Amazon Live TV: Does Amazon Prime Have Live TV and How to Watch Them

Most people know Amazon as the world's biggest e-commerce platform which also doubles as one of the leading OTT streaming giants next probably only to Netflix, few of them may know that it also offers live TV channels as well.

So, if you are wondering if there are Amazon Live TV channels through which you can watch live programs, instead of streaming on-demand content, then you've come to the right place. In this article, you will get to know everything about Amazon Live TV.

1. What Is Amazon Live TV

In 2020 it was made known that Amazon wanted to bolster its offering of on-demand video service. They were about to add Amazon Live TV to their offerings. In the early stages, they were looking to employ people who could design a linear broadcast TV experience. They were exploring ways for customers to enjoy a linear TV-watching experience.

Linear TV was another definition of live TV that people could watch on broadcast channels. The Prime video team was exploring the building of linear catalogs which would provide a linear TV experience that would be best in class. In 2020 Amazon started to pursue licenses for linear and live programming.

It was not to be the first foray of Amazon into the world of live programming. Amazon obtained licenses to showcase live games such as NFL football games on their Prime Video channels. They also obtained the license to showcase the same on Twitch. The two companies had formed a partnership as well.

Amazon then announced that they would have Amazon Live streaming of the Premier League international soccer. This would also be on Twitch. However, the team started to look toward building an in-house team to run the Amazon Live streaming content.

Related Article: How to Watch Amazon Prime on TV of Any Kind?

2. Does Amazon Prime Have Live TV?

By 2021 Amazon not only had rolled out Amazon Prime Live TV but extended its features. For instance, it added Alexa support, even for live content. These were new experiences for those using Fire TV. That helped put more focus on live content streaming.

The company even announced that several services would be integrated into its suite of live offerings. These included IMDB and Xumo TV. It also included a news app from Amazon. The company even planned to add on Plex.

All these services were to be available for free, along with ads. There was no need to subscribe. The channels and their content would appear under the Amazon Prime Live TV tab on Fire TV. It would be visible on the rows called “On Now”. There was also a universal guide for the channels that came with the application of Fire TV.

3. Features of Amazon Prime Live TV

With the above additions Amazon Live TV included the following:

• There were about 400 and more channels in live-streaming mode.
• These were from 20 providers which were listed in the guide.
• It included services such as Pluto TV, YouTube TV, Philo, Prime video channels, Sling TV, Tubi, and Prime Video live events.
• All these 200 channels were made available for free; they contained ads and needed no additional subscription.
• Amazon also stated that Alexa-enabled support was available for live TV programs. Hence, if one said “Alexa, play Seahawks Game” or “Alexa, turn on Good Morning America”, these would launch accordingly.
• App Peak is a hover feature that comes on the new update of Fire TV’s software interface. This feature shows what is on a particular channel. This is visible as you hover over the channel in the main interface. Of course, this feature works only on third-generation Fire TV sticks. You will also find it with Fire TV Stick Lite.

From the above features, it is apparent that Amazon was contending with Roku’s similar offerings. Indeed, both of them are top streaming services in the US. However, their approaches to providing live TV differed.

The section on Amazon where live, free content is available as part of the Fire TV main interface. It is not a separate channel that needs launching. This showcases how Amazon designed its Fire TV interface which resembles the streaming service mostly.

Sandeep Gupta is the GM and VP of the Fire TV segment of Amazon. He states that they took on a content-centric approach toward Fire TV design.

As a result, when you turn on the TV, you get to see sports events, movies, and shows. There are no apps in rows. The philosophy extends to how live content is provided as well.

The company continues to invest in Amazon Live TV as well as its content partners. There are new integrations made such as Alexa capabilities and enhanced content mechanisms.

Fire TV offers a separate app as well. This limits itself to live and free content. It is supported by ads. This is different from Prime Video of Amazon which showcases on-demand movies and shows.

The new integrations for live TV were announced in 2021. If you have a Fire TV Cube and Alexa voice remote that would also work. Many Fire TVs also come paired with Echo devices.

As evident from above, Amazon Live TV streaming has added several features to it. The launch came at the right time too, when the pandemic kept people mostly at home. At such a time viewers ramped up viewership on this platform.

Amazon states that the live streaming on Fire TV increased more than double in a time span of one year. It was up by 130%. Of course, it is not the end since there are newer features planned for adding to Fire TV and its related devices.

4. How to Watch Live TV on Amazon Prime?

Many people have the Amazon Prime app on their smartphones and TV. They have also heard about Amazon Live TV which was launched in recent years. If you are wondering whether you can watch live TV on Prime, it is possible as well. Some contents are live on this platform and are easy to find.

If you wish to watch live TV on Amazon Prime, you can do so in the following way:

• Start by downloading the Prime Video app for your smart TV.
• Open the Smart Hub as you would find on Samsung smart TV.
• Select the Prime video application which is usually preloaded on smart TVs.

