Related Articles
HBO
A dispute between Roku and Comcast has led to a deal that will allow Comcast subscribers to stream content from HBO and Showtime via a Roku box — after being denied such a service for years.
Most owners of a Roku streaming device have been able to subscribe to HBO Go and Showtime Anytime and then watch these channels through the device’s Web-based apps. However, Comcast subscribers have been denied this service through the failure of apps to authenticate — stemming from an ongoing dispute with Roku.
On Monday, Recode reported on an FCC filing that documents a deal signed November 25 after “several months” of negotiations between Roku and Comcast. A Roku attorney told the US Federal Communications Commission in the filing that the deal means Comcast has “among other things, agreed to authenticate the HBO Go and Showtime Anytime apps on Roku video streaming devices.” The filing did not specify a date for the apps to start functioning.
In other words, if you are a Comcast subscriber, you will eventually — and finally — be able to use Roku to watch shows from HBO and Showtime.
In related news, HBO Go is now also available on the Amazon Fire TV set-top box. However, there is one caveat: if you’re a Comcast subscriber, you’re out of luck.
In a statement, Amazon was quick to place the blame on Comcast, saying: “Comcast is not currently supporting HBO GO on Amazon Fire TV. We’d love to provide HBO Go for Comcast customers on Fire TV and encourage those customers to reach out to Comcast for further information on availability.”
This story originally posted as “Comcast, Roku ink deal for HBO, Showtime streaming” on ZDNet.
