Prior to new year, YouTube app for Fire TV stops working

Google has pulled access to YouTube through its Amazon Fire TV app, four days before the date guaranteed by the company. Amazon put a workaround on the embargo by encouraging users to access the YouTube site via the Silk and Firefox browsers.

The stoppage was promised to be a parry in the war with the e-marketplace as it has been unwilling to stock Chromecast and Nest devices and has also refused to make Amazon Prime Video content available on Google’s media platforms.

It started in late September with a YouTube blockage on the Echo Show, the first Alexa-enabled device with a touchscreen, because Amazon had supposedly violated terms of use for the viewing interface. Access was restored in late November for a short period before the blockage was resumed and the threat of retreat from Fire TV was made.