Roku and WarnerMedia have agreed on the distribution of the HBO Max on the Roku platform – almost seven months after the streaming service’s launch.
HBO Max will be live on Roku starting tomorrow, Thursday, December 17, the companies announced. The deal now gives the streaming service coverage on all major over-the-top platforms. The absence on Roku was a big hole: Roku had 46 million active user accounts at the end of September.
The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but both sides claimed they were satisfied with finally resolving their disputes.
WarnerMedia was seeking a pact with Roku as the last major distribution platform for HBO Max ahead of the day-and-date premiere of “Wonder Woman 1984” with Gal Gadot on the service and in theaters December 25. As previously announced, all movies in Warner Bros.’s 2021 slate will debut on HBO Max in the US, concurrent with the theatrical release, and will be available exclusively to stream for one month.
Under the deal, Roku users who already subscribe to HBO through Roku will get the existing HBO app on their devices automatically updated to become the HBO Max app, and can log in with their existing HBO credentials. It appears that Roku will no longer be selling HBO as a channel subscription on the Roku Channel Store.
“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 direct to streaming theatrical releases to the Roku households of over 100 million people that made Roku the # 1 TV streaming platform in America, ”said Scott Rosenberg, SVP of Roku’s platform operations, in a statement.
Rosenberg added, “Reaching mutually beneficial agreements where Roku grows with our partners is how we deliver an exceptional user experience with incredible value to consumers and we are excited about the opportunity to extend our long-term relationship with the WarnerMedia team. to deepen. “
Tony Goncalves, Chief Revenue Officer at WarnerMedia, said in a statement, “We are groundbreaking in the coming months and we can’t wait to work with our longtime partners at Roku to build on our past successes and HBO Max’s first-class entertainment for Roku’s large and highly engaged audience. “
The news of the WarnerMedia and Roku deal comes a day after Comcast announced the rollout of the streaming app on Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Flex and after HBO Max launched on PlayStation 5. Amazon struck a deal in November to bring HBO Max on Fire TV and Fire. Tablet devices, after holding out for several months.
Roku and WarnerMedia were negotiating the terms of the distribution agreement. Roku wanted to continue to have the ability to sell HBO subscriptions through the Roku Channel store, while WarnerMedia insisted on distributing HBO Max as a separate app. The two sides also sought to agree on which ad inventory would be split with Roku for the ad-supported, reduced-price version of HBO Max scheduled to release in late 2021.
HBO Max, with a regular subscription price of $ 14.99 per month, touts 10,000 hours of curated premium content, including TV shows and movies from HBO, Warner Bros., DC, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Turner Classic Movies.
In addition to the release of ‘Wonder Woman 1984’, HBO Max will feature Carrie Underwood’s exclusive holiday special ‘My Gift: A Christmas Special’ this month, a new special ‘Euphoria’ episode featuring Zendaya, Steven’s comedy film ‘Let Them’. Soderbergh. All Talk ‘and the four-part docuseries’ Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults’.
In January, the highlights of HBO Max programming were the second special episode “Euphoria”; Season 4 of “Search Party”; a new season of ‘Selena + Chef’, the entire ‘Gossip Girl’ library, Season 1 of ‘Snowpiercer’, ‘The Alienist: Angel of Darkness’ and ‘King of Staten Island’.