Apple Offered to Halve App Store Fee to Get Amazon Prime Video on iOS and Apple TV

Apple offered Amazon lower App Store fees to convince it to launch its Prime Video app on the ‌App Store‌ and Apple TV, documents published by the U.S. antitrust subcommittee have revealed.

According to email correspondence between Apple's services chief Eddy Cue and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Apple struck a deal to bring Amazon Prime Video into the ‌App Store‌ by agreeing to take a 15% revenue share of subscriptions signed-up through the app. Apple usually takes a 30% share of all ‌App Store‌ subscription revenue, dropping to 15% only if the subscription continues for a second year.

eddy cue bezos prime video email

Image credit: Mark Gurman

In 2016, when the meeting took place, Amazon Prime Video wasn't available on ‌Apple TV‌, which competes directly with Amazon's Fire TV. At the time, Bezos admitted that Amazon was holding out for "acceptable business terms" from Apple to include its service on Apple's set-top box. It's unclear if the reduced subscriptions cut was part of the final terms of the agreement.

According to the email, Apple also agreed to take a 15% share of third-party Amazon Channels sold through the app if the subscriber used Apple payment processing, agreed to support integration with Siri and pipe in Prime Video content to its TV app for iOS, and agreed to include Prime Video results in ‌Siri‌ and Spotlight searches. A year after the email was sent, Amazon Prime Video launched on ‌Apple TV‌.

Other documents shared by the committee also reveal correspondence between Apple and Amazon regarding the 2018 deal for Apple to officially sell devices on Amazon's website. Bloomberg notes that the documents show Amazon expected to bring in $3.2 billion from the deal in the first year, including $1.1 billion from iPhone sales.

The reduced ‌App Store‌ fees for Amazon's Prime Video app are actually part of a longstanding policy run by Apple to provide better fees for subscription-based streaming video apps.

However, the antitrust subcommittee interpreted the deal as representing preferential treatment given to Amazon and that Apple was not treating its developers equally when it came to providing access to its ‌App Store‌ and other platforms. "That is not correct," Cook said on Wednesday when asked by the subcommittee if some developers are treated differently. "We treat every developer the same."

Popular Stories

iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Will Expand to These 8 U.S. States

Tuesday July 8, 2025 11:26 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly since it was announced in 2021, with only nine U.S. states, Puerto Rico,...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro to Reverse iPhone X Design Decision

Monday July 7, 2025 9:46 am PDT by
Since the iPhone X in 2017, all of Apple's highest-end iPhone models have featured either stainless steel or titanium frames, but it has now been rumored that this design decision will be coming to an end with the iPhone 17 Pro models later this year. In a post on Chinese social media platform Weibo today, the account Instant Digital said that the iPhone 17 Pro models will have an aluminum...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

Leaker Reveals Amount of RAM in iPhone 17 Through iPhone 17 Pro Max

Wednesday July 9, 2025 8:08 am PDT by
Three out of four iPhone 17 models will feature more RAM than the equivalent iPhone 16 models, according to a new leak that aligns with previous rumors. The all-new iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with 12GB of RAM, according to Fixed Focus Digital, an account with more than two million followers on Chinese social media platform Weibo. The...
apple account card feature

Apple Account Card Expanding to More Countries

Tuesday July 8, 2025 7:34 pm PDT by
Apple is expanding the ability to add an Apple Account Card to the Wallet app to more countries, according to backend Apple Pay changes. With iOS 15.5, Apple updated the Wallet app to allow users to add an Apple Account Card, which displays the Apple credit balance associated with an Apple ID. If you receive an Apple gift card, for example, it is added to an Apple Account that is also...
macbook pro blue green

M5 MacBook Pro No Longer Coming in 2025

Thursday July 10, 2025 12:38 pm PDT by
Apple does not plan to refresh any Macs with updated M5 chips in 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models are now planned for the first half of 2026. Gurman previously said that Apple would debut the M5 MacBook Pro models in late 2025, but his newest report suggests that Apple is "considering" pushing them back to 2026. Apple is now said to be...
iOS 26 Feature

Everything New in iOS 26 Beta 3

Monday July 7, 2025 1:20 pm PDT by
Apple is continuing to refine and update iOS 26, and beta three features smaller changes than we saw in beta 2, plus further tweaks to the Liquid Glass design. Apple is gearing up for the next phase of beta testing, and the company has promised that a public beta is set to come out in July. Transparency In some apps like Apple Music, Podcasts, and the App Store, Apple has toned down the...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive These Five Perks

Wednesday July 9, 2025 9:20 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, did you know that Apple offers you five perks beyond the extra storage space, at no additional cost? Here are the perks included with all iCloud+ plans:Private Relay keeps your Safari browsing history entirely private from network providers, websites, and even Apple. Hide My Email generates unique, random email addresses whenever needed. Hom...

Top Rated Comments

PaulpBenitti Avatar
65 months ago
It is quite the conundrum isn't it?

On the one hand it's just a normal deal being made between 2 businesses.

On the other hand, its anti-competitive behavior being engaged in by 2 monster companies.

It is both, at the same time. There is nothing wrong with it, and there is everything wrong with it. It is bizarre how normal business is not acceptable anymore when you become too big, but that's how it is.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Infinite Vortex Avatar
65 months ago
And who covers that 15% offset that Amazon get (and I'm sure others)… the small developer that doesn't get a break where the rules are followed in an unforgiving, seemingly mean spirited, way. And at the end of the day its the consumer that is the one that always pays for it all!
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
HylianKnight Avatar
65 months ago
I feel like a lot of people missed this short blurb in the article about Apple fee policy for subscription-based video apps...

“The reduced ‌App Store‌ fees for Amazon's Prime Video app are actually part of a longstanding policy ('https://www.macrumors.com/2016/11/16/apple-halving-subscription-video-fees/') run by Apple to provide better fees for subscription-based streaming video apps.”

It was easy to miss, and probably should have been mentioned a bit sooner.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spook Avatar
65 months ago
pretty standard stuff here whats the big deal.

Builders merchants, if a builder comes if and buys more bricks then anyone else he gets a bigger discount then anyone else, same all over.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jayducharme Avatar
65 months ago
This seems like a damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don't situation. If Apple hadn't allowed Amazon into their ecosystem, Apple would have been charged with anti-competitive practices. But Apple worked out a deal, brought Amazon on board and allowed customers more choices, and they're accused of being anti-competitive.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
65 months ago
This is not surprising but it does show Tim Cook is lying when he says all developers are treated the same.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)