[opendtv] Re: Amazon to ban sales of Apple TV, Google Chromecast to boost Prime Video
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 3 Oct 2015 00:11:37 +0000
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
So Amazon won't support Apple TV, but Apple supports Amazon Prime apps
for iOS. The Prime Video app even supports AirPlay, so it is possible
to start an event on my iPad, then watch it via Apple TV.
I'm sure Bert has no problem with this...
I thought for sure Craig would have no problem with this, although ooops, Apple
is on the receiving end. Amazon is using exactly the same tactics as Apple.
This is an example of the shenanigans these "non-standard app-dependent"
limited-use boxes invite, which Craig has consistently supported.
Here's an in-depth look at what is going on. Note how the problem is caused
entirely by the need for device makers to beg to collude with the content
owners, with these non-standard platforms. This problem should not exist. Not
even the potential should exist. And it wouldn't, if Apple and Google just
supported the standard standards.
-------------------------------------------
http://techcrunch.com/2015/10/01/amazon-bans-sales-of-apple-tv-and-chromecast-on-its-site/#.isriny:0qem
Amazon Bans Sales Of Apple TV And Chromecast On Its Site
Posted yesterday by Sarah Perez (@sarahintampa)
In a anti-competitive move that bumps up against one of Amazon's core
principles - "customer obsession" - the online retailer confirmed today that it
would no longer allow the sales of some competing media players, including
Apple TV and Chromecast, on its shopping site. Specifically, the company
informed its marketplace sellers by way of email that no new product listings
would be allowed and any remaining inventory would be removed from the site on
October 29th.
Bloomberg first reported this news, following a posting on internet forum
Reddit which indicated that such a change was underway. Amazon later sent a
statement to Variety confirming the move, and they've shared that same
statement with us as well.
Explains an Amazon spokesperson:
Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime.
It's important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with
Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion. Roku, XBOX, PlayStation and
Fire TV are excellent choices.
In addition, the email Amazon sent to sellers reads as follows:
Dear Seller,
Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime.
It's important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with
Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion. Therefore, Amazon has
implemented listing restrictions for the followings products:
o Apple TV o Chromecast o Nexus Player
Effective immediately, you may no longer create new listings for these
products, and as of 10/29/15, any existing listings for these products will be
removed. There will be no adverse impact on your seller account for the
removal, but we request that you refrain from relisting removed products.
Roku, XBOX, and PlayStation all interact well with Prime Video and are not
affected by this change.
Thank you for selling on Amazon.
Sincerely, Amazon Services
We understand that ban is global, and affects Apple and Google directly as well
as marketplace distributors. It also applies to all versions of the devices,
including both older hardware as well as newer devices, like the brand-new
Chromecasts announced this week.
According to Amazon's statement, its decision has to do with Apple TV's and
Chromecast's lack of support for Amazon Prime Instant Video service, its
Netflix competitor which is one of the many benefits offered as a part of
Amazon's $99 per year membership program.
In other words, Amazon will continue to sell media players that work with Prime
Video. Those that don't will be pulled from the site.
But the statement is misleading in that it implies it's Apple and Google who
have made the decision not to support Amazon Prime Instant Video on their
platforms. When in reality, it's Amazon that has decided not to build for those
platforms.
Amazon's statement initially struck us as odd, given that Prime Video today
works just fine on both Apple and Google's mobile operating systems - if these
rival companies were taking anti-competitive stances of their own (which Amazon
is only reacting to), it seems they wouldn't draw the line at keeping Prime
Video off their connected TV devices. They'd ban Prime Video across the board.
(That wouldn't be great for consumers either, but it would be their right as
closed platforms operated by private companies.)
Backing up this suspicion that it's Amazon firing the first shot here in these
new streaming media player wars, is the interesting comment on Reddit,
reportedly from an Amazon employee [now redacted], which outright stated that
the lack of Prime Video on Chromecast was Amazon's decision, not Google's.
Said this person:
"...In the case of the Chromecast, its lack of support is entirely because
Amazon decided not to support it. With the next Apple TV, they certainly can
make an app if they choose. I'm pretty sure they just want people to buy the
FireTV, which sadly does not provide the best customer experience in a world
where everything else supports AirPlay and/or Chromecast."
Whether or not the anon user on Reddit was legit, the nature of the Chromecast
SDK, which is the toolset a developer uses to make their app work with Google's
Chromecast device, basically confirms what that person was saying.
The Chromecast SDK is designed so that anyone can make their app (iOS, Android
or web app) available on Chromecast, due to its open nature. That means that
Amazon has no restrictions on building for Chromecast from Google's side, it
has just chosen not to.
Apple was not immediately available for comment. Google is not offering a
public comment.
So not only is Amazon trying to position itself as the underdog that Apple and
Google are pushing around, it's doing so in direct conflict with its core
principles about putting the customer first. How is pulling two of the most
popular connected TV devices from its virtual store shelves at all a benefit to
the Amazon shopper?
Leaders "work vigorously to earn and keep customer trust," reads Amazon's
"customer obsession" principle. They "start with the customer and work
backwards...they obsess over customers," it says.
It seems like Amazon needs to add an asterisk to that statement now, which
notes: "*well...except when it's not in our best interests."
-------------------------------------
And we didn't hear Craig complaining about the other article posted by Monty:
http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/09/tivos-new-bolt-offers-4k-streaming-and-commercial-skipping/
Which says, about the TiVo Bolt, "According to Engadget, the Bolt will be able
to connect to Apple's AirPlay via its iOS app, allowing users to stream content
to the Apple TV. Still, only the Apple TV is supported-Amazon Fire TV users are
out of luck."
I'm consistent. These Internet balkanization attempts are all bad.
Bert
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