Charter has reached a distribution deal with AT&T’s WarnerMedia for the upcoming subscription streaming service HBO Max.
Under the terms of the deal, all of Charter’s existing HBO subscribers, including people who pay for the Spectrum Silver and Gold packages, will automatically get HBO Max. Those subscribers won’t need to pay any additional charges and only need to sign into the HBO Max app.
All other remaining and new Charter customers will be able to purchase HBO Max directly from the cable provider.
“Charter has been a longtime distributor of our networks and on-demand content, and a valued partner to our company,” said Rich Warren, president of WarnerMedia Distribution, in a statement. “We look forward to working together to bring HBO Max to Spectrum subscribers when the product launches next month.”
RELATED: HBO Max lands first distribution deal with YouTube TV
“We are eager to provide Spectrum customers with the highly-anticipated HBO Max offering when it makes its debut next month,” said Tom Montemagno, Charter’s executive vice president of programming acquisition, in a statement. “This new premium streaming experience will be a welcome addition to Spectrum subscribers; we will offer HBO Max on a multitude of platforms for purchase by our video, broadband and mobile customers alike.”
This agreement follows WarnerMedia’s announcement in February that it had reached a similar distribution deal with YouTube TV, which will start offering HBO and Cinemax to its subscribers for the first time and provide immediate access to HBO Max when it launches in May.
WarnerMedia CEO John Stankey has been pitching the benefits of HBO Max distribution deals for traditional and virtual MVPDs. He said they’ll be able to continue participating financially in a monthly residual model and that the expanded consumer data that’s collected will benefit distributors through advertising.