WarnerMedia and Roku have finally reached a deal for HBO Max, bringing the subscription streaming outlet to Roku’s 46 million active users and filling a key distribution gap ahead of a string of Warner Bros film releases.
Along with Amazon Fire TV, Roku has emerged as a gatekeeper of streaming, benefiting from a surge in overall streaming hours even before the prolonged shutdowns of Covid-19 in 2020.
Starting on Thursday, Roku users will be able to download HBO Max from the platform’s channel store and subscribe to it directly. For users who have already subscribed to HBO through their Roku devices, the HBO app will automatically update to become HBO Max, and they will be able to log in using their existing HBO credentials.
“We believe that all entertainment will be streamed and we are thrilled to partner with HBO Max to bring their incredible library of iconic entertainment brands and blockbuster slate of direct to streaming theatrical releases to the Roku households with more than 100 million people,” said Scott Rosenberg, Senior Vice President, Platform Business, Roku. “Reaching mutually beneficial agreements where Roku grows together with our partners is how we deliver an exceptional user experience at an incredible value for consumers and we are excited by the opportunity to deepen our longstanding relationship with the team at WarnerMedia.”
The agreement for HBO Max, which launched May 27, comes as it prepares for the day-and-date launch of Wonder Woman 1984 and all of Warner Bros’ 2021 film releases. The Wonder Woman sequel will stream Christmas Day and also arrive in theaters. The slate in 2021 will follow the same day-and-date pattern, though major theater circuits have not confirmed bookings as of yet.
About one-third of U.S. theaters remain closed, notably in lucrative markets like New York and LA, making theatrical prospects iffy, though Wonder Woman 1984 is projected to debut north of $60 million internationally, minus key territories like the UK, where theaters had to close again. While WarnerMedia has framed the move as offering choice to its customers, it has angered a number of stakeholders, including exhibitors, talent agencies and WarnerMedia talent and business partners. The common complaints are that it was dropped out of the blue, without ample discussion and that it takes a too-gloomy view of exhibition at a time when vaccines are rolling out and many health experts see many activities potentially returning by the spring.
With deals major distribution outlets like Amazon Fire TV, Comcast, Apple TV and others already in effect, Roku had been the lone missing piece for HBO Max.
“HBO Max is an incredible product with an unparalleled content offering that puts the consumer at the center, and we’re thrilled that Roku users will be able to experience all the great stories HBO Max has to offer,” said Tony Goncalves, Chief Revenue Officer, WarnerMedia. “We’re breaking new ground in the months ahead, and we can’t wait to work with our longtime partners at Roku to build on our past successes and bring HBO Max’s best-in-class quality entertainment to Roku’s large and highly engaged audience.”
HBO Max has reached 12.6 million activations in its first six months of availability, according to John Stankey, CEO of WarnerMedia parent AT&T. That’s still a minority of the total HBO subscriber base. Within AT&T’s wireless and pay-TV systems alone, roughly 10 million customers already paying for HBO are able to sign up for HBO Max at no extra charge. Direct retail subscribers pay $15 a month for the service, which is at the top end of the pricing scale.
Convincing them to do so has been a significant challenge because of confusion over various HBO streaming options and who is eligible for Max and what benefits they get.
As the last of the billion-dollar entrants into the streaming derby, WarnerMedia launched late and, due to the coronavirus and other factors, without a Mandalorian-style programming title. While Stankey and other executives publicly characterized the initial performance of HBO Max as solid and even slightly ahead of their forecasts, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar (a seasoned tech executive who worked at Amazon and was founding CEO of Hulu) decided it needed to make a splash.
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December 17, 2020 at 04:32AM
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HBO Max Seals Deal With Roku, Making Streaming Distribution Footprint Complete - Deadline
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