If you have a Fire TV stick then it is easy to watch live TV through it. If you wish to know how to watch Live TV on Amazon Prime with it, it is possible to do so with the following steps:

• Start by opening the Prime Video application.
• Once it is opened set up the digital antenna.
• Connect the antenna to RF input on the back of the TV. You would need to use the coaxial cable.
• Go to the home screen of the Fire TV.
• Select the settings option.
• Here you will find “Live TV”.
• Do a channel scan.
• You will find live channels showcased on the top bar.

You can now pick the channel which is your favorite and start streaming it live.

5. About Amazon Prime

It all began when Amazon Prime launched an on-demand video service. Today it is one of the popular international subscription services to opt for. There are global subscribers to this service, about 200 million in total. Of that, 10 million are in the US alone.

There are few others that can rival some of the perks that this service offers including Prime video Live TV. Members who have subscribed to this service can access a large catalog of movies, and TV shows here. These also include some Amazon Prime original programs which come to the viewers in the same subscription plan.

6. What do You Get with Amazon Prime?

There is an extensive catalog of shows and movies that this platform offers. Though the answer to the question - does Amazon Prime have Live TV will be dependent on whether you are using a Firestick, with the Prime Video app you can access a large catalog of content.

There is also a growing range of original productions on this platform. If you log onto Prime Video today, you will find as many as 24000 movies. There are documentaries as well as 2000 titles in TV show genres. There are originals here such as Bosch, The Wheel of Time, Reacher, Invincible, and others.

All such content is free for Prime members. Additionally, there are shows and movies that are available for purchase or rent. Many of them are premium content, not easily available on this platform. All this makes Prime Video a one-stop shop for entertainment.

7. Shortcomings of the Amazon Prime App

Even if you love to stream Amazon Live or on-demand content, the app does have its limitations. You can download content on it which will only remain in your account for a period of 30 days.

You can even choose the resolution in which you wish to save the files. However, you cannot move the video files from your account to another location. Furthermore, any file that you start to stream will expire in 48 hours.

The downloads are region-specific as well. Hence, if you are traveling, you cannot log into your account on the official app to make downloads.

For the above reasons, you would want to use a downloader program to overcome these limitations.

8. Download using StreamFab Amazon Downloader

Whether you are using the Prime app for streaming Amazon Live using the Firestick, it is possible to download videos without limit using the StreamFab Amazon Downloader program. It is a powerful Amazon Prime video downloader tool that can help save videos from Prime, directly to your PC’s hard drive.

8.1 Features of StreamFab Amazon Downloader

This downloader program comes with the following features:

• Free of Regional Restrictions

This is the first useful feature for Prime users. The downloader allows you access to your Prime account, irrespective of the region. As a result, you can log into your account using this software and make downloads from anywhere. Users can download videos from the UK, JP, US, DE, and other regions where Prime is available.

• Saves Videos in High-Quality

With StreamFab you can download and save videos in high quality. They are usually of .mp4 or .mkv format. As a result, you can easily move the videos from one place to another. Videos also come with superior audio quality.

• Enjoy Ad-Free Viewing

This is another benefit of using StreamFab to download videos from Prime. Often IMDB videos come with ads. However, if you download Prime videos using this downloader program, you can enjoy ad-free viewing. The downloaded content does not include ads.

• Preselect Language

This is another advantage when using this prime video downloader. You can select the language in which you want to hear the audio. You can select the subtitles as well. Usually, the downloader chooses the UI language as the downloader language.

• Save Subtitles

There are two ways you can save subtitles in the videos you download. You can choose to have them saved as SRT files separately or remux them into the videos directly.

• Download Meta Information

If you wish to create a playlist with the downloaded content, you can download metadata information as well. This includes details such as season, movie title, cast, episode title, cover details, and others.

• Batch Download

This is the other useful feature. If you love a TV show and want to download all episodes of the same, you can schedule the same on this program.

8.2 How to download Amazon videos?

It is an easy process to download videos from Prime using StreamFab:

• Start by downloading the application; you can use the trial version or opt to subscribe to the same.

• Double-click on the software; select VIP Services on the left column.

• Log into your Prime account using the StreamFab interface.
• Choose to play videos from this interface.
• Whichever video you stream, you can download the same as well, using the Download Now button that appears on the popup window when the video starts to play.

Conclusion

Those who have Amazon Prime can access the Live TV feature if they have the Fire Stick. To save any of such content on their computer for offline viewing, it is best to use a reliable downloader program.

StreamFab Amazon Downloader offers several features for downloading from Prime. One can save these files on their PC’s hard drive as well as move them to different locations. These can be accessed anywhere, in high resolution and audio quality. You can also watch them as many times as you want.