YouTube to be removed from Echo Show and Fire TV as Amazon/Google spat reignites

Dec. 06, 2017 05:09AM EST

Google is removing YouTube from the Fire TV streaming stick and the Echo Show smart home controller, again, as a spat between the search giant and Amazon continues.

The skirmish began when YouTube pulled its content from the Amazon Echo Show in September. At the time, Google stated the way YouTube appeared on the Echo Show created "a broken user experience."

Amazon then volleyed back, and stopped selling Google Chromecast streaming devices, including Google Home — along with some smart home products produced by Nest, a company owned by YouTube parent Google. Some Nest products remain on Amazon, but others, including the Nest Secure alarm and the Nest Camera IQ can't be found on the online retailer's site.

YouTube then returned to the Echo Show, but instead of being a fully fledged application, it was nothing more than the web version, which is optimized for a mouse and keyboard — not the Echo Show's voice-controlled interface.

YouTube will be removed from the Fire TV unless a deal can be struck by January 1Amazon

However, even that version has now been pulled from the Echo Show by YouTube — and even more damaging is Google's decision to remove a similarly web-optimized version of YouTube from Amazon's TV streaming device, the Fire TV, as well.

YouTube was removed from the Echo Show on December 5 and will be taken from Fire TV devices on January 1. Users of the latter will begin to receive notifications of the move this week.

In a statement, a YouTube spokesperson said: "We've been trying to reach agreement with Amazon to give customers 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."

Amazon responded to this statement, saying: "Echo Show and Fire TV now display a standard web view of YouTube.com and point customers directly to YouTube's existing website. Google is setting a disappointing precedent by selectively blocking customer access to an open website. We hope to resolve this with Google as soon as possible."