Charter Communications has announced native deployment of HBO Max and YouTube on its cloud-based video operating system, Spectrum Guide.
The two services join Netflix as the only apps available on Charter's Spectrum Guide platform. Charter said that the two added video platforms would work on "eligible devices."
Like Netflix, which was deployed on Spectrum Guide back in 2018, HBO Max will only be available on newer model Worldbox 2.0 set-tops, which a Charter rep told us, "make up a majority of our deployed Worldboxes."
The YouTube app will play on all Worldbox set-tops.
Notably, Spectrum Guide was developed a decade ago as a means of keeping older set-tops viable--the system relies on processing of video images and audio in the cloud. It appears that for streaming apps, however, a certain level of computer processing performacne is required in the client device.
“As the video landscape continues to change, we are evolving our products and making it easier for our customers to watch what they want by providing access to streaming apps from convenient launch points within the Spectrum TV experience,” said Elena Ritchie, group VP of video experience for Charter. “We look forward to growing this library and expect to launch more streaming video apps in the coming months.”
Spectrum Guide customers with the right customer premises equipment can tune directly into channel 2003 for YouTube or 2004 for HBO Max, or they can click on the appropriate logos in the app menus.
Charter is the second biggest pay TV operator in the U.S., with just over 16 million subscribers. It only trails Comcast, which natively integrated HBO Max into its Xfinity X1 and Xfinity Flex platforms last December.
