When Amazon introduced the new Prime Add-on Subscriptions in December, support on the Fire TV for the new content was minimal. You could view all the content you subscribed to with the Fire TV, but you couldn’t start a subscription or browse all of your subscribed content in one place. The new 5.0.5 software update, which is currently rolling out to devices, has added full featured support for the add-on subscription service to Fire TV devices.
Each subscription option now has a dedicated screen on the Fire TV where you can browse through just the content included with a subscription. There is also a new “Your Subscriptions” section which lists the services you’ve subscribed to. Additionally, the Home screen now has a “Featured Subscriptions” section to highlight additional content available through add-on subscriptions and other third-party options like Hulu.
Selecting one of the add-on subscription options no longer directs you to subscribe through Amazon’s website. Instead, you can now start a subscription directly through the Fire TV. The price and free trial duration, which all subscriptions include, are listed before committing to a subscription. You can also require a PIN be entered before starting a subscription incase you’re worried someone will inadvertently subscribe to content. There doesn’t appear to be a way to cancel a subscription through the Fire TV, but that can be done very easily through Amazon’s website in just a few clicks.
Content which is available through one of the add-on subscription options will list the subscription name, along with the free trial duration, as one of the watching options. For Showtime content specifically, it’s a bit confusing because there are now three ways to watch their content: the Showtime add-on subscription, the SHOWTIME stand alone app, and the Showtime Anytime app which requires a cable subscription. If you’re already subscribed to an add-on subscription, the option to just watch the content for free is front and center with no need to dig into the “more ways to watch” popup menu. For most of the content, Amazon is placing the button to view through an add-on subscription or third party app first, in front of the option to purchase or rent through Amazon.
Sweet. Now I may actually subscribe to some of the packages. Before it was so confusing on where to find the services and figure out what was included.