Amazon has formed a huge partnership with HBO, teaming up with the US TV broadcaster to bring several classic HBO shows to its Amazon Prime streaming service.
The exclusivity deal will see Amazon Prime subscribers be able to stream HBO shows such as The Sorpranos, The Wire and Boardwalk Empire, with Girls, Newsroom and Veep episodes becoming available to stream around 3 years after they air.
Notably absent from the announcement is current HBO shows such as Game of Thrones, but regardless of the absence of the hugely popular TV adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s books, Amazon’s acquisition of such classic and beloved shows will no doubt come as a blow to rivals Netflix.
The announcement from Amazon and HBO reads: “Amazon.com, Inc. today announced a content licensing agreement with HBO, making Prime Instant Video the exclusive online-only subscription home for select HBO programming. The collection includes award-winning shows such as The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The Wire, Big Love, Deadwood, Eastbound & Down, Family Tree, Enlightened, Treme, early seasons of Boardwalk Empire and True Blood, as well as mini-series like Band of Brothers, John Adams and more.
“Previous seasons of other HBO shows, such as Girls, The Newsroom and Veep will become available over the course of the multi-year agreement, approximately three years after airing on HBO. The first wave of content will arrive on Prime Instant Video May 21. This is the first time that HBO programming has been licensed to an online-only subscription streaming service. This programming will remain on all HBO platforms.”
Amazon also announced that HBO GO would be available on its Amazon Fire TV streaming device, saying: “In addition, HBO GO will become available on Fire TV, targeting a launch by year-end. HBO GO is HBO’s authenticated streaming service offering subscribers instant access to over 1,700 titles online including every episode of new and classic HBO series, as well as HBO original films, miniseries, sports, documentaries, specials and a wide selection of blockbuster movies.”
This is a great coup for Amazon and couldn’t have come at a better time, considering Netflix recently announced that it will be raising its subscription prices. Read more about that here.
