Why Peacock and HBO Max aren’t on the biggest streaming platforms
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
If a streaming service launches, but it’s not available on Roku or Fire TV, does it really launch at all?
Technically, yes — but not for a large percentage of the United States streaming market that uses Roku and Amazon Fire TV products to stream their entertainment. Backroom negotiations between media conglomerates and tech giants have kept some of the biggest streaming services from landing on these platforms. WarnerMedia’s HBO Max is still missing both Roku and Fire TV apps, and this week, NBCUniversal’s Peacock launched without them as well.
This means tens of millions of people are likely left confused about why they can’t stream these services on their core devices in their living room. It’s also a massive number of people that…
