In a
surprise move on Wednesday morning, Amazon announced that it had acquired the rights to stream HBO shows like
The Sopranos and
Six Feet Under as part of its Amazon Prime Instant Video subscription service, a huge acquisition in its ongoing battle against Netflix.
The agreement will make HBO shows available to stream to non-HBO subscribers for the first time ever.
Netflix has long coveted the rights to HBO shows, with CEO Reed Hastings
proclaiming in 2011 that the one show he’d love to have on Netflix is
The Wire. Since then, Hastings has all but declared open war on HBO,
saying that his company’s goal is “to become HBO faster than HBO can become” Netflix.
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