Apple TV and Google Chromecast banned from Amazon

EVERYTHING-SELLER Amazon has announced plans to ban sales of the Apple TV and Google Chromecast, claiming that the devices’ lack of Prime Video support is confusing for customers.

The company says it will no longer sell the Apple TV or Google Chromecast after October 29.

Amazon will continue to sell rival devices from Roku, as well as Microsoft and Sony game consoles that provide streaming video services.

Sure, Amazon could have handled this by insisting that its marketplace partners place warnings on their Apple TV and Chromecast offerings that those devices don’t work well with Amazon’s video-streaming service, but who reads stuff like that?

Amazon said in an email, “Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime”.

“Fewer than 20 per cent of Amazon customers are Prime members”, Pachter said. While it is unclear what Amazon’s true motive for the decision is, the fact that other competing devices are unaffected by this change in policy, most notably Roku products, indicates that they sincerely want to improve their customers’ satisfaction. The reason? Amazon Prime Video, of course.

Google’s Chromecast is the sixth most popular device in the electronics section of Amazon’s website, and Apple TV is No. 14.

Amazon didn’t provide any further details, but it looks like the ban is global, affecting all markets in which these streaming players have been sold in the past.

The move is seen as controversial.

Until now, Amazon has not reached an agreement with Apple or Google for selling its content via iTunes or the Google Play stores.

“This has the potential to hurt Amazon as much as it does Apple and Google”, she told Bloomberg. “When I take out best-selling brands, I take away those reasons”.

Apple, according to rumours, is prepping its own streaming service that will obviously be a huge threat to Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Hulu especially with the Cupertino company’s massive following.