Amazon and Roku extend their streaming deal without any extra drama

In recent years, Roku has had drawn out stalemates with entertainment / internet giants like WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal, and YouTube, as its ambitions shift from simply selling TV streaming hardware to advertising and content. However, the company today announced an extension in its deal with Amazon, ensuring that the Prime Video and IMDb TV apps will maintain a presence on Roku devices without any back-and-forth wrangling, threats, or mudslinging that delayed the rollout of HBO Max and Peacock and caused YouTube TV’s app to disappear for a while.

Roku and Amazon have reached a multi-year extension for their distribution agreement. Customers can continue to access the Prime Video and IMDb TV apps on their Roku devices.

As Roku CEO Anthony Wood explained on an episode of the Vergecast, its business model is to take some of the ad inventory of ad-supported channels (like IMDb TV) that stream on its platform to sell targeted ads. Some publishers have their own plans for targeting, and that causes friction, as suggested in a report by The Information last fall noting the two could have an issue if Amazon wanted access to detailed viewing data it could link to its customers.

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