YouTube has a massive community of users, and that’s a good thing. However, it’s also a double-edged sword. YouTube being such a large and widely used platform essentially means it goes unchallenged, leaving creators and companies no alternative when things don’t go their way. Amazon recently faced a problem with that, and now it seems the company may have plans to take on the platform…
In case you missed it, Google and Amazon have had an ongoing feud for some time, highlighted by the debacle surrounding the Echo Show. At launch, the Show was able to stream YouTube and display it on-screen, but Google pulled the functionality a couple of months in.
Recently, Amazon brought that back in adherence to Google’s terms, but the functionality was once again killed, this time extending to Amazon’s Fire TV streaming platform.
Now, it’s been revealed that Amazon has filed two trademark requests (via Engadget) for “Amazontube” and “Opentube.” While those names alone tell us that this could be a competitor to Google’s platform, the descriptions seal the deal. Both are described as providers of “non-downloadable pre-recorded audio, visual and audiovisual works via wireless networks” which “enable users to share content, photos videos, text, data, images and other electronic works.”
In short, it looks like Amazon intends to at least test out a competitor to YouTube. These names could easily cause some legal trouble with Google, but Amazon can change that at pretty much any time. DomainNameWire also reveals that Amazon has been registering several related domains in recent weeks, including AlexaOpenTube.com and AmazonAlexaTube.com.
If Amazon were to create a competitor to YouTube, it’d certainly be a twist to this ongoing story. Amazon especially has seemingly been trying to get back on Google’s good side, even (potentially) allowing the company to open sales of Chromecast back on the retail site.
It’s still unclear if Amazon will act on any of this, but it’d be a great thing for the market. Since YouTube has no true competition, users and companies dealing with the platform are forced to deal with YouTube’s policies and flaws. If anyone can get creators on board and create a viable competitor, it’s Amazon, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
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