HBO Max patches its Roku hole six months after launch

Enlarge / Whip it good, HBO Max. (credit: Aurich Lawson / HBO Max)

As 2020 draws to a close, HBO Max's 2020 stumble into the streaming-video fray has begun smoothing out, and the subscription service will soon seal its biggest North American gap: a spot on the Roku marketplace.

Starting tomorrow, December 17, North American Roku owners will finally be able to download and access the HBO Max app, as confirmed by a joint statement by Roku and WarnerMedia, the entertainment conglomerate that's wholly owned by AT&T. The official statement didn't mention what previously prevented owners of Roku set-top boxes and smart TVs from accessing the $14.99/mo subscription service, though it did acknowledge a new "agreement" between the companies—which was likely a financial one.

And that agreement was likely significant, owing to the whopping 100 million-plus users currently hooked into the Roku ecosystem. It follows a November move by WarnerMedia to get HBO Max onto Amazon Fire streaming-video devices. That's not all—PlayStation 5 users can add HBO Max to that console's "media" tab starting today, as well.

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