Google Pulls YouTube From Echo Show And Fire TV (Again)

Google seems to have this on-again-off-again relationship with Amazon. You might recall that back in September, Google cut access to YouTube on the Echo Show, but a couple of months later they brought it back. However it looks like Google has had a change of heart (again) because YouTube access on the Echo Show and Fire TV has been pulled.

Basically it seems like it is a matter of reciprocity, where according to Google, Amazon isn’t listing Google products nor are they allowing Google Cast users to use Amazon Prime video with the service, and because of this Google has decided that they won’t be returning the favor either.

A Google spokesperson was quoted as saying, “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.”

Amazon has since responded with their own statement which reads, “Echo Show and Fire TV now display a standard web view of YouTube.com and point customers directly to YouTube’s existing website. Google is setting a disappointing precedent by selectively blocking customer access to an open website. We hope to resolve this with Google as soon as possible.”

This is actually not the first time we’re seeing Amazon run into issues with some of the other tech companies out there. In 2015 the company pulled the Apple TV from their listings, and it was only back in September earlier this year that it was brought back.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Gadgets, General
Tags: Amazon, Apps, echo show, fire tv, Google, YouTube