YouTube Officially Back on Amazon Fire TV

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Google announced today that YouTube has returned to Amazon Fire TV devices and that Amazon Prime is now available on Google’s Chromecast and Android TV devices. Google had removed the YouTube app from Fire TV in late December 2017 over competitive disputes.

Although YouTube could previously be accessed over Fire TV’s browser, it was a clunky workaround for Fire TV users and didn’t provide full functionality. Now, the YouTube app is supported on Fire TV Stick (2nd Gen), Fire TV Stick 4K, Fire TV Cube, Fire TV Stick Basic Edition and Toshiba, Insignia, Element and Westinghouse Fire TV Edition smart TVs.

Google says additional device support will roll out in the coming months, and YouTube TV and YouTube Kids will launch later this year. YouTube is now available on more than 1 billion living room devices, from smart TVs to gaming consoles and streaming media sticks, according to Strategy Analytics.

Google also announced that its Chromecast (along with Chromecast-enable devices) will now carry Amazon Prime Video and is also expanding access to Prime on more Android TV devices. Subscribers will need the latest Prime Video app and Android 5.0 or higher or iOS 10.1 or higher on their phone or tablet to receive the update.

The two companies announced an agreement that ended their dispute over their respective apps earlier this year.

Amazon announced in May that Fire TV now has more than 34 million users. 

Tom Butts
Tom Butts

Tom has covered the broadcast technology market for the past 25 years, including three years handling member communications for the National Association of Broadcasters followed by a year as editor of Video Technology News and DTV Business executive newsletters for Phillips Publishing. In 1999 he launched digitalbroadcasting.com for internet B2B portal Verticalnet. He is also a charter member of the CTA's Academy of Digital TV Pioneers. Since 2001, he has been editor-in-chief of TV Tech (www.tvtech.com), the leading source of news and information on broadcast and related media technology and is a frequent contributor and moderator to the brand’s Tech Leadership events.