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It's easy to paint Amazon as the bad actor here...and, they are. But, I think Google and Apple are also bad actors in this situation. The reason Google and Appl
by SwellJoe 11y ago
It's easy to paint Amazon as the bad actor here...and, they are. But, I think Google and Apple are also bad actors in this situation. The reason Google and Apple TV devices have a bad Amazon Prime experience, I suspect, is because they want a huge cut of revenue from Amazon Prime viewership (just as they expect a huge cut of revenue for anything sold on their platform), and they aren't being reasonable about getting it. The notion that these services can be profitable, can pay creators a reasonable amount, and can be offered at a fair price to consumers, while also paying massive rents to the platform owners is questionable, at best. If your margins are razor thin, having a company demand 30% for that last mile to the customer is probably not sustainable.
Amazon is not faultless, but it is bad actors all around in this situation. Somebody needs to break the 30% model. I don't think this move from Amazon will do it for the industry as a whole (though Apple and Google might work on a compromise specifically with Amazon), but I understand entirely why they're doing it. They're facing off against the biggest bullies in the world, who are demanding Amazon's lunch money in the media market (not that Amazon is treating anyone that much better on their own platform).
- narrowingorbits 11y agoNope. Incorrect. Google and Apple both have open SDKs for streaming to their devices. Amazon has chosen not to support them
- SwellJoe 11y agoAh, then Amazon is just being an ass.
- iheart2code 11y agoThe 30% revenue share is only for purchasing content that is discovered & purchased on Apple devices. Amazon Prime subscribers pay Amazon directly through the website, and would not be subject to that revenue share. For non-Prime Instant Video purchases/rentals, users could purchase through the website and have content made available through the app. This is how Amazon Kindle currently works on iOS.
- oaktowner 11y agoChromecast's APIs are open. I stream HBOGo to it, ESPN, Netflix...none of them pay any money to Google. Amazon could add streaming to their players as easily as those companies did.