Amazon is giving its Prime members the ability to watch TV shows and movies on Prime Video with friends using its new Watch Party feature.
The feature is slowly rolling out, according to the company, and is only available in the US right now. Watch Parties will accommodate up to 100 viewers in one group, but each person must have a US-based Prime subscription. Once inside the Watch Party, people can choose from thousands of titles, according to Amazon, including originals and licensed shows and movies.
Anything from the service’s US streaming video on demand catalog is featured. This includes originals like Fleabag, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Jack Ryan, The Big Sick, The Boys, Homecoming, and My Spy, as well as licensed titles available with an Amazon Prime Video subscription. Movies and TV shows available for rent or purchase, however, are not available to stream in Watch Party.
Watch Party hosts will oversee full synchronized playback controls and a chat feature to talk with all other guests. While Twitch, Amazon’s other streaming service, has a similar feature, those streams are open to the public. Anyone can join a creator’s viewing session as long as they have a Prime account. Prime Video’s new Watch Party feature is entirely private. The host will share a link with family members and friends for people to click and join, similar to Zoom.
Prime Video is the most recent major streamer to get in on virtual viewing parties. WarnerMedia, Disney, and Netflix partnered with Scener so subscribers to HBO, Disney Plus, and Netflix can watch things together. Right now, Prime Video Watch Parties are only for desktop use. Amazon did not say if a mobile version is on the way.
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