HBO Max has officially launched! The new streaming service is WarnerMedia’s answer to likes of Netflix and Disney+, and it offers a huge catalog of movies and TV shows — everything from DC titles (with some glaring omissions) to anime classics by Studio Ghibli to beloved sitcoms like Friends and, of course, HBO series like The Sopranos and Game of Thrones.
The thing is, if you’re hoping to watch HBO Max on your Roku or Amazon Fire Stick/Fire TV, you’re out of luck for now. The service is not available on those devices.
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Let’s dive into where you can get the service, and why it’s not an option on Roku or Amazon’s Fire TV yet…
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Where Is HBO Max Available?
The good news is those who use the following can access HBO Max:
- iOS
- Android
- Apple TV
- Android TV
- Chromecast
- Xbox One
- PlayStation 4
- Some cable TV providers
- The good ol’ web
Additionally, users who have the HBO Go or HBO Now app — including on Roku or Fire TV/Fire Stick — can still of course use those HBO-specific services that they’ve always had. But the additional content available on HBO Max will not be available through Go or Now.
Why You Can’t Watch HBO Max on Fire TV and Roku
Oddly, even though Roku and Fire TV account for more than 80 million TV households, HBO Max can’t be accessed on those devices. The reason why this is the case is, on the face of it, fairly simple: WarnerMedia and their parent company AT&T haven’t been able to make a deal with Roku and Amazon. But talks are reportedly ongoing.
“As the No. 1 streaming platform in the US we believe that HBO Max would benefit greatly from the scale and content marketing capabilities available with distribution on our platform,” a Roku spokesman said in a statement, according to Cnet. “Unfortunately we haven’t reached [an] agreement yet with HBO Max. While not on our platform today, we look forward to helping HBO Max in the future successfully scale their streaming business.”
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John Stankey, AT&T’s incoming CEO and former head of WarnerMedia, discussed the matter on CNBC (via Variety) on Wednesday. “Roku and Amazon at this point have elected to not be distributors,” he said. “We must be doing something right if somebody believes we are now starting to be more in conflict with their business, so I don’t necessarily take that as a bad sign.”
We’ll see about that!
Variety’s sources add that revenue-sharing terms are at issue, but also “a key objection the OTT companies have with HBO Max is the shift to an app-based distribution model, in which all of the content is funneled through WarnerMedia’s walled garden – instead of through the Roku and Amazon channel platforms.” Also in question is how advertising will be handled when a lower-cost, ad-supported version of HBO Max (think Hulu’s ad-supported model) debuts in 2021.
For more on HBO Max, check out all the TV Shows, movies and originals you can stream now. And here are all the DC shows and movies missing from HBO Max at launch.
Source: IGN.com Why You Can't Watch HBO Max on Fire TV and Roku