Amazon to ban sales of Apple TV, Chromecast

Amazon.com said Thursday that it will no longer sell streaming media devices that don't support its Prime Video, including Apple TV and Google's Chromecast.

The move is just the latest salvo in the tech industry battle to control customers' living rooms.

Amazon will still sell other Prime Video-compatible streaming devices such as Roku products, Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation and its own Fire TV, calling them "excellent choices" for consumers. There are, of course, other places where consumers can pick up Apple and Google devices, including directly from the tech giants. But as the world's largest online retailer, Amazon is cutting off a major sales channel for Apple TV and Chromecast.

"Over the last three years, Prime Video has become an important part of Prime," Amazon said in a statement. "It's important that the streaming media players we sell interact well with Prime Video in order to avoid customer confusion." (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

Google declined to comment. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

This comes as the tech industry increasingly focuses on serving customers more content. Amazon has highlighted its catalog of streaming video as a main component of the Prime program, which includes free shipping on many items. It is trying to expand its library of movies and television shows and become a bigger competitor to Netflix and Hulu. The company also has won critical acclaim for its original series "Transparent." Last month, the firm signaled that it would introduce new versions of its Fire TV set-top box and streaming stick.

That came hot on the heels of Apple's announcement that it will release a revamped version of the Apple TV box this month. Apple is expected to release a video-streaming service of its own, and Variety has reported that the Cupertino, California, firm plans on making original shows. Google, meanwhile, gave its $35 Chromecast a makeover this week, showing that it's also still interested in bringing online video and more to the largest screen in the house.

Amazon has stopped selling products before, but often in response to consumer protests. For example, it no longer sells Confederate flag merchandise and some gun toys. This, however, appears to be the first time the firm has stopped selling products because they don't benefit its services.

So why sharpen the knives now? "Amazon, Google, Facebook and Apple are all bumping up against each other as their businesses are becoming more and more similar," said Scott Galloway, a professor who teaches marketing and branding at New York University's Stern School of Business. He noted that Amazon's move is not the first barb these firms have thrown at each other; Apple's move to block ads on its phones, for example, was seen as a way to undercut Google's advertising business.

Yet while Amazon may have decided that it's no longer going to help Apple and Google, Galloway said it is a departure from what the firm has always stood for: customer service. "Amazon always had a laser focus on being consumer driven," he said. "And this is not a consumer-driven strategy."