The NFL Channel and NFL content will be integrated into the NFL Zone in the international markets, while the U.S. version provides viewers with additional access to the NFL App and the NFL Channel.
The NFL App provides access to NFL+, the league’s streaming service, which includes live local and primetime games on mobile devices, NFL Network, live game audio and other on-demand content. NFL+ Premium also includes game replays and NFL Redzone.
Roku said the combination of the NFL Zone, NFL Channel and NFL App gives U.S. viewers additional ways to access league programming, while the international expansion provides dedicated NFL content through its Sports experience in Canada, Mexico and Brazil.
Ivan Pehar, Ad Sales Director for Canada at Roku shared his thoughts on the NFL Zone in an interview with Retail Insider.
Question: What does bringing the NFL Zone to Canada mean for Roku’s strategy in the Canadian sports-streaming market, and how important is the country to Roku’s international growth plans?
Answer: Bringing the NFL Zone to Canada felt like a natural next step after launching our Sports experience here earlier this year. At its core, it’s about making things a little easier for football fans by giving them one place to see what’s happening throughout the NFL season, from live and upcoming games to highlights, clips and the NFL Channel.
Sports are becoming a bigger part of streaming, but figuring out where to watch can sometimes feel more complicated than it needs to be. In Canada, we’re focused on making that experience simpler and continuing to learn from how Canadian audiences are watching sports.
Q: How many Canadian Roku users do you expect to engage with the NFL Zone during the 2026 NFL season, and what does Roku’s existing Canadian sports viewership data tell you about demand for NFL content?
A: We aren’t sharing a Canadian audience forecast for the NFL Zone just yet, but we’ve been encouraged by the engagement we’re seeing with sports on Roku more broadly.
In the U.S., streaming hours across Roku Sports experiences increased 122 per cent year over year in Q2, while unique visitors grew 80 per cent.
Every market is different, of course, but it does show how quickly sports viewing on streaming is evolving. We’re looking forward to seeing how Canadian NFL fans use the Zone throughout the season and what we can learn from that.
Q: How does the NFL Zone complement existing ways Canadians watch NFL games, and what role does Roku expect the hub to play in helping viewers discover content across different broadcasters and streaming services?
A: The goal isn’t to change how Canadians already watch football. It’s really about making it easier to find what they’re looking for, while giving fans more ways to stay connected to the NFL beyond a single game.
The NFL Zone brings live and upcoming games together with highlights, clips and the NFL Channel, so fans can catch up, explore more content and really immerse themselves throughout the season. With sports programming available across a growing number of services, sometimes the hardest part is simply figuring out where to find what you want to watch. If we can make that part a little easier, fans can spend less time searching and more time enjoying the sport.
Q: What opportunities does the NFL Channel’s launch in Canada create for Roku’s advertising business, particularly as more sports audiences shift from traditional television to streaming?
A: What’s interesting about sports is that it’s still very much appointment viewing. Fans want to be there when the game is happening, and increasingly, some of those moments are happening through streaming.
The NFL Channel gives Canadian viewers another free, ad-supported way to engage with NFL programming throughout the day. For advertisers, streaming also creates more flexibility around how they reach audiences and understand what happens after an ad is seen. As viewing habits continue to evolve, I think we’ll see brands continue to explore how streaming can complement what they’re already doing around major sports moments.
Q: Beyond the NFL, what other sports leagues or major sporting properties is Roku considering as it expands its Sports experience in Canada and other international markets?
A: Hockey Zone is launching in the coming weeks and we’re always paying attention to how people are watching sports and where we can make that experience a little easier.
Canada has its own sports culture and viewing habits, and that’s important to keep in mind. Rather than assuming the same approach will work everywhere, we want to learn from how Canadian viewers are using the Sports experience and let that help inform where we go next.
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