Amazon to Cease Selling Apple TV, Google Chromecast Over 'Prime Video' Incompatibility

[RangerOne]

Okay, so here's the thing. SMART apps are on multiple types of devices such as TV's, Blu-Ray Players, Gaming Consoles and SMARTPhones, none of which Amazon makes. For this reason they don't have anything to lose putting the streaming app on them. They do however have much to lose putting their app on TV and Google's Chromecast since Amazon makes a major competing product. Why are you making this only about Apple and not including Google? The article does mention Google.

Amazon may have less to lose, but not nothing to lose. They do make the Amazon Fire Phone, as well as tablets and the Fire TV gaming console. So, they do compete against other manufacturers in hardware and still provide their apps and digital content for sale.

And I didn't mean to make this only about Apple. I have very little experience with or knowledge of Google products, so I was speaking from where I have the most experience.

 

[SlipperySlop]

I would never buy an Apple product from Amazon.

Why? What difference does it make if it's a genuine Apple product? Purchasing from Amazon is great. It's easy, and shipping is fast, especially if you're a prime member.

I've purchased Apple products from the Apple online and brick and mortar store. I've purchased from Amazon. Products are exactly the same.

And as much of an Apple enthusiast as I am, I applaud Amazon for this move. I want one device to receive streaming from Amazon, Netflix, Vudu, HBO, etc. That product is NOT the Apple TV. After owning the Apple TV from day one, I'll never purchase one again until Apple carried Vudu and Amazon. I have to use Roku for those channels, so why not use Roku for everything else. I understand Apple's desire to boost their own streaming movies by blocking Vudu and Amazon. So Apple must clearly understand Amazon's decision. It's a no brainer.

But in the process, Apple has lost me as a customer for their Apple TV. I am quite sure Apple would still make lots of money from their own streaming if the opened the Apple TV to Vudu and Amazon.

 

[TheBoxer]

What are you talking about? ATV4 is nice, but it's hardly a revolution. At that price point it will not be huge success. Most people have smart televisions already. Granted: they suck, but spending 200 dollars on what is perceived as an iTunes/iPhone extension?

I have an ATV2 and I don't see any point in upgrading.

Apple TV will be another remote and another box next to the TV. Also, another set of apps to search for, organize and update. Apple should copy what works from Google. Using a smartphone as a remote is very convenient, as is using the apps you already have on your cell to stream. I always have my cell with me, whereas I'm always looking for the remotes. Apple making a more powerful version of Apple TV that's similar to the chromecast would be ideal.

 

[Kar98]

Because it follows the App Store model now. There are currently 6 Amazon iPad apps in the App Store right now, including Kindle, Audible, Amazon Video and Amazon Prime Music.

And on how many of these, for instance, are you allowed to purchase content or subscription through the app?

 

[Geronimo]

Do they not want to lose sales to a competing platform, or is it that Amazon’s margin on digital content wouldn’t support Apple’s 30% cut for in-app purchases? I don’t know.

I would bet it's more the latter. I'd be surprised if Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, CinemaNow and others who are essentially middlemen distributors get to keep much more than 30% of the amount they charge for video rentals/sales, after paying the wholesale price to the content owner (e.g. 20th Century Fox) and then covering their own business costs (servers, marketing, admin, credit card transaction fees, etc.). So if Apple is taking that 30% off the top, it's almost as good from Apple's standpoint as if they had made the sale themselves in iTunes. Meanwhile, the service that actually made the sale reaps hardly any profit. What's the point for them?

 

[bean dip]

This is abusive. Amazon will lose a lot of very loyal Apple customers as a result of this. I know I'll never buy another thing from Amazon now they've decided to try and hurt sales of the Apple TV. I hope hundreds of millions of other people take a similar stand.

I'm not Apples personal army. I'll continue to shop at Amazon.

 

[HenryDJP]

Anyway, I get it, you're an Apple fanboy. Hey, I have a Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV myself. But I doubt I'll ever get the next-gen Apple TV because I want one box that will aggregate all of the streaming services I use and that includes Amazon Prime.

That's really uncalled for to say the least. Not one of my posts are here cheering for Apple. In fact I have been sticking to the article that is saying Amazon is stopping the sales of Apple and Google's products. But again, please refrain from labeling people.......but on the flip side this is an Apple-enthusiast board, anyone cheering for Apple is certainly in the right place to do so and deserves to be respected.

 

[Bryan Bowler]

I'm staring at my Amazon video app right now? What parallel universe are you in? I was able to airplay to the Apple TV videos from my Prime account.

I'm in the same universe as you. As a matter of fact, I'm even on the same planet.

I was referring to the possibility that Amazon might try to make Amazon Prime incompatible with the Apple TV. Here's a cut-n-paste straight from the MacRumors article:

"For Apple customers, this means the new fourth-generation Apple TV will not be available for purchase via Amazon.com. It also suggests the device will not be gaining an Amazon video app and will continue to be incompatible with the Amazon Prime Video service."

Of course we can still use Airplay, for now. But if Amazon does in fact start a video-content war with Apple, then I will leave Amazon. It should be up to me to decide which device I use to stream Amazon video, and not dictated by them. If Amazon acts that way, then I'll take my money elsewhere.

