‘True Blood,’ ‘Boardwalk Empire,’ other older HBO hits coming to Amazon Prime

Has HBO just made a game-changing move in the battle of streaming services, or are they merely making a PR statement without really giving up too much of their own leverage? This story is by and large a matter of interpretation.

Let’s start here, though, with the facts. The network has officially decided that starting May 21, Amazon Prime subscribers will receive access to a catalog of some of the network’s best shows, including “The Wire,” “The Sopranos,” and older seasons of both “True Blood” and “Boardwalk Empire.” Also, “Girls” and “The Newsroom” will eventually be available three years after their seasons are over.

The words “three years” is why it is hard to really think that this has given Amazon that much in the way of leverage over Hulu Plus or Netflix right now in the streaming war. By this time, most who have really wanted to see the shows (unless you are one of those people who has wanted to watch “The Wire” but has constantly put it off) already have. The same goes for those who bought them on DVD. This is not a move that is going to cost HBO much damage at all for their own services or disc sales. “Game of Thrones” is also not included in the deal, which is right now their big moneymaker. The same goes for “Entourage,” “Sex and the City,” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which all make plenty of money elsewhere in censored-syndication.

We still are of two separate minds about this whole streaming competition in the first place. There’s a part of us who sees it like buying a premium cable network, at least in that you buy the one you want; however, there’s also a part of us that compares it to the Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD battle, where the real losers are the consumers. Can you imaginable how silly some of those HD DVD consumers feel right about now?

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Photo: HBO