After HBO left Prime Video last year to focus on its own offerings, HBO Max will once again be available through Amazon for $14.99 per month. Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon struck a new distribution deal for HBO Max to return to Amazon’s streaming service (via Deadline).
This is great news for those who hate switching apps on their TVs and want premium entertainment from HBO. Now you can watch House of the Dragonin the same place you watch The Boys.
WarnerMedia, who had constructed HBO Max in 2020 to be a competing streaming service amongst others like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime, reached an agreement with Amazon that undoes the key mission for the company before its merger with Discovery.
'The Boys'Credit: Sony Pictures Television Distribution/Amazon Studios
Former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar hoped to secure distribution for HBO Max as a standalone app on Amazon Fire TV devices rather than having its features as part of Channels. Kilar’s efforts were celebrated by then-parent company AT&T, with CEO John Stankey publicly declaring that Amazon had been using strong-arm tactics with other companies for too long.
This effort caused a delay in HBO Max’s availability on Amazon and Roku, another major streaming platform, for months after the service’s initial launch due to WarnerMedia’s defensive stance.
When HBO Max left Channels in 2021, WarnerMedia reported a loss of 5 million subscribers in the quarter when the move happened.
With HBO Max wanting to make money fast, Warner Bros. Discovery has been busy making changes. With an upcoming merger between HBO Max and Discovery+, a service that has been on Prime Video Channels since its launch in 2021, a new deal was made.
Prime Video is a powerful driver of overall streaming viewership. With over 200 million members globally, Amazon has been able to draw more and more viewers to Prime Video with new releases and series likeThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and offering NFL Thursday Night Football. It also helps that Prime Video is an added perk for those who have Amazon Prime.
'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'Credit: Amazon Studios
“We strive to offer customers the best and widest selection of premium content available for their everyday viewing experience,” Prime Video VP Cem Sibay said in a press release. “With the addition of HBO Max again, customers can easily add this subscription and enjoy even more award-winning and fan-favorite entertainment of Prime Video.”
Warner Bros. Discovery might make more changes as soon as it gets ready for a new year. Whatever CEO David Zaslav decides to do, you can trust that it will be in the name of reducing Warner Bros. Discovery’s debt.
Will you still be using the HBO Max app or watching from Channels on Amazon? Let us know in the comments!
Source: Deadline
