The conflict between Amazon and Google is escalating: Google once again started to block access to YouTube on Amazon’s Echo Show device Tuesday, and is notifying users of Amazon’s Fire TV that they won’t be able to access YouTube anymore starting January 1st.
In an unusually frank statement, a Google spokesperson squarely blamed Amazon’s unwillingness to strike a business deal with Google for the step:
“We’ve been trying to reach agreement with Amazon to give consumers access to each other’s products and services. But 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.”
This latest development is the escalation of a long-simmering conflict that first bubbled to the surface in September, when Google started to block Amazon’s implementation of YouTube on the Echo Show, the company’s latest voice-enabled speaker with integrated display. At the time, both companies blamed each other for the outage, and Amazon eventually managed to get YouTube working again on the device in November.
The conflict between the two companies significantly escalated in late 2015, when Amazon stopped selling Google’s Chromecast streaming adapter, which previously was the top-selling streaming device on Amazon.com.
Google may be trying to beat amazon at its own game. YouTube regularly lists as one of the most-watched channels on streaming devices, and not having access to it could have a significant impact on Fire TV sales. Case in point: Sales of the Echo Show declined notably after Google first blocked access to YouTube in September.
Amazon has yet respond to requests for comment.
