Amazon to stop selling Apple TV, Google Chromecast

Oct 05, 2015

At the end of the month, Amazon will stop selling Apple TV and Google Chromecast, two media streaming devices that directly compete with its newly revamped Fire TV and Fire TV stick, the company said Thursday.

The items will not be available for sale on Amazon's site after October 29.

The move away from selling Apple TV and Google Chromecast comes because Prime streaming video has become an important part of the company's Prime service over the last three years, said Amazon spokeswoman Pia Arthur.

"It’s important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion," she said.

Prime is a $99 a year service that gives members access to free two-day shipping, streaming video and music, photo storage, ebooks and other perks.

About 47% of Amazon customers are Prime members, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners of Chicago, Ill.

Amazon will continue to sell other streaming media devices such as  Roku, XBOX, PlayStation and Fire TV, Arthur said.

Amazon announced its revamped and more powerful Fire TV offerings in September.

Amazon's move is uncharacteristic because it means the company "has to forgo the amazing market knowledge it gains by selling competitive devices," said James McQuivey, an Amazon analyst for Forrester Research.

However it's a move Amazon can afford to make because it owns content viewers want.

"People don't buy an Apple TV to put it on the shelf, they buy it or any of the other OTT (over the top) devices to watch top TV shows and movies. Mostly Netflix, with some Hulu, but also Amazon Prime and YouTube. Amazon is in a position to pressure Apple and Google to put Amazon Prime content on their devices because without Prime shows, their devices are inferior," McQuivey said.

The connected TV market has become larger and more hotly contested in the past few years.

In 2015 Google's Chromecast is anticipated to have 22.8 million users and Apple TV 17.7 million, according to eMarketer. Fire TV is not included in the listings because there is a scarity of data available for the relatively new product, according to eMarketer analysts.

However the company's forecasters see Fire TV catching up with Chromecast in terms of sales.

Amazon has faced anti-trust issues over its sales practices in the past. In August a writers group, Authors United, formally requested that the Department of Justice investigate the online sales giant for monopolistic practices and anti-competitive behavior.

Source: USA TODAY