HBO Max Returns to Amazon

 It’s been a dizzying year to keep track of the shifts in the streaming waters- and now there’s another move afoot. HBO Max will be returning to the Amazon Prime Video Channels over a year after it was pulled from the service. With a prospective merger for the overall HBO banner on the cards after the formation of Warner Bros Discovery and two streaming platforms coming under one banner, it’s an interesting move indeed. Entertainment attorney from Blake & Wang P.A, Brandon Blake, dissects what we know.

Brandon Blake


New Deal

As from Dec 6th 2022, HBO Max’ premium tier will be offered for $14.99 a month through the third-party Prime Video Channels service. Discovery’s content will be added to the deal once it launches next year.

 

When the service was pulled from Amazon Prime Video last September, it took 5 million HBO Max subscribers with it. While some services- think Paramount+, AMC+ and Starz- have done very well for subscribers out of the platform, others (namely Disney+ and Netflix) have declined to use it, citing both issues with Amazon’s overall control of the viewing options as well as their cut of the subscription price.

A One-Stop Shop

While Amazon has both its premium Prime Video service, as well as FAST platform FreeVee, the wider Amazon Prime Video Channels platform aims to offer a one-stop solution for people looking for entertainment. Of course, that also provides a juicy amount of data for them to mine, something that’s becoming a critical key for entertainment companies in the digital era.

 

HBO Max was originally pulled by Jason Kilar, then-WarnerMedia CEO, in order to better control their streaming environment. Apparently David Zaslav wishes to take a more flexible approach, and it seems the new focus will be on maximum revenue collection and building broader access to the channels, something we’re seeing widely echoed over Warner Bros Discovery’s content and distribution agreements.

 

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