Disney + may not be on Fire TV due to a reported ad dispute
Amazon reportedly wants a large percentage of the ad space on Disney's apps, which the entertainment giant has counteracted. The two sides may be able to solve the problem, but if not, Disney's apps could disappear from Fire TV, according to the Wall Street Journal in .
The report suggests that Amazon had just under a third of its market share for streaming boxes in the United States as of the second quarter, with only Roku having a larger slice (41[ads1] percent). If Amazon and Disney do not come to an agreement and the latter apps disappear from Fire TV, Disney will miss out on a major distribution channel. It will be more difficult for many people to access Disney + when it arrives on November 12.
Disney + will not have any ads, but conversations about Fire TV distribution apparently gave Amazon an opening to talk about terms for Disney's other apps. Amazon is basically said to request around 40 percent of the ad space from media and streaming services, which often drops to between 20 and 30 percent during negotiations. Disney reportedly offered Amazon 10 percent of its inventory, so there could still be a significant gap between what each side is comfortable with.
Of course, Disney wants Disney + (and the other apps) to be as widely available as possible. Amazon probably wants people to use a Fire TV if they want to stream Disney, Star Wars, Pixar and Marvel shows and movies. So it is likely that companies will hope to find common ground fairly quickly. As things stand, Disney + will have apps for Roku, iOS, Apple TV, Android, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Such app accessibility disputes are not uncommon. YouTube wasn't on Fire TV, nor was Amazon Prime Video available on Chromecast until Amazon and Google reached an agreement.
Meanwhile, Disney and Amazon have been working together on other streaming fronts. Amazon just released a pile of Disney material for Prime Video in Latin America. Until next September, people there will be able to stream some Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, Pixar flicks, the live-action version of The Lion King and TV shows like Gray's Anatomy and The Walking Dead through Prime Video. Disney + is not supposed to hit the region until early 2021.
