DirecTV customers with a Roku can now use Fox Now

Good news for DirecTV subscribers that want to watch new episodes of Family Guy and The Simpsons on something other than their TV set. Today DirecTV has started allowing its customers to access broadcast network Fox’s on-demand TV content hub Fox Now through their Roku set-top boxes and smart TVs.

Unlike rival broadcast networks like CBS that have offered their own monthly subscription service, Fox’s strategy has always been to provide on-demand TV programming as a complimentary service to those already paying for an expensive cable or satellite TV service. The Fox Now service functions much like Hulu, giving you the option of checking out past and current seasons of the shows it produces — except that you need to log in using your DirecTV account before you can access anything. It’s the TV service providers that decide whether to enable access to these complimentary services.

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DirecTV first made Fox Now available to customers using iOS devices as well as the Apple TV set-top box last month. Presumably, the service will come to other streaming devices in the near future, too. (And while I’ve yet to check, I’m assuming that you’ll also be able to access FX Now, the sister cable network to Fox that has the licensing rights to stream every episode of The Simpsons.)