More than 100 million Americans — and 100 million more worldwide — can watch Amazon Prime Video’s catalog of more than 20,000 movies and TV shows. A thriving developer community is building apps to help today’s cord-cutters watch Amazon Prime Video content by offering universal search, recommendations and other services.
Is there an Amazon Prime Video API?
The surprising thing is, Amazon does not make an Amazon Prime Video API available to developers. However, there are companies such as Reelgood which offer a public API for not only Prime Video but Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services.
What kinds of Amazon APIs are available to developers?
Developers can use several different Amazon APIs to access the company’s services or extend their apps with Amazon-enhanced capabilities. The FireOS APIs, for instance, extend the Android operating system to run on Amazon’s Fire TVs and tablets. The API lets developers take advantage of Amazon-specific features such as 10-foot TV interfaces, tablet touch capabilities and automotive integrations.
Another video related option for developers is the Alexa Video Skills API. Device manufacturers and video service providers use this API so the Alexa voice service will recognize their products. But even then, there’s a catch. Amazon only makes some of this API available to “selected developers.”
None of the Amazon APIs, however, let your apps query the Amazon Prime Video catalog.
Kelsey Reynolds • Author
Kelsey is a content strategist based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Minnesota. Kelsey was drawn to working at Flixed because the team was so open, motivated, and curious. She most enjoys thinking about how to blend programmatic and editorial content to answer readers’ questions as completely and efficiently as possible. When she’s not at her computer, Kelsey can usually be found working in her garden or walking her two dogs in the park.
Davan Hamilton • Editor
Davan Hamilton is an editor and writer based in Jacksonville, FL. Holding a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, her writing spans a wide range, from essays on film criticism and analysis to surreal poetry. Now, she works for Flixed as an editor, continuing to ignore the list of passion projects she’s accumulated. When she’s not glued to her computer, you can find her building endless amounts of Lego sets, binge-reading manga, or playing with (fighting) her cat.
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