Amazon Prime Video is the #2 streaming service in the United States just behind Netflix and well ahead of Hulu. Yet the Apple TV currently the 4th largest streaming player in the United States does not support Amazon Video. That is a huge loss for the Apple TV as Amazon’s Video service is so popular they rent more movies than iTunes and Google Play combined.
Well now that seems to be changing as Recode reports that Apple and Amazon have been in high level talks. The holdup has been the cut Apple takes from in-app purchases, which would have meant Apple taking a slice of rentals and purchases from the (many) movies and TV shows not included in the Prime deal. (When you sell or rent a a video for $1.99 there is not a lot of room to give Apple a 30% cut of the sale.)
Some companies like YouTube TV have gotten around this by charging more on Apple devices to cover the higher costs. Amazon tried a different option by releasing a video player with no store but found that iOS owners bought less content on the app than other similar devices. After the disappointing sales Amazon decided to never again release an app that did not have a store in it. (Always remember Amazon is a store first and everything they do is meant to sell something.)
Amazon is hopping that the prospect of once again having Apple TVs for sale on Amazon.com will push Apple to make a special deal for the Amazon Video store on the Apple TV.
For now no date is set or even deal reached. Yet having both Apple and Amazon talking again is a good sign for Apple TV owners hopping to have a app for Amazon Video on their Apple TVs.
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