HBO Is Safe on Fire TV—Kind Of

In an apparent final-hour agreement between WarnerMedia and Amazon, Fire TV users will be able to continue streaming HBO.

Let’s back up a bit because a couple of things happening simultaneously appeared to put Fire TV users at risk of losing HBO apps entirely. HBO Go is going away as of today, July 31, leaving HBO Max and HBO (the rebranded app formerly known as HBO Now). But HBO Max hasn’t hit Fire TV yet, and Variety reported earlier this month that Amazon’s contract for HBO Now was expiring today as well.

Without a renewal agreement in place, Fire TV would have had exactly zero HBO apps. When asked for comment about an extension for the HBO Now-turned-HBO app, WarnerMedia declined to comment earlier this week.

But the two have reached a deal for “a short-term extension,” a WarnerMedia spokesperson told Gizmodo in a statement by email today. Amazon also informed customers in an email this week that the HBO app and streaming HBO via Prime Video will continue to be supported, according to a copy of the email provided to Gizmodo. Variety earlier reported on the email sent to customers.

But, unfortunately for Fire TV users, HBO Max will still be absent. A Fire TV spokesperson said today there was no update there at this time. The WarnerMedia spokesperson told Gizmodo that the company continues “to work hard to reach agreements with the few outstanding distribution partners left to bring all of HBO Max to customers on platforms,” presumably referring also to Roku.

Obviously, lacking HBO Max is a bummer, given the absolutely bananas haul of content that WarnerMedia has introduced to the service. But some HBO is definitely better than no HBO. And in the meantime, there are now roughly 4 million other streaming services to choose from.