After months of tense negotiations between AT&T’s WarnerMedia division and Amazon, the HBO Max app is finally set to land on Fire TV devices, more than six months after the app first made its debut.
Variety reports that the existing HBO app on Fire TV players and tablets will automatically turn into the HBO Max app on Tuesday via an update. Those who already subscribe to HBO through Amazon Channels can log into the app at no extra charge, while new subscribers will have to pony up $14.99 a month.
The arrival of the HBO Max app on Fire TV devices leaves Roku as the biggest holdout, although Roku users can now stream HBO Max video to their players via AirPlay, with Roku devices getting AirPlay 2 support as of last week.
WarnerMedia and Amazon have been negotiating for months about adding the HBO Max app to Amazon’s Fire TV platform, with the two sides bickering over such issues as Amazon’s cut of advertising revenue for other WarnerMedia properties as well as how HBO Max content would be presented within the Fire TV user interface. Neither of the two companies revealed the details of their final agreement.
Up until now, Fire TV users have had to do without the HBO Max app, which first launched back in May. That said, HBO subscribers with Fire TV devices were able to use the old HBO Go app, which was rebranded as simply “HBO” in August, to continue streaming HBO shows while awaiting a truce between WarnerMedia and Amazon. Those willing to try elaborate workarounds could also sideload HBO Max onto their Fire TV devices.
HBO Max is the streaming home of such HBO shows as Game of Thrones, Big Little Lies, The Sopranos, Euphoria, Lovecraft County, Watchmen, and Last Week Tonight, as well as such syndicated shows as Friends and The Big Bang Theory.
Squabbles over the latest high-profile streaming apps have become more and more commonplace in the last year or so. NBCU’s Peacock app, for example, finally arrived on Roku devices in September after months of back-and-forth between the two companies. Roku, meanwhile, still hasn’t come to terms with WarnerMedia over the HBO Max app, although at least Roku users can now use AirPlay streaming as a stopgap measure.