Spat: YouTube app off Amazon devices
December 6, 2017
A tit-for-tat row between tech giants has escalated with Google’s YouTube removing its app from Amazon’s Fire and Echo Show devices. The site can still be accessed via browsers on the devices.
Amazon said it hoped to resolve the issue with Google as soon as possible but claimed: “Amazon doesn’t carry Google products like Chromecast and Google Home, doesn’t make (its) Prime Video available for Google Cast users, and last month stopped selling some of (our sister company) Nest’s latest products… Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and Fire TV.”
Amazon added “Google is setting a disappointing precedent by selectively blocking customer access to an open website.”
“This latest escalation in the ongoing battle for supremacy between two tech giants is spilling into the living room, with Google removing YouTube from Amazon devices due to Amazon’s continued refusal to have Google products on their all-consuming store, noted Clive Malcher, SVP Commercial at Piksel. “Viewers expect to be able to access the content that they like to watch on the device and at the time of their choosing. This convenience is paramount in today’s technology powered world, with consumers always looking for way to get a better, quicker experience that suits them best. It would seem that Google’s strategy here is to build pressure on Amazon by reducing the convenience that its customers currently enjoy, and make them jump through hoops to join users who watch one billion hours of YouTube content per day. Whether this strategy of restricting content access will impact the way that these brands deal with each other in their other battleground areas – such as hardware and devices – will be very interesting to watch.”
Meanwhile Amazon has announced the Prime Video app is available on Apple TV 4K and previous generations of Apple TV in over 100 countries.
“There is nothing that excites us more than delighting our customers, and we are thrilled for them to stream Prime Video on Apple TV,” said Mark Eamer, Vice President of Prime Video. “The app arrives just in time for the highly anticipated new season of The Grand Tour, which launches on December 8th, and Prime Video members streaming on the Apple TV 4K will have the exceptional viewing experience of 4K HDR.”