Amazon Adds Watch Party Compatibility to FireTV Devices

You can now host or join an Amazon Prime Video Watch Party through Amazon FireTV devices. 

XDA Developers first spotted the new compatibility on Amazon’s FAQ page for its Watch Party feature on Friday. However, Amazon notes that FireTV devices work with Watch Party only in the Prime Video app. 

Previously, Prime Video subscribers were able to use the Watch Party feature with a computer browser, which isn’t as movie-night friendly as watching it on your TV screen. 

Amazon noted that playback is still not supported on mobile devices, but that you can use the Watch Party chat to share the link with your friends and talk about key scenes of whatever you’re watching. It’s also important to note that everyone who joins in on a Watch Party must have an Amazon Prime subscription, and they must separately purchase or rent the movie the host of the Watch Party chooses, if it's paid content. 

Amazon debuted Watch Party last year as a way for people to watch TV shows and movies with up to 100 of their closest family and friends in different places at the same time. 

Amazon isn’t the only one with a Watch Party-like feature: Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max all have some type of similar feature where you can binge-watch the latest viral show with your friends or family over the internet. These group-watching features gained popularity last year during the pandemic and remain a desired way to have a movie night with friends or family who live farther apart.