House of the Dragon debuted its first episode on HBO and HBO Max Sunday night. And in a major throwback to the days of Game of Thrones, when HBO GO would regularly crash beneath the stampede of bloodthirsty cable cutters, multiple folks had a problem with HBO Max.
The problem, according to HBO, might’ve been… Amazon. Specifically, Amazon’s Fire TV.
“House of the Dragon was successfully viewed by millions of HBO Max subscribers last night. A small portion of users attempting to connect via Fire TV devices had issues and we worked directly with impacted users to get them into the platform,” a spokesperson for HBO said in a statement to EW.
The comments on social media seem to support that. Various individuals reported issues with the HBO Max app on Fire TV.
The funniest part of all this is that Amazon will soon be the home of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, it’s own high-budget blockbuster fantasy series that has been in an uneasy dance with HBO’s House of the Dragon for some time. Questions persist as to whether people will watch both shows simultaneously or gravitate to one over the other. If you’re a glutton for the genre, this is the kind of conundrum you’ve probably been craving.
Amazon and Cinemark just announced this weekend that they will be screening the first two episodes of The Rings of Power in movie theaters starting Aug. 31 — a few days after the second episode of House of the Dragon hits HBO on Aug. 28. Previously, the streamer announced it would change up its premiere rollout, with The Rings of Power sharing its first two episodes on premiere day, Sep. 1. This change allows the show’s finale to air before House of the Dragon’s.
So, did the home of The Rings of Power inadvertently sabotage House of the Dragon’s big night? The streaming wars rage on.