Roku to carry AT&T’s HBO Max streaming service

[December 17, 2020]  By Helen Coster

(Reuters) - HBO Max, the streaming service from AT&T Inc-owned WarnerMedia, will be available on the Roku streaming platform beginning Dec. 17, the companies said on Wednesday.

Until this deal, Roku was the only TV platform that did not carry HBO Max. Not being accessible through popular streaming devices and platforms Roku and Amazon challenged HBO Max's growth after WarnerMedia launched the service in May.

Roku users will now be able to download HBO Max from the Roku channel store and subscribe directly on their device to access all of HBO Max, which includes 10,000 hours of content from WarnerMedia brands and libraries such as Warner Bros, New Line Cinema and Cartoon Network.

In early December WarnerMedia announced plans to debut all of its 2021 films in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day, including potential blockbusters like “Matrix 4,” “The Suicide Squad,” “Dune” and “In the Heights.” It is releasing “Wonder Woman 1984” in theaters and on HBO Max on Dec. 25.

HBO Max has 12.6 million "activations" or users, compared to 86.8 million paid subscribers for Walt Disney Co's Disney+ and 195.2 million for Netflix.

(Reporting by Helen Coster; Editing by Aurora Ellis)

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