The corporate spat is over between Google and Amazon: YouTube is again available on Amazon Fire TV
The corporate spat between Google and Amazon ends today, with good news for TV viewers.
The YouTube app, which brings the world's most popular video network to televisions, will be available, again on Amazon Fire TV devices and branded TVs.
The companies announced in April that they had agreed to agree, but didn't offer a firm date for when it would become effective. That date is today.
In January 2018, YouTube vanished from Fire TV devices and the Amazon Echo Show. Google said at the time it was upset that Amazon wasn't offering its products on the Amazon website.
Amazon has relented in recent months and started selling Google products like the Nest thermostat and Google Chromecast streaming device. And now, Amazon's Prime Video, its rival to Netflix, will be available on Google's Android TV platform, which brings multiple streaming channels to TVs from Sony, Hisense and others.
However, several Google products are still missing, including Google Home, the No. 1 rival to Amazon's Echo line of connected speakers. And the YouTube app is still not available to users of the Echo Show, the video display version of the Echo lineup.
Amazon said two additional YouTube apps would be available "in the coming months," YouTube Kids and YouTube TV, the cable alternative service aimed at the cutting the cord crowd.
The YouTube app now works with the Alexa personal assistant, for the first time.
Amazon said it will respond to commands like:
—"Alexa, open YouTube."
—"Alexa, watch music videos on YouTube"
—"Alexa, play Women's World Cup highlights"
—"Alexa, find makeup tutorials."
"You can also use your voice to play, pause, resume, fast-forward and rewind, or even ask to go to the next video," noted Amazon's Matt Clark in a company blog post.
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