Roku's New $2.99 Ad-Free Streamer Is A Reminder Of What Cord-Cutting Could Have Been

There was a time when cord-cutting was sweeping the world. Prices for streaming services were still affordable, and it actually made sense to dump your cable subscription in favor of streaming your favorite shows and movies. Over the past several years, though, the act of cord-cutting has evolved from choosing one or two affordable streaming services to juggling half a dozen streamers, all of which continue to shoot up in price while simultaneously putting more restrictions on their customers.

Perhaps that's why Roku's new ad-free streamer, Howdy, feels like such a return to form. Part of that is the app's price tag. Coming in at just $2.99, it costs less than a cup of coffee and is packed with over 10,000 hours of movies and television shows. Netflix and other streaming services have never quite been that cheap, but Howdy finds a way to offer a compelling library at a fraction of the price of its competition.

The move to release Howdy feels like a natural evolution in Roku's continued growth as a streaming company. Despite being mostly known for providing the hardware that we use to stream our favorite apps, Roku has also been making big strides to offer up different ways to view content, including its ad-supported Roku Channel. While the company has made some missteps along the way, like introducing auto-playing ads on its home page, it has found a large audience to support its products and services.

With Howdy, Roku is offering a more premium ad-free experience, while also bringing together titles that people actually want to watch, including "Mad Max: Fury Road," "Weeds," iconic rom-coms, and binge-worthy shows. Of course, Roku says the service isn't intended to replace any premium services. Instead, it's meant as more of a complimentary add-on, which might explain the price tag. The lack of any contracts or hidden fees also means that you can sign up or drop out at any point, and as often as you want.

What makes it feel like a true return to form, though, is that Howdy feels like something consumers actually want. We don't want to have to pay upwards of $20 per streaming service just to keep up with our favorite movies and shows. Instead, we want to be able to save money by subscribing to affordable services that make cutting the cable cord worthwhile.

Howdy isn't the future of streaming, by any means, but it's nice to finally see a service that feels more like it cares about what the viewers want, and is less about squeezing as much money out of consumers as possible.