Amazon Prime Video finally comes to UK Roku boxes
If Amazon wants its Prime Video streaming service to properly compete with Netflix, it needs to be available on every major set-top box. Period. Today, the company is inching closer to that goal with some long overdue support for Roku hardware in the UK. Exactly why the "channel" has taken so long to cross the pond is unclear -- it's been available on US Roku boxes for years -- but it's a welcome addition nonetheless.
It's also timely given that Amazon recently pulled the Chromecast and Apple TV from its digital store shelves, claiming it was "important" that it only sold media players that "interact well with Prime Video." What does that mean exactly? Well, Amazon says it was to "avoid customer confusion," because neither device properly supports the service at the moment. We suspect, however, it was just a shrewd business move designed to hurt both companies -- most likely because they're not playing ball with how Amazon wants to sell its content. (Amazon doesn't want to give a cut of in-app purchases to Apple or Google.)
In a statement, Amazon specifically called out Xbox, PlayStation and Roku hardware as "excellent choices" for video streaming, no doubt because Prime Video works swimmingly on them. Now, it seems that Roku love has extended to the UK -- meaning there's another alternative to the new Fire TV if you want to stream Amazon's originals in 4K.
