Amazon has invested heavily in online content, including producing its own exclusive shows such as the award-winning transgender comedy "Transparent", as a way to attract new Prime subscribers, who pay $99 a year for speedy shipping and access to video and other services.
Amazon's strategy will likely hurt Google more than Apple, which has its own stores and direct access to customers. The move may also cost Amazon sales by diverting purchases of popular devices to competitors such as Best Buy Co.
"This has the potential to hurt Amazon as much as it does Apple and Google," said Barbara Kraus, an analyst at Parks Associates, reported Bloomberg "As a retailer, I want to give people a reason to come to me. When I take out best-selling brands, I take away those reasons."
Amazon, Apple, Google and Roku devices made up 86 percent of all media-streaming products sold to U.S. households with broadband in 2014, according to an August report by Parks Associates. An estimated 86 million media-streaming devices will be sold globally in 2019, the research firm said.
Amazon supplanted Apple for the No. 3 position in sales in 2014, Parks said. Roku led the market with 34 percent and Google was second with 23 percent, according to the report.
From the article "Amazon to stop selling Apple and Google media streaming devices" by BigNewsNetwork.com
