HBO Max Returns to Prime Video Channels
December 6, 2022
Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon Dec. 6 announced that HBO Max is once again available on Prime Video Channels in the United States — two years after departing the platform that affords Prime members access to third-party streaming services.
When AT&T-owned WarnerMedia launched Max in 2020, it couldn’t/wouldn’t come to fiscal terms with Amazon (and separately Roku) for the nascent SVOD service — an impasse that reportedly ended up costing Max almost 2 million subscribers who accessed the service via Prime.
AT&T CEO John Stankey, who blamed Amazon’s strong-armed negotiating for the decision, which reportedly included control of Max subscriber user data, earlier this year defended the decision.
“I feel it was the right decision,” Stankey said on the January fiscal call. “I think it will even be more the right decision in a post-Discovery merger environment, as the [combined Warner Bros. Discovery] offer only gets stronger that’s in the market and the content that’s available. At the end of the day, you want full control of your customers.”
HBO, HBO Max and Discovery+ ended the most-recent fiscal period with 94.5 million combined subscribers.
Prime members can sign up for Max for $14.99 per month. Subscribers will have access to 15,000 hours of curated premium content. Additionally, subs will have access to the expanded content offering that will be available in Warner Bros. Discovery’s enhanced streaming service when it launches next year.
“Warner Bros. Discovery is committed to making HBO Max available to as broad an audience as possible while also advancing our data-driven approach to understanding our customers and best serving their viewing interests,” Bruce Campbell, chief revenue and strategy officer for Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement.
Upcoming Max programming includes the third and final season of the original drama series “His Dark Materials,” the second season of “Gossip Girl,” the four part docuseries “Branson,” the fourth season of “Doom Patrol (on Dec. 8), the original concert special,”Lizzo: Live in Concert” (Dec. 31), and the premiere of the original drama series “The Last of Us” (Jan. 15, 2023), based on the critically acclaimed video game of the same name.
Prime members can subscribe with no extra apps to download beyond Prime Video, and no cable required by visiting amazon.com/channels/hbomax.