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Roku remote
Seanlockephotography/Dreamstime
Roku
said Wednesday it reached a deal with
AT&T’s
WarnerMedia to bring HBO Max to its platform. Roku stock was rising in after-market trading, following the news.
HBO Max, AT&T’s (ticker: T) answer to
Netflix
(NFLX) and Disney+, launched in May. WarnerMedia plans to launch all of its 17 films next year on HBO Max at the same time they arrive in theaters. Wonder Woman 1984 will begin streaming on the service on Christmas this year.
HBO Max was initially left off of Roku and
Amazon.com’s
Fire TV platforms for months. The latter added HBO Max in November after reaching a deal with WarnerMedia.
Platforms like Roku allow users to access streaming services from their living rooms. The company gets a cut from advertisements and subscriptions on its platform. Hashing out terms of such agreements is likely what held things up.
“Reaching mutually beneficial agreements where Roku grows together with our partners is how we deliver an exceptional user experience at an incredible value for consumers and we are excited by the opportunity to deepen our longstanding relationship with the team at WarnerMedia,” Scott Rosenberg, senior vice president of Roku’s platform business, said.
Earlier this month, Citi Research analyst Jason Bazinet pointed to HBO Max joining Roku as a potential catalyst for the stock to rise. He also pointed to a potential addition of Discovery’s discovery+ app.
Roku stock popped 4.3% in after-hours trading Wednesday. Such gains came after the stock rose 1.8% during regular trading. The stock has soared 143% in the past 12 months, as it has added millions of users during the pandemic.
Write to Connor Smith at connor.smith@barrons.com