It just got a lot easier and more convenient to watch Amazon Prime Video TV shows and movies remotely with your friends. The service’s “Watch Party” feature has received a much-needed expansion for the limited use cases where it previously worked — on Fire TV devices, desktop web browsers, and the Prime Video mobile app — and now supports non-Amazon streaming devices, smart TVs, and Xbox game consoles. / PlayStation. TechCrunch first reported the expansion.
Watch Party allows up to 100 people with a Prime subscription to watch content at the same time. The host can play, pause, skip, and rewind for the group, and everyone can chat about what they’re watching.
For now, Amazon’s Watch Party feature is only available in the US. “If you’re using a VPN, you’ll get an error message,” notes Amazon in its FAQ. Everyone shares access to content that is free to stream with a Prime subscription. But if you want to watch a movie that can only be rented, you have to do it individually. Watch Party is not compatible with live events (such as Thursday Night Football), Amazon Prime Video Channels, or Freevee (formerly known as IMDBtv).
While many of these group viewing experiences emerged during lockdowns due to COVID-19, in 2019 Amazon began testing Watch Parties through its Twitch service. Hulu offers a similar feature with the same name, Disney Plus offers GroupWatch, and streaming TV apps like Sling TV have also joined.
