Apple hire Amazon Fire TV director in effort to boost entertainment division

US tech giant Apple has hired former Amazon Fire TV director Timothy Twerdahl as a vice president of the company in order to boost its own entertainment division, Apple TV.

Amazon's Fire TV products have been well received since Twerdahl joined the company in 2013, having previously spent time working with streaming giant Netflix.

According to Bloomberg, Twerdahl joined the Apple team earlier this month, and will be charged with contributing to the rise of Apple TV, which has floundered since its introduction.

Apple TV only represents a small slice of the company's "other products" category which took in about 5% of the company's sales in 2016.

The move is said to free up the previous head of Apple TV, Pete Distad, to chase deals for incorporating more original content.

Netflix and Amazon have raced ahead of the pack in the competitive television and film streaming market, with the purchase of expensive original content, while Apple's product has fallen well behind with its device.