Variety has reported that Google has blocked access to YouTube from Amazon’s Fire TV devices and the Echo Show device. A spokesperson told the publication:
“We’ve been trying to reach agreement with Amazon to give consumers access to each other’s products and services. But Amazon doesn’t carry Google products like Chromecast and Google Home, doesn’t make Prime Video available for Google Cast users, and last month stopped selling some of Nest’s latest products. Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and FireTV. We hope we can reach an agreement to resolve these issues soon.”
Amazon responded to the statement by saying:
“Echo Show and Fire TV now display a standard web view of YouTube.com and point customers directly to YouTube’s existing website. Google is setting a disappointing precedent by selectively blocking customer access to an open website. We hope to resolve this with Google as soon as possible.”
The report has suggested that the long standing hostility goes back to the decision by Amazon to use a non-standard version of Android and to have its own app store for the OS.
Analyst Comment
Not being able to access YouTube could have a significant impact on the desirability of FireTV devices. (BR)
Amazon’s Echo Show will not have access to YouTube
Analyst Comment
Separately, we heard that Amazon Prime Video is now available through the Apple TV box. (BR)
