With in-person movie nights suspended, watch parties have become a lockdown essential. First Netflix, and then Hulu made it easy to watch TV streaming services online with friends, and now Amazon Prime Video is enabling users to remotely watch TV shows and movies from respective homes, together. When Hulu Watch Party launched, it was only available to those with a more expensive subscription. Netflix Parties are only available through an external browser add-on. Amazon Prime’s Watch Party is different, because it’s available to all Amazon Prime subscribers and is hosted on-site, with no need for a browser attachment. Essentially, it rolls together what we liked from Netflix and Hulu’s offerings - it’s free, and is hosted on-site from your desktop or laptop.
Amazon Prime Video’s watch party can host up to 100 people. Maybe we’re just woefully unpopular, but this is probably more than we’ll ever need. For the super-popular among us though, it’s a nice touch. Every member of your viewing party will need an Amazon Prime subscription, but there’s a free 30-day trial for anyone who doesn’t have it.
Amazon Prime Video's Watch Party: How it works
- Open Amazon Prime Video
- Choose a show or movie to watch
- Click on the Watch Party icon, which will appear underneath the title
- A private URL will be created – share it with anyone you want to invite to your viewing party
You can also click on the ‘Chat’ tab to send a message. One thing to be aware of is that the creator of the Watch Party takes control, so consider before sending out the URL who is best placed to host. What should you watch? Well, award-winning British comedy "Fleabag" is currently a favorite on Amazon Prime Video, as is "The Marvelous Mrs Maisel", but there’s a massive selection of movies and TV shows to choose between.
