AT&T has big plans for HBO Max that it cannot yet execute because it's hoping to get a somewhat better deal from Roku and Amazon. Considering that The Walt Disney Company signed up more than 10 million Disney+ subscribers in its first 24 hours, it seems HBO Max has a problem.

Surrendering control of Peacock’s advertising would undermine the streaming service’s business model and the streaming service has been unable to come to an agreement with Roku on the subject, sources said.

Returns as of 10/27/2020. Leading up to AT&T's (NYSE:T) launch of HBO Max in May 2020, the company said, "we expect HBO Max to achieve an impressive level of scale and reach at launch." He follows nearly everything in the technology and consumer goods sectors, and is a huge fan of the Peter Lynch investing style.


Spending billions to shift toward streaming, only to limit HBO Max's availability to 30% of the domestic streaming market, isn't a real long-term option. The complications that come from negotiating ad-supported platforms aside, Doug Clinton, managing partner of tech VC fund Loup Ventures, argued that Disney may have been in an advantageous position in negotiations by the high level of anticipation for Disney+ leading up to its launch. 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. It does bear mentioning that a DirecTV sale could change the narrative, since this acquisition has dragged on results since day one. “Given the increasingly competitive device landscape everyone is looking for new forms of revenue, such as advertising. Selling DirecTV could cost HBO the ability to market HBO Max to over 17 million previously captive customers.

“It comes back to the power question. HBO Max needs Roku and Amazon Fire TV -- not the other way around.

While Peacock has an ad-free subscription tier, NBCUniversal has focused its marketing on the cheaper or free ad-supported tiers. Let's conquer your financial goals together...faster. At the beginning of this year, Amazon reported it had over 40 million users  on its Fire TV streaming platform. It’s too early to suggest that the lack of Roku and Fire TV access for HBO Max and Peacock will irreversibly cripple their long-term viability, according to analysts. ‘Soul’ Aims for Oscar Glory as Disney Shifts to Streaming, but Not All Films Deserve the Same Release, How Closed Theaters, Drive-In Movies, and Netflix Supremacy Are Shaping Oscar Season, ‘Chicago 7’ Vs. the World: How Aaron Sorkin’s Awards-Friendly Epic Jolted a Strange Awards Season, Introducing ‘Deep Dive’: Damon Lindelof and His Team Go Behind the Scenes of ‘Watchmen’, ‘Succession’: How Editing Helps Every Dinner Scene Come to Life — Deep Dive, Becoming Hooded Justice: The ‘Watchmen’ Craft Team Analyzes the Emotional, Pivotal Scene – Deep Dive, 40 Must-See New Movies to See This Fall Season, The Best Movies Eligible for the 2021 Oscars Right Now, Jessie Buckley Won’t Explain ‘Ending Things,’ but She Will Reveal What Terrified Her Most. Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! A representative from WarnerMedia did not return a request for comment. Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.

We encourage you to read our updated PRIVACY POLICY and COOKIE POLICY. Copyright © 2020 Penske Business Media, LLC. The ad-supported versions of the streaming service only feature five minutes of advertisements per hour, which allows Peacock to sell its ads at particularly high prices, sources familiar to the conversations told IndieWire. Interviews with leading film and TV creators about their process and craft.

The Dark Knight Trilogy and More DC Movies and Series Missing on HBO Max. One problem in HBO Max's launch was the confusing upgrade path for millions of existing HBO customers. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! The fact that these numbers don't include potential Amazon Fire TV subscribers leads to one inescapable conclusion: It's time for AT&T to blink and get a deal done.

HBO Max and Peacock faced a variety of challenges by launching in the middle of a pandemic, but there’s still no end in sight to one of their biggest roadblocks: Neither streaming service is available on Roku or Amazon Fire TV, the leading products in the connected TV market. For Peacock, ad inventory is a particularly pertinent issue though it’s a topic that will impact HBO Max in the near future as well. Founded in 1993 by brothers Tom and David Gardner, The Motley Fool helps millions of people attain financial freedom through our website, podcasts, books, newspaper column, radio show, and premium investing services. Stock Advisor launched in February of 2002.

As a quick point of comparison, HBO and HBO Max finished AT&T's most recent quarter with a combined total of 36.3 million  accounts. While HBO Max and Peacock, which are respectively operated by WarnerMedia and NBCUniversal, are available on platforms such as mobile devices, most smart TVs, and online via their own websites, Roku and Fire TV are notable exceptions. Who sells the ads and what the shares of the ad inventory are is certainly a major issue.”. A source familiar with the conversations told IndieWire that inking deals to bring new streaming services to Roku have been held up by the company’s inconsistent demands, which change from month-to-month.