Warner Bros. Discovery recently announced that they would be licensing bundles of their shows to “third-party free, ad-supported streaming services”… and now The Hollywood Reporter has revealed the details of a couple of those licensing deals. While Warner Bros. Discovery has been making the news a lot in recent months as they remove titles from their own HBO Max streaming service, content from the company is now set to reach both Tubi and Roku.
The Hollywood Reporter explains, “Tubi will add more than 225 free channels from WBD and 14 WB-branded FAST channels, including the launch of three brand-specific channels, WB TV Watchlist, WB TV Keeping It Real, and WB TV All Together, to feature some of WBD’s popular content, including all seasons of Westworld, Raised by Wolves, Legendary, FBoy Island, The Nevers, Finding Magic Mike, Head of the Class and The Time Traveler’s Wife.” Warner Bros. Discovery titles will start showing up on Tubi in February.
As for the Roku deal, “Roku plans to create WBD-branded channels for titles such as Westworld, The Bachelor, Cake Boss, Say Yes to the Dress and F-Boy Island, as well as about 2,000 hours of on-demand library programming.” These channels will start launching sometime in the spring.
The Hollywood Reporter notes that titles like The Gordita Chronicles, Love Life, Minx, and Made for Love, which were removed from HBO Max, don’t appear to be included in the Tubi or Roku deals.
Tubi’s Adam Lewinson had this to say about the streaming service’s deal with Warner Bros. Discovery: “Warner Bros. Discovery has a catalogue that TV lovers can’t get enough of and Tubi is proudly making many of these recent hits from Warner Bros. Discovery available to new audiences this month. From critically acclaimed and groundbreaking to lighthearted and addicting, our new WB branded FAST channels and on-demand offering will speak to each of Tubi’s distinct audience communities.“
Roku’s Rob Holmes provided the following statement: “As FAST continues to explode in popularity amongst cord-cutters, we’re seeing content players increasingly shift their focus towards capturing this audience, by bringing some of their best stuff to FAST. The rapid expansion of premium content on FAST is a win for both the viewer and content owner, as well as advertisers looking to reach these audiences through well-known programming.“
It’s good to know that Warner Bros. Discovery titles will be available to watch on other services, because the company’s recent moves have really brought down any interest I had in supporting HBO Max. (Especially since the price is being raised.) What do you think of Warner Bros. Discovery’s decisions and these Tubi and Roku deals? Let us know by leaving a comment below.