No HBO Subscription? Thanks To Amazon Instant, No Problem!

It’s been a little over a year since Netflix first surpassed HBO in United States subscribers, an event that sent shockwaves through the hallowed halls of America’s premiere premium programming provider. The critical and commercial success of Netflix original series like House Of CardsOrange Is The New Black, and Hemlock Grovein combination with a consumer-friendly price point of only $7.99/mo (since raised to $8.99), kickstarted the executive team at Home Box Office. Their proprietary streaming service, HBO Go, not only arrived late to market, but since launch has been plagued by some high profile collapses. Although their worldwide total of 114 million subscribers still dwarfs Netflix’s, the network found itself in a position where a bold strike was necessary to build its brand reach and simultaneously drive additional revenue by leveraging their incredibly valuable library of properties.

Adopting the old mantra of “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” HBO partnered with Amazon.com to give 20 million-plus Amazon Prime members the ability to stream a large chunk of HBO’s prestigious back catalog, including The Sopranos (arguably the program that ushered in the current Golden Age of Television), The Wire (the most critically acclaimed series in TV history), Boardwalk Empire (17 Emmy wins among its 30 nominations), and much, much more. We’re talking miniseries, original movies, comedy specials — the works. (No Game Of Thrones, though.)

Of course, if you’re an HBO subscriber, all of these titles (and more) have long been available to you to stream on-demand via HBO Go (largely sans the kinds of issues that beset True Detective finale and Game Of Thrones premiere watchers). And sure, nearly everything that Amazon Instant now boasts has previously been available for purchase on DVD or Blu-Ray. That said, this precedent setting liberation of HBO’s tremendously rich back catalog is a giant WIN for not just HBO (who pocketed somewhere between $200 and $400MM for the deal) and Amazon (who can now justify the recent Amazon Prime price increase), but for streamers everywhere.

With summer nearly upon us, there will be many long, lazy days ahead of us to crank the A/C and catch up on series like The Sopranos and The Wire, but as we get ourselves prepared for the Memorial Day weekend, now is an excellent time to remember the sacrifices that the members of our Armed Services have made defending the freedom that we hold so dear. Here are three selections of military-themed programming that is now available for you to watch on either HBO Go or Amazon Instant.

  • Band Of Brothers (10 episodes/10.5 hours total run time) – Travel with the members of East Company, the US Army’s 101st Airborne division, as they bravely travel through Europe on a mission during World War II. This landmark miniseries took home six Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe and even a Peabody Award.

WATCH ON:HBO GoAmazon Instant

  • The Pacific (10 episodes/9 hours total run time) – Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks served as Executive Producers of this miniseries that focused on the operations of the U.S. Marine Corps in the Pacific Theater during WWII. It took home 7 Primetime Emmy Awards, including Best Original Miniseries.

WATCH ON:HBO GoAmazon Instant

  • Generation Kill (7 episodes/8 hours total run time) – Adapted from Evan Wright’s best-selling book, the series follows an embedded Rolling Stone reporter as he documents the actions of a USMC battalion during the first 40 days of the 2003 Iraq War. Created by David Simon (The Wire), it’s a gritty, sometimes hilarious, but always painstakingly authentic portrait of one of our country’s most controversial wars.

WATCH ON: HBO GoAmazon Instant