 

[Geronimo]

That's really uncalled for to say the least. Not one of my posts are here cheering for Apple. In fact I have been sticking to the article that is saying Amazon is stopping the sales of Apple and Google's products. But again, please refrain from labeling people.......but on the flip side this is an Apple-enthusiast board, anyone cheering for Apple is certainly in the right place to do so and deserves to be respected.

OK, sorry for calling you a fanboy.

 

[HenryDJP]

Amazon may have less to lose, but not nothing to lose. They do make the Amazon Fire Phone, as well as tablets and the Fire TV gaming console. So, they do compete against other manufacturers in hardware and still provide their apps and digital content for sale.

And I didn't mean to make this only about Apple. I have very little experience with or knowledge of Google products, so I was speaking from where I have the most experience.

You're right, they do sell those other things but none of them are true major competitors against Apple's iOS or Google's Android system. Their set top box streaming apps console will no doubt compete well against Apple and Google.

 

[Gudi]

Wow, you guys really don't get it. Apple (and apparently Google) threw the first punches. Amazon probably has sales data that tells them they are the #1 seller of Chromecast devices, and the #2 seller of Apple TV boxes. They've probably submitted apps and channels to Apple and Google multiple times over the last couple of years, and been rejected or delayed or ignored often enough that they've decided to respond. Apple TV is an also-ran at this point, and if they want to be the market leader, they have to support all of the biggest content providers.

What you don't get. Amazon is not even in the game. Microsoft Windows, Google Android and Apple OS X and iOS. These four are all the viable third party app platforms in the world. Everything else was a failure. Steve Balmer, not the smartest guy in any room, but he understood one thing: Developers, Developers, Developers, Developers. It's all about who has the developers, not the content providers. Amazons Kindle had all the content and existed as an eBook monopoly for years before the iPad came by and destroyed it at first sight. The iPad had all the apps, and: If you don't have an iOS device, you don't have an iOS device. Is there even a developer show for FireOS? I don't know and I don't care. If you're not in Apples camp, you are automatically in Googles camp. There is no room for a third competitor. Android is already for free and has the biggest user numbers. You can't compete with them unless you are Apple itself. Microsoft really tried, but couldn't bring Windows Phone and Windows RT to life. Amazon has no track record as an OS company and they aren't even a content provider. They are a middle man, reselling the stuff other people made. Nobody needs them in the long run.

 

[TallManNY]

What are you talking about? ATV4 is nice, but it's hardly a revolution. At that price point it will not be huge success. Most people have smart televisions already. Granted: they suck, but spending 200 dollars on what is perceived as an iTunes/iPhone extension?

I have an ATV2 and I don't see any point in upgrading.

I hear you on this. But I will caution that it is pretty common for folks not to see the point of upgrading until they see the new Apple product in action. Upgrading from an iPhone 6 to 6S seems like a very tough call on paper. In practice, for me, it seems well worth it. The switch from ATV2 to ATV4 is going to be much larger. Though this all depends on how much TV you watch.

I'm confident that ATV4 is going to outsell all the major gaming consoles and the prior iterations of ATV. That won't put it nearly on the same level as the iPhone. So it might not be a "huge" success if you define it that way. But it is going to sell very nicely.

Too bad Prime won't be on it though. Being able to search Prime, NetFlix and HBO at once would be a very nice way to figure out if a movie you want to watch is available for "free". Apple was probably asking for its typical healthy cut of the revenue and Amazon was balking because it probably doesn't make any money off of Prime.

 

[nutmac]

It is crappy of Amazon to not at least offer a Prime Instant Video app for Apple TV if Apple will allow it (and I think they would). But that said, Amazon does support a number of platforms outside of Apple and Google. I watch their stuff on my TiVo.

Apple will allow it, just as it allows Google, Hulu, and Netflix.

Heck, I was going to subscribe to Prime when it was on sale last week. But I didn't because there's no way to play Amazon Instant Video on Apple TV.

 

[fa8362]

This is abusive. Amazon will lose a lot of very loyal Apple customers as a result of this. I know I'll never buy another thing from Amazon now they've decided to try and hurt sales of the Apple TV. I hope hundreds of millions of other people take a similar stand.

Not a chance. Those other devices far outsell Apple TV.

 

[doelcm82]

I refuse to buy anything from Amazon that they won't sell me.

 

[ZackVLion]

This is abusive. Amazon will lose a lot of very loyal Apple customers as a result of this. I know I'll never buy another thing from Amazon now they've decided to try and hurt sales of the Apple TV. I hope hundreds of millions of other people take a similar stand.

Oh, get off your high horse...you seriously are siding against amazon on moral grounds and sticking up for apple who profits off the backs of chinese payed $5/day, who colluded against publisher to raise prices of ebooks, who doesn't let competitors apps in the app store, who stopped selling books by the publisher of a steve jobs bigography they didnt like....Yes, but screw amazon for not wanting to sell a fire competitor

 

[DDustiNN]

I don't think it is a matter of Amazon not wanting to make an App for the AppleTV. It is Apple not allowing them to publish it. Apple sees Amazon as a direct competitor to iTunes... and they are.

