Amazon seems to be taking steps in making the Echo Show a bang for the buck, especially since its falling out with Google over YouTube.
First, the company is rolling out a $30 discount to the smart speaker. Second, it's reportedly planning on having more advertisers onboard its video platforms to compete with YouTube.
Echo Show $30 Discount
The Echo Show is now $30 less, going from $229.99 to $199.99 and marking the first time it ever went on sale.
Why did the price suddenly drop? Well, Variety says that sales of the Echo Show started to dwindle ever since Google pulled YouTube from the smart speaker. It's safe to assume that this is Amazon's way of coping with the decline, hoping to appeal to more customers with the lower price point.
On an interesting note, Google may be building a competing device called "Manhattan," and it could be the reason why it decided to remove YouTube from Echo Show, even though it did say it's because of a terms of service violation.
It should be mentioned that this isn't a price cut. It's just a sale, and Amazon didn't say when it'll end, so for those who want to grab the Echo Show despite losing YouTube support, now is probably the best time.
Amazon's Video Platforms
According to CNBC, ad industry sources say that Amazon is conducting meetings to make more room for advertisers on its video platforms, so to speak.
The company is reportedly open to giving advertisers more in-depth info regarding its subscribers, including but not limited to what viewers are frequently watching and their online activity.
There's also a program where it would put video creators and companies together to produce sponsored content. Amazon will get a cut of the profits here because it's still considered advertisement.
Last but not least, the retailer is taking measures to prevent inappropriate ads from appearing on its video platforms, talking to several unnamed tech companies.
The Bottom Line
To boil things down, it seems that Amazon's response to the declining sales of Echo Show is to put the device up on sale and beef up its video platforms, which is presumably to fill the void YouTube left, but the move isn't necessarily related to recent events.
At any rate, the Echo Show appears to be shaping up into a decent smart speaker with a screen even without YouTube.
