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Amazon removes youtube from Fire TV products
Amazon has just responded to Google’s decision to remove YouTube from all Fire TV products and the Echo Show. “Google is setting a disappointing precedent by selectively blocking customer access to an open website,” a spokesperson told The Verge by email. “We hope to resolve this with Google as soon as possible.” YouTube is being pulled from the Show effective immediately, and Fire TV owners will lose out on the popular, essential video streaming app on January 1st
Google says it’s taking this extreme step because of Amazon’s recent delisting of new Nest products (like Nest Secure and the E Thermostat) and the company’s long-running refusal to sell Chromecast or support Google Cast in any capacity.
But regardless of the public stance each company takes over the next few days, it’s their mutual customers who are unfairly getting jerked around. YouTube is a cornerstone of any living room streaming device, and for Google to suddenly decide to strip it from millions of existing Fire TV owners — assuming no agreement is reached by January 1st — is shameful. YouTube is video on the internet. Period. It’s also home to beloved creators, and Google’s decision will soon rob them of viewers.
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LOSING YOUTUBE WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON FIRE TV SALES
Kicking the Echo Show to the curb doesn’t impact nearly as many people, but it still stings since watching cooking videos from YouTube on the Alexa screen in your kitchen seemed like one of the perfect uses for the thing! But since Google is being pedantic and needlessly obsessive over every detail of how the app functions on Amazon’s device, that’s no longer possible. This is the second time YouTube has disappeared from the Show. Google said the first iteration had a “broken user experience,” which resulted in a revised version that was basically the full-blown desktop website. That still wasn’t good enough, apparently. “Echo Show and Fire TV now display a standard web view of YouTube.com and point customers directly to YouTube’s existing website,” the Amazon spokesperson said.
Google is dealing Amazon’s devices real damage by withdrawing YouTube, and you could reasonably argue it has the upper hand here. There are people who simply won’t buy a Fire TV as a result of this move, and many existing owners will be displeased come January. Actually, they’re already rather upset since YouTube is displaying a cold, matter-of-fact warning about the cutoff starting today — and gently pushing users towards other devices. If you follow that link, there’s no explanation given as to why a device you paid money for will suddenly be made worse when the calendar hits 2018.
It should never have come to this. Amazon and Google, your options are to make this right, take your grievances to the FTC, or go to court. But don’t take it out on people who just want to enjoy their gadgets. Let people have their YouTube. 2017 has been hard enough to endure already.
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Full article: ↪ https://www.theverge.com/ .. customers-feud
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