Amazon to carry HBO content

US pay TV broadcaster HBO will allow subscribers to Amazon Prime Instant Video to watch its shows on the VoD service after agreeing a wide-ranging content deal.

Shows including The Sopranos, The Wire, Girls and Veep will all be available on Amazon Prime, marking the first time HBO programmes have been licensed to an online-only service.

Series will appear around three years after they first aired, meaning Game of Thrones is not yet available. Other shows such as Six Feet Under, Boardwalk Empire and True Blood are included in the package, however, and will start appearing from May 21.

HBO’s own streaming service, HBO Go, will continue to allow cable subscribers to watch its shows online and is set to become available on Fire TV, Amazon’s new set-top TV box, by the end of the year.

The deal comes after Amazon recently increased the price of its Prime service from US$79 to US$99 a year.