HBO Max launched in May and is struggling to get the same traction as Disney Plus.
Angela Lang / CNET
Roku and HBO Max have reached a deal for Roku’s popular lineup of streaming devices to support the HBO Max app, a breakthrough in their months-long deadlock that gives millions of people the ability to easily stream movies such as Wonder Woman 1984, The Matrix 4 and Duin. HBO Max will be available on Roku starting Thursday, the companies said Wednesday; that’s a little over a week before Wonder Woman is set to stream at no extra cost to Max subscribers the same day it hits the big screen.
Streaming has become more popular than ever during the corona pandemic, reinforcing a long trend of people watching more video over the Internet. But that sparked new tensions between the most powerful TV app distributors – the Rokus of the world – and media companies with big pockets launching streaming apps. Both sides wanted to lock control of the data, money, and programming at the heart of your streaming business so they could entrench themselves in strong positions for the next era of television.
But that led to deadlocks like the one that darkened HBO Max’s app from Roku since the service launched in May, leaving streaming customers right in the middle of their deadlock.
The pressure for HBO Max and Roku to reach a deal got higher earlier this month when HBO Max announced it would have the entire Warner Bros. new movies on the same day as the cinema release, allowing for viewing at home at no additional cost to subscribers. Every movie turns on HBO Max, which costs $ 15 a month, for a month, and then the movies will leave the streaming service to be exclusive in theaters for a while. That strategy kicks off on December 25, when Wonder Woman 1984 will be the first film to be released that way.
Telecom giant AT&Towns both HBO Max and the Warner Bros. movie studio, through its WarnerMedia entertainment unit.
HBO Max streams everything on HBO’s mainstream channel, plus original shows and movies and other licensed exclusives not available anywhere else like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, and the beloved Studio Ghibli animated films. But the plan to premiere major Warner Bros. movies on HBO Max “day-and-date” – when movies are released simultaneously in theaters and for home visits – would certainly boost interest in the service.
And HBO Max’s absence from Roku (and, previously, Amazon Fire TV) has likely shrunk its grip. Even with 28.7 million people being able to use HBO Max at no extra cost because they already had regular HBO, the Max service just had 8.6 million accounts from October, just over four months after launch. To put that in context, when Disney Plus launched in November 2019, it reported more than 10 million signups in about 24 hours.
Other big Warner Bros. movies to hit HBO Max same-day as in theaters include expected box-office heavyweights like Godzilla vs. Kong, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights and The suicide squad, James Gunn’s latest take on that DC Comics crew. Retro revivals such as Mortal Kombat and Space Jam: A New Legacy are also on the agenda.
On Wednesday, the companies said that the HBO Max app on Roku not only allows existing members to stream everything on the service, but also lets potential new subscribers sign up directly to their Roku devices.
“We believe all entertainment will be streamed and we are excited to partner with HBO Max to bring their incredible library of iconic entertainment brands and blockbuster slate of direct streaming theatrical releases to the Roku households of over 100 million people,” Scott Rosenberg, Roku’s senior vice president of platform business, said in a press release.
Tony Goncalves, WarnerMedia’s Chief Revenue Officer, said the company was also “excited” about the deal. “We are groundbreaking in the coming months and we can’t wait to work with our longstanding partners at Roku to build on our past successes and provide the best entertainment from HBO Max in its class to Roku’s large and deeply engaged audience bring., ”he said.
Look at this:
What’s New to Stream in December 2020?
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