It turns out Amazon Fire TV users may miss out on all the fun this November when Disney+ launches officially.
The reason for this, according to a new report by The Wall Street Journal, is Amazon and Disney are having a dispute over Fire TV ad sales, which could potentially delay the arrival of Disney's video streaming service to Amazon's platform.
Amazon And Disney Are Fighting
The report states that at the center of the dispute is Amazon demanding to sell a percentage of advertising on Disney's ad-supported apps. While this in and of itself doesn't impact Disney+, it could hamper its launch on Fire TV devices. Worst, it may even lead to Disney apps ditching Fire TV devices entirely, including sports streaming service ESPN+.
Being available on Fire TV devices is crucial for Disney, as its Disney+ service will compete with the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Hulu, which are all available on nearly all imaginable platforms.
Amazon And Google Fought Once, Too
This kind of dispute is not a new thing for Amazon, it's worth noting. Its conflicts with other companies in the past have kept other popular apps from being ported to Fire TV devices, with YouTube being one of the biggest examples. Thankfully, Amazon and Google were able to settle their differences and come to an agreement just this year over bringing the official YouTube app to the platform in question.
Disputes over advertising revenue in streaming apps also aren't new. Roku, for example, has been pushing publishers for years to let the company sell a share of their ad inventory, as Variety notes. Such demands have yielded nearly unsuccessful results. Google, for instance, still doesn't let Roku sell any of its ad inventory, which was one of the reasons why YouTube remained unavailable on Roku devices for a long time.
Why It Matters That Disney+ Is On Fire TV Devices
With everything said, it appears this is Disney's battle to lose. For its Disney+ service to gain traction, it will have to make it available everywhere immediately, including on Amazon's Fire TV platform. Easy access to a service is crucial to streaming companies, especially as the battlefield gets more crowded with new players. Apple, too, will soon launch its Apple TV+ streaming service.
Things could likely be resolved, though. According to the report, a deal may still be reached, and there's no reported deadline on when talks between the two companies have to end. However, again, Disney+ launches this Nov. 12, and it's imperative for the two companies to iron things out before then.
Disney+ will launch in a number of countries for $6.99 a month, much lower than any of Netflix's asking subscription prices.
