Why You Can't Watch HBO Max On A Fire Stick — Yet

It’s here, it’s here! After much anticipation, HBO Max launched on May 27, complete with a few brand new originals and a whole library of classic content. Unfortunately, Amazon users won't be able to watch HBO Max on a Fire Stick, at least not yet.

While WarnerMedia, the company at the helm of HBO Max, is in negotiations with various streamers to add the new platform to its services, a Variety report published on May 20 revealed that an agreement with Amazon is currently at an impasse. So, for HBO subscribers who get the channel through third-party platforms like Amazon Prime (and Roku), an automatic upgrade to HBO Max is not guaranteed.

According to the report, John Stankey, the incoming CEO of AT&T, the company that owns WarnerMedia, revealed as much during an investment conference. While HBO Max will be in “virtually all app stores” at launch, Stankey confirmed that the new service will “not be in the Amazon Fire app store when all of this is said and done.” As a result, Amazon Fire Stick consumers will need to switch to the actual HBO Max app in order to access the library of content, thus leaving Amazon’s integrated environment. This is not necessarily set in stone: an HBO Max spokesperson told CNET.com that the company will communicate further instructions on how specific users could access HBO Max as the launch approaches.

Given that streaming services like Amazon and Roku are against WarnerMedia’s push to have subscribers leave the integrated apps, these guidelines could, of course, shift in the future under new agreements. For now, however, HBO Max will not be accessible through Amazon’s flagship HBO app.

As for HBO subscribers who get the channel through the actual platform as opposed to third-party services, an automatic upgrade to HBO Max will occur at launch date. And if you're not a subscriber to HBO but interested in HBO Max, you can sign up for $14.99 a month. With original content like the Gossip Girl reboot, the Crazy Rich Asians-inspired docuseries The House of Hos, the satirical animated series about the British royal family The Prince, and classic content including all the seasons of Friends and the DCEU films, plus all of HBO’s original content on the library, viewers will never be short on content.