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The streaming wars have just gotten a little more heated after Amazon revealed it would no longer sell media streaming devices from Apple and Google.
The reason Amazon has given is that Apple TV and Google Chromecast do not easily support Amazon’s own streaming service, Prime Video. The e-commerce giant added the move was to avoid “customer confusion”.
Other devices that are fully compatible with Prime Video – including Amazon’s own Fire TV, but also Roku’s streaming box and the Xbox and PlayStation games consoles – will continue to be sold on Amazon.
Prime Video and media streaming in general is becoming a bigger and more important aspect of the the Amazon business – the firm has now started creating its own original shows through Amazon Studios as well as offering existing TV shows and movies.
Its in-house creation Transparent has just won an Emmy.
Prime Video comes as part of the Prime loyalty membership package the firm offers, which includes faster delivery on orders from Amazon’s website as well as other media content and a wider range of TV shows and movies.
The move to stop selling some rival content has been labelled anti-competitive by some critics and is the first time Amazon has been accused of such a thing. Last year the firm blocked pre-orders on some books from publisher Hachette while Amazon was negotiating with them on prices.
However, if could also be argued that Apple does not sell Fire TV hardware, and neither does the Google Store. Amazon may have started life as a general marketplace but that appears to be changing rapidly as different branches of its business grow.
With new Apple TV and Google Chromecast hardware having been announced this month, as well as a new Fire TV and Fire TV Stick from Amazon themselves, this feels like the Prime Video provider flexing its muscles in a market that is getting much more competitive.
