Starting January 1, 2018, Google will remove the ability to watch YouTube videos through the Fire TV Stick, Amazon's device to connect to the TV to access streaming content. The decision follows the one already taken for Echo Show, Amazon's personal assistant for the home (not yet available in Italy) which unlike the classic Echo also gives the possibility to watch videos, through a small screen. Google accuses Amazon of doing the same for some time, preventing the owners of its Chromecasts (Google's equivalent of the Fire TV Stick) from accessing PrimeVideo, and recalls that for months Amazon has blocked the sale of Nest products, a company owned by Alphabet , the holding company that controls Google: “Given this lack of reciprocity, we will no longer offer support for YouTube, Echo Show and Fire TV.” However, Google officials have left a possibility open, saying they are confident in a future agreement. Meanwhile, if you ask Amazon's personal assistant to buy a Chromecast, you get an answer that invites you to buy a Fire TV Stick or other competing devices, but not Google's.
