Google, the technology giant, has blocked the video sharing site YouTube on all Amazon devices in an escalating feud. YouTube will be blocked on Amazon Fire Stick and Echo Show starting in January 2018.
All the customers who bought Amazon devices will now have to buy other streaming devices such as Google’s Chromecast in order to watch the video service. Google’s decision to block YouTube on Amazon devices comes as retaliation for Amazon’s refusal to sell Google products that compete with Amazon’s gadgets.
In a statement, Google’s spokesperson blamed the ecommerce company saying, “We’ve been trying to reach (an) 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.”
Responding to Google’s acquisitions, Amazon said in a statement, “Google is setting a disappointing precedent by selectively blocking customer access to an open website.”
The feud goes back to 2015 when Amazon removed the Google’s television player Chromecast along with Apple Inc., TV player off its retail website. The Seattle based ecommerce firm explained it wanted to avoid confusing customers who might expect its Prime Video service to be available on devices sold by Amazon.
Google blocked YouTube on Amazon’s Echo Show previously in September, for “creating a broken user experience.” However, users could surf YouTube through a web browser. But this time Amazon users won’t be able to use this loophole. If the fight between the two tech companies is not resolved, the consumers will be caught in the crossfire. Meanwhile, Amazon and Apple are reportedly in talks to start Amazon’s video streaming service Prime Video on the Apple TV.