Now it has become much easier and more convenient to watch Amazon Prime Video TV shows and movies with your friends remotely. The service’s “Watch Party” feature has gotten a much-needed expansion from the limited use cases where it worked before — on Fire TV devices, desktop web browsers, and the Prime Video mobile app — and it now supports non-Amazon streaming devices, smart TVs. and Xbox/PlayStation game consoles. TechCrunch first message about the expansion.
With Watch Party, up to 100 people with a Prime subscription can watch content at the same time. The host can play, pause, skip, and fast-forward or rewind for the group, and everyone can chat about what they’re watching.
For now, Amazon’s Watch Party feature will only be available in the US. “An error message is displayed when using a VPN,” Amazon notes in the 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, everyone has 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 cropped up during COVID-19 lockdowns, Amazon Watch Party began testing through its Twitch service in 2019. Hulu offers a similar function of the same name, Disney Plus offers GroupWatchand streaming TV apps like Sling TV are joining in too.