Amazon and Google have settled their dispute and have come to an agreement on their streaming services.
As a result of the new agreement, official YouTube Apps will launch on Fire TV, and Prime Video App will be coming to Chromecast and Android TV.
Google pulled the Youtube app from Amazon’s Fire devices at the end of 2017, reportedly due to the e-commerce giant offering its own customised version of the app rather than Google’s approved version. The companies had also fallen out over sales of Google hardware on Amazon.
Now, Prime Video will become broadly available across the Android TV partner ecosystem, and Prime Video app users will be able to stream from the Prime Video catalogue on Android TV, including Amazon’s original programming and 4K videos, and access their Prime Video Channel subscriptions.
The official YouTube app will be available on Fire TV devices, allowing users to sign in directly to their accounts and access the full range of content, and play videos in 4K HDR at 60 fps on supported devices. In addition, standalone YouTube TV and YouTube Kids apps will launch later this year on Fire TV devices and Fire TV Edition smart TVs where available.
The deal only applies to Fire TV devices; there are still no plans for an official YouTube app on the Echo Show. And there’s no YouTube app planned for Amazon’s Fire tablets, as well, but those devices can already access YouTube through their browser.
Amazon will make Prime Video compatible on Chromecast and Chromecast built-in devices. With Chromecast support, those with the Prime Video mobile app can cast content to their TVs and watch it on a larger screen. The Prime Video app will also broadly support Android TV systems later this year.
“We are excited to work with Amazon to launch the official YouTube apps on Fire TV devices worldwide,” said Heather Rivera, Global Head of Product Partnerships at YouTube.
“Bringing our flagship YouTube experience to Amazon Fire TV gives our users even more ways to watch the videos and creators they love.”
“We’re excited to bring the Prime Video app to Chromecast and Android TV devices, and to give our customers convenient access to the shows and movies they love,” said Andrew Bennett, Head of Worldwide Business Development for Prime Video.
“Whether watching the latest season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, catching teams go head-to-head on Thursday Night Football or renting a new-release movie, customers will have even more ways to stream what they want, whenever they want, no matter where they are.”
