It used to be that you didn’t need to know much about streaming services to find a good one. In years past, users simply picked up a Netflix subscription and downloaded their apps on all of their devices. Unfortunately for those who like to keep things simple, Amazon is making the choice of which streaming service to subscribe to that much more harder than it was just yesterday. Today Amazon announced that it’d entered into a licensing deal that will make it the exclusive third-party streaming provider for HBO content.
The deal ensures that cable cutters will finally get the opportunity to see HBO’s catalog of original programming without having to sign up for a cable subscription — or worse — snatch the HBO Go password of someone who actually does have cable or satellite service. That’s certainly great news, but there is a gotcha. New seasons of HBO shows will take three years to appear on Amazon Prime.
On May 21st Amazon Prime subscribers will get access to seasons of Eastbound & Down, Rome, Six Feed Under, Enlightened, Flight of the Concords, The Wire and more original shows. All of the service’s original movies, documentaries, miniseries and comedy specials will also be available. You know, just in case you were going to miss Bill Maher accidentally insulting an entire culture from somewhere other than the Real Time desk.
As part of this deal HBO Go will also make it to the $99 FireTV set-top box that Amazon debuted earlier this month. Thankfully, users don’t need to invest in a FireTV to access Amazon Prime content today. The video service is already available on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.