The online retailer said it had made the decision to avoid “customer confusion” and the devices will be removed from sale by 29 October, 2015, citifmonline.com reports. Amazon wants to sell products that work with its in-house streaming video service known as Prime Video.
Prime Video is not available on Apple TV and Google’s Chromecast, but it can be watched via an app on Apple and Android smartphones and tablets. Amazon said, along with its own Fire TV, it will continue to sell other companies’ devices that are compatible with Prime Video. These include Microsoft’s Xbox, and Sony’s Playstation.
Amazon has rapidly expanded its online content, using it to attract subscribers to its Prime loyalty membership scheme which offers fast delivery on purchases. Google has unveiled a new version of its Chromecast TV device, and Apple is due to release the latest version of its TV in October, 2015.
Amazon has used similar tactics with book publishers. In 2014, it blocked pre-orders for some books from the publisher Hachette, while the two sides negotiated over prices. Many authors were angered by the move and accused Amazon of being anti-competitive.
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