Amazon To Reportedly Ban Sales Of Apple TV And Google Chromecast Starting October 29th
The gloves are about to come off in the streaming devices market, and it looks as though Amazon is bringing out its “Fire” branding by taking a blowtorch to Apple and Google. The online retail giant markets streaming devices like the Fire TV and the Fire TV stick, both of which serve as vehicles for its Prime Video streaming platform.
The Apple TV and Google Chromecast don’t play nicely with Amazon Prime Video. While a somewhat neutered Prime Video app is available for iOS devices (Amazon doesn’t want to give Apple a cut of purchases, so only content that you have already purchased or content freely available to Prime subscribers is available via the app), there isn’t a Prime Video app available for the Apple TV platform. Likewise, the app also is not available for the Chromecast.
First generation Google Chromecast
Since it can’t get its Prime Video app on competing platforms from Apple and Google, Amazon decided to simply cut them out completely. Starting October 29th, Amazon will no longer sell either the Google Chromecast or Apple TV via its website. This edict also extends to third-party sellers via the Amazon Marketplace.
"Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime," read an email from Amazon to its Marketplace sellers that was obtained by Bloomberg Business. "It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion."
It should be noted that Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4, along with Roku’s family of streaming devices are all safe from the ban — all of these devices welcome the Prime Video app with open arms.
The current generation Apple TV (not the newly announced and not yet launched fourth generation model) is currently the 14th best selling device in the entire electronics section of Amazon, and ranks in 4th place in the Streaming Media Player. The Google Chromecast is ranked #6 in electronics and #2 in Streaming Media players behind the Amazon Fire Stick.
