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Watch Party is a new feature for Amazon Prime Video subscribers that allows you to watch movies and series with friends or family. How it works
Stream series and movies with over 100 friends. This is Watch Party, a new Amazon Prime Video feature announced on Monday June 29 in the US. Prime subscribers will be able to chat and watch their favorite show together.
While the coronavirus and social distancing physically separate people, Amazon “brings them closer” in a viewing experience together. This is a virtual “party” with live chat for up to 100 participants, with live commentary on the movie, provided both the host and Watch Party guests have a Prime Video subscription. The feature offers an extensive catalog of content included in the subscription and Amazon Originals productions and is currently being tested in the United States, but it is possible that it will also reach Italy.
Watch Party, how it works and what you can watch
The new Prime Video feature bridges the gap by offering synchronized playback of your content. To get started, a guest who wants to share a movie or series has to click on the appropriate icon that will appear next to the selected title and then share the generated link with their friends and family. Control over viewing during a session rests entirely with the visitor who can start playback, pause playback, or fast-forward. Automatically the activities will sync with the viewing of other Watch Party users.
Amazon also designed a chat to interact with other session participants, which supports both text and emojis and stickers. It is a kind of movie forum where users can comment on what they are watching for maximum socialization even from a distance.
Right now, Watch Party offers thousands of the most popular Prime Video titles included in the subscription. These include Amazon Originals content such as “Fleabag”, “The Marvelous Mrs Maisel”, “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan”, “The Boys”, “Troop Zero” and “HANNA”.
Watch Party, how much and where is it available
Let’s talk about costs. Watch Party is free and included with the monthly or yearly Amazon Prime Video subscription. This feature is not supported on smart TVs, tablets and smartphones, but only on desktops and PCs. The link generated for co-viewing can be opened on most browsers, except Safari.
Watch Party is being launched gradually in the US, and to access “virtual cinema” both the guest and the invitee will need to be Prime Video users as well as US residents. The timetable for its introduction in other countries has not yet been determined, so we will have to wait a little longer before we can use it in Italy.
Live streaming with friends: how the idea was born
The Watch Party idea arose long before the coronavirus, but the crisis caused by the pandemic accelerated its introduction. Streaming platforms, including Netflix and Hulu, have been working on a collaborative viewing experience for several years.
A few months ago, the startup Scener launched a platform that allows users to watch Netflix content by syncing with friends and chatting to comment on movies, but this is not an official app released by the company. Another similar feature is offered by Hulu, but it limits the collaborative viewing to just eight participants.
