HBO Max announces more launch partners; no deals yet with Amazon, Comcast, Roku

By Helen Coster

(Reuters) - HBO Max, the forthcoming streaming service from AT&T Inc-owned WarnerMedia, announced on Wednesday several new partners will carry its content, but it has not yet announced deals with Comcast Corp, Amazon.com Inc or Roku Inc.

HBO Max will be available on Altice USA Inc, Cox Communications, Microsoft Corp, National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), Samsung, Sony Interactive Entertainment and Verizon Communications Inc when it launches on May 27, the company said.

The company had previously announced distribution deals with Apple Inc, Charter Communications Inc, Hulu and Alphabet Inc's Google and YouTube TV.

HBO Max is launching at a time when demand for new content is high - as more people are staying home due to the coronavirus - but consumers' income may have taken a hit as a result of the pandemic. The service will cost $15 per month for non-AT&T customers; WarnerMedia is also offering lower-cost promotional deals and has said HBO Max will be free to some AT&T customers at launch.

HBO Max will enter a crowded streaming landscape dominated by Netflix Inc, Walt Disney Co-owned Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video. It will include 10,000 hours of content from WarnerMedia brands and libraries such as Warner Bros, New Line Cinema and Cartoon Network. At launch it will include six original titles, including the underground ballroom dance competition series "Legendary" and a Sesame Workshop children's show "The Not Too Late Show with Elmo."

(Reporting by Helen Coster in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)