Amazon Fire TV users are likely to lose their HBO app on August 1, according to a report by Variety. The presence or absence of certain streaming applications on certain streaming devices is the most recent and hottest front in the so-called “streaming wars”. Fans will soon be asked to choose between their Amazon device and their HBO subscription.
HBO Max launched in May, and has so far failed to reach an agreement with Amazon or Roku to obtain their application on any of the streaming devices. This duo represents a sizable chunk of the market, but for WarnerMedia, there has been at least one grant from the existing HBO Now and HBO Go apps on Amazon and Roku devices. However, that will change soon. Starting August 1, the HBO Now and HBO Go apps are reported to be simplified into a single HBO app. (HBO Max will remain separate). While Roku has agreed to host this service, Amazon Fire TV has not yet done so.
HBO Max is the new streaming service from parent company WarnerMedia, designed to compete with Netflix, Hulu, Disney +, and, of course, Amazon Prime Video. However, although it is marked with the well-known name “HBO”, HBO remains a separate cable channel, with an independent streaming option available.
According to reports, the problem with Amazon is not just the fact that the companies now stream competitors, but is due to their past cooperation. HBO is currently available as an add-on to Amazon Prime Video as “Prime Video Channel” and WarnerMedia has reportedly asked Amazon to remove this feature. Amazon is reluctant to do so, sources said. Variety, leading to this current impasse.
As for Roku, the streaming device is happy to update its HBO Now app to the new, simpler HBO app, but it’s not moving on HBO Max. However, Roku also doesn’t want to give up his HBO channel. A source said this would give WarnerMedia the rights to the valuable user data that Roku and Amazon now collect instead.
“They want to add all of this content into a central experience,” said the source. “But Netflix will never do it. Hulu will never do it. HBO did it from the beginning, and now Amazon and Roku have a real problem because if HBO is not on their channels, that model falls apart.”
While the two companies are fighting over a deal, users can be the most annoying of all in this deal. Many are furious that they cannot access this exciting new platform on their existing device, or else they are angry that they subscribed to the service without realizing they would not be able to project it on their TV.
At the moment, many HBO Max users are adjusting by watching the channel through a game console like Playstation 4 or Xbox One, or investing in a new streaming device. Google’s Chromecast and Apple’s Apple TV have agreed to let HBO Max enter their devices. Still, some wonder if this fight between industry giants will hurt any of them in the eyes of consumers, and how public perception of these disputes will fuel broadcast wars in the future.
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