Technology
Comcast Finally Unlocks HBO Go and Showtime Anytime on Amazon’s Fire TV
In this July 30, 2008 file photo illustration, a silhouetted coaxial cable with the Comcast Corp. logo in the background is seen in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, file)
(Digital Trends) – After withholding access under lock and key, Comcast finally relinquished authentication for two major streaming apps for the Fire TV and Fire TV Stick streaming devices today.
Comcast Xfinity subscribers will now be able to access HBO Go and Showtime on Amazon’s streamers, according to the company. The new availability for subscribers of Comcast Xfinity on Amazon’s streaming video devices follows a similar deal which allowed Comcast customers to watch HBO Go and Showtime Anytime through Roku media streamers in December.
“Both the Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick join platforms like Roku, AppleTV, Xbox One and Google’s Chromecast where subscribers can download the network’s app, sign in with their Xfinity TV credentials, and immediately start watching the channel’s shows and movies,” explained Comcast Cable Executive Vice President Matt Strauss in a company blog post.
It’s a long-awaited concession for Comcast, which is perpetually one of the last holdouts among pay-TV providers to allow access to popular streaming apps that require authentication from a cable or satellite subscription. As the largest cable and Internet provider in the country — one which is often the only available option for consumers in many regions — the service has been notoriously slow to allow subscribers to access content from third-party hardware.
