Amazon removes Chromecast and Apple TV from digital shelves

Amazon will stop selling the Google Chromecast and Apple TV because those devices would not work well with Prime Video, Amazon’s video service for Prime members. The streaming devices will disappear before the end of the month.

Amazon confirms to Variety that it itself will stop offering the Chromecast, Nexus Player and Apple TV. Earlier, the text of an email had come out via Reddit in which Amazon had warned sellers on its site not to sell the products anymore. It appears to be a worldwide sales freeze, Variety writes. The date on which the shutdown should take effect is October 29, according to Amazon.

The reason Amazon gives is that Prime Video is an increasingly important service for the company and that devices that are in the web store must therefore work well with that video service. The company mentions Roku, Xbox and PlayStation as alternatives that do work well with Prime Video.

It is the first time that Amazon has stopped selling popular video streaming equipment to promote its own video service. The sales freeze comes as the holiday season approaches and sales of electronics products soar.

In addition, Google has just announced a new version of its Chromecast, while Apple is putting a new version of Apple TV in stores. Google and Apple have yet to comment on the matter. Amazon itself sells an HDMI stick for streaming videos. The Fire TV Stick costs around 40 euros at Amazon in Europe and is therefore a competitor of the Chromecast, which costs around 35 euros.