Amazon instant video has now got fully updated with Airplay support on Apple TV.
What does that mean?
It means you can use their App to watch Prime Instant Video and The Amazon Instant Video store on your Apple TV. Like Netflix, it's a big upgrade for their competitor as Apple (who may control connected TV's) have reached a deal with Amazon.
It also allows full integration with Amazon's IMDb which you might be familiar with and which also gives information on movie casts, soundtrack, history etc. In turn that allows them to offer you a Movie by the same Director? or including the same cast? So a lot more integration.
You can also have other features which traditional TV doesn't give you; like customer reviews or ratings; like "if you like this, watch this"; like concurrent downloads; like so much stuff enhancing your viewing.
The App is free and fully compatible too. Amazon, having tried to buy 'Roku' and not completing it, were rumoured to be producing their own set-top box. This may indicate that they've decided not to.
As I see it, it's a clear example of a "deal" being done between a content provider (Amazon) and a device supplier (Apple). In other words, if you want your content on a device such as Apple TV, you'll need to do a deal too.
Which will worry many because "free to air" on standard TV's, might not be a distribution route in the future simply because, standard TV's will phase out as they're replaced with Connected TV's. I suggest it's unlikely that your next TV will be a standard TV and more likely a connected one.
And if you want to "do a deal" say as a traditional content supplier, Apple will need to be convinced that they want your content firstly. And even if they do (they may not want 'home produced' features or local content for example), you can be outbid by cash rich dotcoms to keep you off.
How would Irish news for example, fit into this platform? Streamed online means moving around whilst a free App might do it? Don't know, but it will disrupt.
So this will change the world.
Because it changes distribution.
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