Is Westworld and other ‘forgotten’ HBO series available for free on Roku before they’re available on the new ‘Max’ platform?
A number of HBO series and other content from Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is now available for free on Roku. The Roku channel now includes at least 14 ad-supported channels giving access to over 2,000 hours of WBD content, including shows like Westworld, The Nevers and Raised by Wolves, content that disappeared from HBO Max a few months ago.
Westworld and other ‘forgotten’ HBO series available for free on Roku
Last January, WBD signed a deal with Roku and Tubi for free, ad-supported streaming on so-called “FAST”channels. Three of these channels were launched on Tubi in early February. We had to wait a bit to see them on Roku, but now it’s done.
Each of these channels is dedicated to different topics. There is one for the most popular shows like Westworld and Nikita (WB TV Watchlist), another for documentaries like How It’s Made and The Way the Earth Works (WB TV How To), one for cult movies (WB TV At The Movies) and even one for cooking competitions (WB TV Sweet Escapes). By broadcasting licensed content through FAST channels, WBD has another source of revenue. This should reduce a reported $2.1 billion net loss for the last quarter of 2022.
Even before moving to the new “Max”platform?
These channels will appear on Roku shortly before WBD integrates Discovery+ content into HBO Max as part of its end-to-end streaming service project due this spring. However, Discovery+ will continue to exist as an independent streaming service in the US. Rumor has it that HBO Max is unlikely to see a price increase right away. Last January, the WBD raised the price of HBO Max’s free offering for the first time.
The company has yet to announce the name of this new platform, but several reports seem to indicate that it will simply be “Max”. However, the wait is not long, as WBD plans to formalize all this at a special event on April 12th. To be continued!