Amazon and Google really don’t like each other. The latest proof of that came yesterday afternoon when Google revealed YouTube will disappear from Fire TV tablets, streaming devices and television sets.
This comes after a series of tit-for-tat exchanges between the two companies. Amazon stopped selling the Chromecast, Google’s streaming media device, in 2015. Amazon also refuses to add support for Chromecast in its Prime Video apps. Earlier this year, Google stopped supporting Amazon’s Echo Show so Amazon developed a work-around. Now Amazon has stopped selling Google’s Nest smart thermostat.
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Evidently that was the final straw for Google. In a statement provided to The Verge, Bloomberg, and other major media outlets, a YouTube spokesperson said:
“We’ve been trying to reach 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.”
YouTube blocked the Echo Show’s work-around effective December 5. An in-app notification informs users that YouTube will disappear from Fire TV devices on January 1.
Chris Casper is a former tech industry product manager who escaped from California for New Mexico. Now he writes about science and tech while searching for the perfect green chile sauce.
