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HBO Max isn’t yet available on Roku or Fire TV, but apps for both platforms are ready once HBO parent AT&T strikes a deal with Roku and Amazon.
Sarah Tew/CNET
HBO Max’s big launch Wednesday went off largely without a hitch. Unlike other streaming launches, there were no major issues of downtime, no widespread app crashes and no outages preventing large numbers of people from upgrading their HBO Now or cable provided-HBO Go account to a one that has HBO Max.
The big question for millions, however, is when HBO Max will be available for Roku or Amazon Fire TV. Although there remains a gap between HBO parent company AT&T and the two popular streaming TV platforms, once an agreement is reached the upgrade process to bring HBO Max to either platform should be quick.
Andy Forssell, executive vice president and general manager of WarnerMedia’s direct-to-consumer products, tells CNET that the company has HBO Max applications ready to go for both Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
Once deals are reached, Forssell says the apps could be on either platform’s app stores, “minutes later.”
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The development team, he adds, has already, “done the hard work” with the issue now being, “about the complexity of the landscape and just getting to a deal that makes sense” for both AT&T and the respective streaming platforms.
As AT&T’s WarnerMedia was building out the various HBO Max apps the company’s goal was to, “be on every platform,” says Jeremy Legg, executive vice president and chief technology officer for HBO. “And so we build apps for every platform along the way.”
Legg adds that some of the deals to bring HBO Max to platforms like iOS and Android or cable providers like Comcast and Charter, “got done now, some of them will get done later.” But, he continues, “we’ll have apps for all.”
The company’s HBO Go and Now apps have long been staples on Roku and Amazon Fire TV platforms and both apps continue to work today for accessing regular HBO.
It is still unclear when exactly AT&T will reach deals with Amazon and Roku. “It could be days, it could be longer,” says Forssell. “But everybody I think is operating in good faith and so I’m optimistic.”
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