"Google and Apple now both have open SDK's for creating streaming apps for their devices." And with what provisos about selling through those apps? This is not a technical issue. Amazon just doesn't want to give up 30% of GMS (which would be an even higher % of its margins) on digital media.
Google does not take a 30% cut of all content sold through apps on Google Play. On Android, the in-app purchase rule only applies to content that can only be consumed via apps (so not Netflix, Amazon, etc.).
Exactly. To build on your point, take Amazon's kindle app, available for both android and ios. With Apple devices you can't purchase any content within the app, but at least you can read what you've already purchased from Amazon through other means. They could do something similar with Amazon video.
> And with what provisos about selling through those apps
Chromecast doesn't have any special connection to Google Play. Anyone can cast whatever they want. Amazon Prime Instant Video can already be cast, but the user experience is so bad that you probably don't want to.
> But doesn't Google have some monetization plans for the chromecast ?
Well, sure, you pay Google for the device -- that's fairly direct monetization.
And it increases the utility of (and thus the demand for) content from and subscriptions to Google's audio/video services (whose mobile apps all support Chromecast), so its monetized indirectly that way.
Other than that, its adoption drives app developer adoption and user familiarity for Google Cast, which, aside from its use in Chromecast, is a key feature of Android TV, which Google monetizes not just by selling hardware direct to consumers, but also via its cut of apps in the Play Store, and by (presumably) getting paid by Smart TV manufacturers to use Android TV as their Smart TV OS.
Well they do charge you money for the device. I think in the long term the goal is probably more about connecting the internet to your living room (making that ubiquitous) which naturally means more YouTube usage which means more ads. They don't necessarily need a cut of every app's revenue.
YouTube is great about compatibility. It automatically detects my Oppo Blu-Ray player for casting, and if nothing else you can always navigate on your display device to youtube.com/tv and pair the display with your mobile app via QR code or alphanumeric code. YouTube can control literally any device that is capable of browsing to the YouTube site.
The chromecast isn't necessarily something that brings revenue on its own -- it just lowers the barrier to entry for Google's other services. If it's easier for you to watch youtube, play Google Music, etc. on your TV, it's more likely you will do so... and be exposed to ads in the process. I'd liken it to Google Fiber.
It probably leverages Android in some fashion also, though good iOS apps have chrome cast support as well.
Do you think that Google may also have payment arrangements with HBO, Netflix, and others? I can't imagine it's very significant but there might be something there too, especially with the large early adoption of Chromecast v1.0.
Amazon already has Prime Video apps on Android and iOS that would be subject to the same policies yet those apps show no sign of disappearing anytime soon. After this announcement, I have to believe that is only because Amazon does not have a viable alternative smartphone like it does for streaming devices.
I don't think that's the case because Prime Video is on Xbox and Playstation, where they instruct you to go to amazon.com to buy/rent videos. It could work exactly the same way on Apple TV. So why are they not on it?
Presumably just like the Prime Video app on iPad & iPhone: you must buy from the website, because buying thru the app requires a nontrivial percentage of revenue (on iOS, 30%) go to the platform provider.
While that's true, you can get around it by just not having a store in your app at all. This is how Amazon's existing iOS Kindle app -- and Instant Video streaming app -- work, and (barring politics on Apple and Google's parts) there's absolutely no reason that they can't make apps for Apple TV and Chromecast that work the same way.
Apple's refusal to even allow links to external stores is petty and obnoxious, but Amazon is essentially playing the same game: if you won't let us play the way we want, we're going to make life difficult for our own customers while clutching our pearls and telling everyone that you made us do it.
