Google confirmed that it will be pulling access of YouTube on Amazon devices such as the Fire TV and Echo Show over complaints that Amazon doesn’t sell certain Google devices via its electronic marketplace
CNET and others reported Tuesday (December 5) that Google is poised to pull YouTube off of those Amazon devices on Jan. 1, 2018. CNET noted that YouTube disappeared from the new Echo Show device, which combines a touchscreen with a smart speaker, in September but came back last month.
“We’ve been trying to reach agreement with Amazon to give consumers access to each other's products and services,” a Google spokesperson said in a statement to Multichannel News. “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.”
Update: Amazon issued this statement: "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 retail- and OTT content-focused tensions between the two giants are emerging amid the holiday buying season and as the FCC gears up to vote on a roll back network neutrality rules.
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A dust-up between Amazon and Google surfaced in the fall of 2015, when Amazon halted sales of Apple TV and Chromecast devices, holding that they did not “interact well” with Amazon Prime Video but did with devices such as Roku players, Xbox and PlayStation consoles and Amazon’s own Fire TV products.
The news also drew a rapid response from USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter. “Broadband ISPs are committed to providing an open internet for their customers, including protections like no content blocking or throttling,” he said. “Seems like some of the biggest internet companies can’t say the same. Ironic, isn’t it?”
