Amazon has announced a major expansion of the Fire TV Edition program, delivering a richer experience and more opportunities for developers, operators, device makers and manufacturers.
It encompasses multiple categories including automotive, smart TVs, soundbars and streaming media players.
Amazon says that Fire TV now has over 40 million active users, with customers having access to tens of thousands of channels, apps, Alexa skills and more. However, with the expanded Fire TV Edition it will be even easier for device makers to integrate Fire TV into their products, with new tools and services for each category that will enable companies to bring tailored entertainment experiences and great content to their customers.
Commenting on the development, Marc Whitten, VP, Amazon Fire TV, said: “At CES 2017, we announced the first Fire TV Edition smart TV. Now, just three years later, Fire TV Edition has grown into a worldwide program which will include more than 150 Fire TV Edition models across more than ten countries by the end of the year.
“Our expanded Fire TV Edition program provides companies with the services and tools they need to bring Fire TV to more categories and more screens.”
Luke Motschenbacher, VP of merchandising, Best Buy, added: “Over the past year, Best Buy has sold millions of Fire TV Edition smart TVs on BestBuy.com, in our stores and as a third-party seller on Amazon.com. We’ve enjoyed working with the Amazon team to bring these high-quality TVs and the incredible Fire TV experience to our customers”.
Last September, Amazon and Anker Innovations announced the Nebula Soundbar–Fire TV Edition, the first Fire TV Edition soundbar featuring an all-in-one home cinema experience. As of January 6, the TCL Alto 8+ Soundbar–Fire TV Edition is available on Amazon in the United States and Canada. Customers of amazon.co.uk, amazon.de, amazon.fr, amazon.it and amazon.es can sign up today to be notified when the TCL TS8011 Soundbar–Fire TV Edition is available on Amazon.
Later this year, Fire TV Edition soundbars will offer new features including Dolby Atmos support, compatible device control, HDMI switching and far-field voice control, along with partner customisations.
Amazon is expanding the program to automakers, partnering with BMW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA).
Fire TV is also enabling TV and telecom operators to quickly bring Fire TV Edition devices to their customers in a more customised and cost-effective way. After successfully introducing Fire TV partnerships with Tata Sky in India and Verizon in the United States, Fire TV is now expanding the device offerings available to operators and as of January 6 Fire TV Edition for Operators is available in North America, Europe, India and Japan.
Amazon currently works with a growing number of TV manufacturers who produce Fire TV Edition smart TVs. Vestel, Arcelik, Compal, TPV and others can now build Fire TV Edition smart TVs for their customers and as of January 6 they have been joined by Skyworth as the latest global ODM with turnkey solutions for smart TVs.
For operators, Amazon also announced it is working with the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) to enable its members the ability to deliver low cost Fire TV streaming media players directly to their customers.