What about Netflix, Hulu, Crackle, Plex, and all of the other streaming apps available?

Amazon needs to nut up and make an Apple TV app. This is just plain dumb.

 

[8692574]

Bad example. We're talking about removing a product that was actually being sold through a retail environment. Thanks for that farfetched example though. Needed a good laugh.

Let's talk when the Apple Kool aid finished its effect

 

[Deelron]

Sigh, all this "Apple did it with Beats and Bose" garbage. Bose was suing Beats, there's not many stores in the world who would sell a competitor's product during a lawsuit. Shortly following the resolution of the lawsuit, the products returned.

Secondly, it's not about Amazon no longer selling the products, it's about not even allowing Marketplace members sell the products with obviously fake public reasoning. Per the actual Bloomberg article analyst, fewer then 20 percent of Amazon customers even have Prime, and Amazon could have accomplished their stated goal by posting a huge banner on every Chomecast and Apple TV that said "DOES NOT WORK WITH AMAZON PRIME VIDEO", or even required it in the item name.

Instead they outright banished an open and soon to be relatively open platform, which will harm virtually no one but customers.

 

[patseguin]

I don't know why Apple would outlaw an Amazon Prime app and I have no idea why Amazon hasn't made a channel for the current Apple TV. You'd think they would want to allow users to get content from as many devices as possible. And Apple shouldn't have a problem with it because they would only sell more devices. Well, I guess probably Apple wants a cut of the revenue which may be the real issue.

 

[Dayv]

Wow, you guys really don't get it. Apple (and apparently Google) threw the first punches. Amazon probably has sales data that tells them they are the #1 seller of Chromecast devices, and the #2 seller of Apple TV boxes. They've probably submitted apps and channels to Apple and Google multiple times over the last couple of years, and been rejected or delayed or ignored often enough that they've decided to respond. Apple TV is an also-ran at this point, and if they want to be the market leader, they have to support all of the biggest content providers.

There's a lot of "probably" in this post. Unfounded speculation at its best.

 

[zzebi]

Amazon plans to stop selling some streaming video devices that compete with its Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, reports Bloomberg. It will no longer offer Google's Chromecast or Apple's Apple TV for sale in its online store.

Amazon today sent an email to marketplace sellers notifying them of the upcoming change. The site plans to disallow new listings for the product and remove existing inventory on October 29. As a reason for the removal, Amazon is citing compatibility with its Prime Video streaming service, which is not available on devices from Google and Apple.Other set-top boxes and consoles, including those from Roku, Microsoft, and Playstation, do have apps that allow customers to stream Amazon Prime Video and thus won't be affected by the new ban.

For Apple customers, this means the new fourth-generation Apple TV will not be available for purchase via Amazon.com. It also suggests the device will not be gaining an Amazon video app and will continue to be incompatible with the Amazon Prime Video service.

Article Link: Amazon to Cease Selling Apple TV, Google Chromecast Over 'Prime Video' Incompatibility

 

[Geronimo]

Too bad Prime won't be on it though. Being able to search Prime, NetFlix and HBO at once would be a very nice way to figure out if a movie you want to watch is available for "free".

Yep, I completely agree. Roku can do that but, as I stated earlier, it's ugly UI hurts my eyes. I bought a used Roku a couple years back but then passed it along to my parents. I have a TiVo Roamio, which does an awesome job of integrating, searching across and then queueing/bookmarking shows from live and recorded TV plus major streaming apps like Netflix, Amazon/Prime, Hulu and Vudu. But unfortunately its app platform isn't as robust as dedicated streamers like Apple TV or Roku, so it's missing lots of other apps. Plus TiVo's apps are in some cases a little slow or buggy.

I was hoping when Apple came out with the ATV4 it would blow us away with a totally new UI that emphasized content mixed together from a variety of sources but unfortunately, it's still just rows of separate apps. Siri's universal search is great but what about browsing and queuing across a range of providers? Does Apple expect me to keep pen and paper by the sofa so I can write out lists of which movies and shows I want to watch later? And then today's news of no Amazon Prime on ATV4 is a further disappointment, regardless of whether the fault lies with Apple or Amazon.

 

[mtneer]

Has Apple prevented or denied Amazon access to the AppleTV? I can think of Apple pulling something similar to Google Voice a few years ago, but that seemed to resolve itself quickly enough. What's the holdup with an Amazon app on tvOS?

 

[Geronimo]

Apple will allow it, just as it allows Google, Hulu, and Netflix.

Heck, I was going to subscribe to Prime when it was on sale last week. But I didn't because there's no way to play Amazon Instant Video on Apple TV.

Well, if you have an iPhone or iPad, then yes, you can use AirPlay in Amazon's iOS app and watch it on Apple TV that way. I've done so and couldn't tell any difference in the HD video quality versus watching Amazon Prime shows on my Wii U. But I don't prefer to use a phone or tablet as a TV remote (I'd never buy a Chromecast), so for me it's not ideal. But lots of folks do it and don't mind.