HBO Classic TV Shows Not Leaving Amazon Prime Video

27 Apr, 2017 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Amazon says tags suggesting select HBO classic television shows would be departing Prime Video May 21 are not true. A representative for the e-commerce behemoth told The Verge the labels were an error and would be removed.

Amazon three years ago inked a groundbreaking license deal with HBO to stream the premium channel’s catalog titles, including “The Wire,” “Big Love,” “True Blood,” “Deadwood,” “Six Feet Under” and “The Sopranos,” among others. It was HBO's first third-party streaming pact and done before the launch of its proprietary SVOD service, HBO Now.

The license agreement did not include current shows like “Game of Thrones,” “True Detective,” “Silicon Valley,” “Veep,” “Westworld,” “The Night Of” and “Insecure,” among others.

The deal also pre-dated Amazon Channels, the platform showcasing third-party SVOD services — including HBO Now — to Prime members.

Separately, Amazon said it feels upward spending (reportedly around $4.5 billion) on original content to compete against Netflix and others is worthwhile.

"We think it's working," CFO Brian Olsavsky said on an April 27 fiscal call. "We're very bullish on what we're seeing both with how customers are responding and the quality of the content.”

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