HBO Taps Roku Because It Needs A Boost; The In-App Browser Abomination - AdExchanger

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HBO Maxed Out

Warner Bros. Discovery is an awkward forced marriage between two streaming services.

But Discovery is already wearing the pants in this relationship.

The original content slate for Discovery+ is going strong, while Warner Media’s HBO Max is taking cut after cut.

Except for “House of the Dragon,” the new “Game of Thrones” spinoff.

Warner Bros. Discovery is going big to back the potential tentpole, including a major marketing deal with Roku to promote the series on Roku smart TVs.

Roku launched an “Exclusive Fan Experience” home screen last week to hype up the “House of the Dragon” premiere on Sunday, including behind-the-scenes interviews, fun facts about the characters and “Game of Thrones” recaps.

There’s no telling what two days of marketing will accomplish, but under new ownership, HBO has to prove it’s a serious subscription driver.

Out, Out, Out With In-App Browsers

Facebook and Instagram faced PR blowback recently when Felix Krause, a security and privacy researcher, published a post showing how they collect data from their in-app browsers.

In-app browsers feel like legit browser apps. They use open-source code and Apple’s WebKit infrastructure. But they’re not legit. They’re platform data collection vehicles.

Krause updated his report with more detail on in-app browser code and, particularly, TikTok’s excessive data collection.

TikTok is the only app reviewed by Krause...

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