Roku stops selling HBO through its channel store after HBO Max deal



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This week’s news that HBO Max – finally – is coming to Roku has been well received by millions of the device maker’s customers, eager to stream the WarnerMedia service to their TVs and catch “Wonder Woman 1984” on its release date. premiere on Christmas day.

But there is a wrinkle for some Roku users who want to get HBO Max.

Under its agreement with WarnerMedia, Roku no longer sells the old standalone HBO channel through its Roku Channel store. This is the same provision that Amazon and Apple agreed to when they signed their HBO Max distribution agreements – something WarnerMedia wanted to keep viewers in its own app experience and collect first-party data. To encourage the transition to the plus-size HBO Max, it is priced at $ 14.99 / month than the old standalone HBO service.

Now, to access HBO Max, Roku customers who already subscribe to HBO through the Roku channel will need to cancel their HBO subscription first, as the device manufacturer explains in a new document on its support site.

To unsubscribe from HBO on the Roku Channel using your computer or mobile device, customers can go to my.roku.com, select the “Manage your subscriptions” link and click “Unsubscribe” next to the “HBO on Roku Channel” thumbnail. On Roku devices, you can use your remote to highlight HBO on the Roku channel and press the star button on the Roku remote, then select “Manage subscription” and choose “Cancel subscription”.

After successfully completing this, Roku customers should search for the HBO Max app, install it from the Roku Channel Store, and follow the registration steps on the Roku device. Note that Roku will now sell subscriptions to HBO Max, using its Roku Pay payment service.

For Roku users who have already subscribed to HBO Max (either directly from WarnerMedia or another third-party distributor) or HBO Now, the process is much simpler. You can use your existing email address and password to sign into the HBO Max channel on your Roku device and verify access. If you are a subscriber to HBO Now, the channel will automatically update to HBO Max (then select “Access all HBO Max” when you open the app).

HBO Max is supported on all Roku devices that support OS 9.3 and later.

With the Roku deal, HBO Max now covers all major OTT device bases, with Roku (46 million active accounts in Q3) and Amazon Fire TV (over 50 million monthly active users) accounting for the largest portion. . HBO Max is also now available direct to Comcast Xfinity X1 and Flex customers, as well as Apple TVs (iOS and Apple TV), Google (Android, Chromecast and YouTube TV), Xbox, PlayStation, and Samsung.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, WarnerMedia launched a limited-time HBO Max deal for direct subscribers that offers a 22% discount to new subscribers who pay upfront for six months at $ 69.99 ( approximately $ 11.66 per month). The AT&T-owned company also ended the seven-day free trial of HBO Max ahead of the first day and date of “Wonder Woman 1984”.



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