I’ve had a Roku Streaming Stick plugged into the back of my TV for years, mostly as a launcher for Netflix and whatever else I was already paying for. It never occurred to me to actually open The Roku Channel itself until I was digging through the home screen looking for something to half-watch on a Sunday afternoon and had nothing left on my regular apps. What I found sitting there, preinstalled and free the entire time, was closer to a full cable replacement than I expected from something I’d been ignoring for years.