Google has blocked its video streaming service, YouTube from Amazon Fire Show and Fire TV, as the bitter feud between the two tech giants heat up. YouTube will be pulled from the Echo Show, while Fire TV users have already started seeing a notification today that warns that the service will be unavailable as of January 1, 2018.
“We’ve been trying to reach an 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,” a YouTube spokesperson told The Verge.
Amazon has also responded to this matter. “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.” a spokesperson told The Verge by email.
The whole controversy started when Amazon removed Google Chromecast from its official website in 2015, stating that the move was meant to avoid confusing customers who would expect Amazon Prime Video service to run on Chromecast. Same was the case with Apple TV. However, Amazon and Apple came to an agreement earlier this year and it was announced that Prime Video would support Apple TV, but nothing was made clear for Google Chromecast.
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So, in September, Google pulled off YouTube from Amazon Echo Show as it violated its terms of service. Shortly after, Amazon stopped selling Nest products like Nest E Thermostat, Nest Secure alarm system and more. Amazon brought back YouTube on the Echo Show by simply directing users to the web version. However, this version will not be available on Amazon services.