HBO will sell reruns of hit shows like “The Sopranos” to Amazon Prime. (HBO)
HBO and Amazon have announced a deal through which the cable TV network will offer reruns of many hit shows on Amazon’s Prime Instant Video platform. The shows to be sold include “The Sopranos,” “Six Feet Under,” “The Wire,” “Girls” and “Veep,” as well as HBO miniseries like “Band of Brothers” and original features such as “Game Change.”
The Los Angeles Times reports that “HBO’s online streaming service HBO Go will also be available on Amazon’s new Fire TV settop box the end of the year,” as part of the arrangement. HBO shows will be available on Prime Instant starting May 21. Terms were not disclosed.
From The Hollywood Reporter:
The deal is a first for HBO as the premium service has kept past episodes of its programming inside its own walled universe on authenticated service HBO Go and its own on-demand platforms. HBO has been cautious about entering the SVOD [subscription video on demand] ecosystem in order to protect the lucrative fees customers pay cable providers for access to HBO’s original content and Hollywood movies, which continue to be a significant driver of eyeballs to HBO. Licensing content to streaming services remains a balancing act for premium cable networks, where the bread-and-butter is still subscription fees.