Topline
HBO Max will finally be available on Amazon Fire TV streaming devices after it took the companies nearly six months to agree on deal terms.
In this illustration photo HBO Max logos are displayed on a mobile phone and a laptop screen in ... [+]
Key Facts
The existing HBO app on Amazon Fire TV will automatically update to HBO Max on Tuesday.
Customers who subscribe to HBO through Amazon Prime Video will be logged into HBO Max app with their Amazon credentials at no additional cost, WarnerMedia said.
The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but negotiations between AT&T’s WarnerMedia and Amazon were stalled for months because WarnerMedia wanted HBO Max to be a standalone service, not a premium channel add-on, according to TechCrunch.
Key Background
As the streaming industry gets crowded, disputes between content providers and streaming platforms are becoming more common, mirroring carriage between networks and cable companies. NBCUniversal’s Peacock just became available on Roku in September—six months after the streaming service launched—because the parties couldn’t agree on terms around advertising inventory. HBO Max still isn’t available on Roku and Peacock isn’t on Amazon Fire TV because of similar disagreements.
Big Number
38 million. As of October 22, that’s how many subscribers HBO Max has. Streaming services have boomed during the pandemic, and even though it wasn’t available on Roku or Amazon Fire TV devices, HBO Max has exceeded WarnerMedia’s expectations. For WarnerMedia, availability on Amazon Fire devices allows the company to access more customers, since connected TV devices make up 55% of global viewing time, according to analytics company Conviva.
