Amazon, Hachette Reach Multiyear Deal To End Months-Long Feud Over E-Book Pricing

(Micah Baldwin)

The months-long standoff between Amazon and book publisher Hachette appears to have reached a ceasefire with the groups signing a multiyear contract.

The New York Times reports that the companies resolved their differences, bringing an official end to a dispute over e-book sales that involved such tactics as the e-tailer removing preorders, and delaying the shipping of books from the publishing company.

While both companies say they are happy with the terms of the new contract, most of the details were kept under wraps.

However, Hachette reportedly did receive the ability to set the prices on its e-books – the major issue driving the dispute.

“This is great news for writers,” Michael Pietsch, Hachette’s chief executive, tells the Times. “The new agreement will benefit Hachette authors for years to come. It gives Hachette enormous marketing capability with one of our most important bookselling partners.”

Officials with Amazon say they are “pleased with this new agreement as it includes specific financial incentives for Hachette to deliver lower prices, which we believe will be a great win for readers and authors alike.”

According to the Times, things aren’t quite back to normal at Amazon yet, with many Hachette books still showing shipping delays as of early Thursday.

The feud between Amazon and Hachette, the fourth largest publisher in the United States, began earlier this year, progressively becoming more hostile.

The public ordeal began back in May when Amazon began pulling pre-order options from upcoming Hachette titles and discouraging the purchase of the publisher’s books by cutting discounts, taking weeks to ship, suggesting other books to consumers and increasing the discount of e-book versions.

Several months later authors joined the fight reporting they had lost as much as 90% of their book sales since the dispute began.

The writers formed a group, Authors United, sending letters to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and individual members of Amazon’s board asking them to end the standoff. Additionally, the groups were in the process of drafting a letter to the Justice Department asking it to examine Amazon for possible anti-trust issues.

While the group first consisted of only Hachette-published authors, in September authors from other publishing houses and the estates of many well-known authors joined the fight.

Amazon and Hachette Resolve Dispute [The New York Times]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Sony’s Streaming TV Service Will Offer 75 Channels, Start Testing This Month, But For How Much?

(Taro the Shiba Inu)

Sony has finally provided some concrete details on its much anticipated streaming TV service, including a name, an expected launch window, and some info about its channel lineup, but the company still isn’t saying how much it’s going to charge.

The company has confirmed that the service, called PlayStation Vue, will launch as an invite-only beta test later this month for PlayStation 3 and 4 users in New York City, followed by further testing in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, before going nationwide in early 2015.

The company says it won’t reveal the price until it’s ready for that commercial launch next year, but it’s reportedly been pegged in the $60-80/month range. Whether that’s a good deal for you depends largely on your current pay-TV carrier and your package.

However, Sony is promising a “fair and competitive” price that has “no hidden fees or charges.” Additionally, users don’t need to commit to a contract for PS Vue or pay for additional equipment (assuming they already own a PlayStation 3 or 4, though Sony says it will soon launch the service on iPad and other devices soon).

The initial lineup will feature around 75 channels, including slates of channels from Discovery Communications (Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, the Oprah Winfrey Network, Discovery Family); Scripps (HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network and Cooking Channel); and Viacom (BET, CMT, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Spike, VH1).

Sony also says that local broadcast networks will be available, but only specifically calls out CBS, FOX, and NBC (along with their various related cable channels) as being confirmed. The absence of any mention of ABC or its parent company Disney — which has made a deal for a similar streaming service being launched by Dish — makes one wonder whether or not users will have access to their local ABC affiliate through PS Vue. The announcement from Sony says the service includes “local broadcast channels,” but conspicuously omits the word “all” from that sentence.

In addition to live TV and on-demand offerings, Sony says that PS Vue gives users access to the previous three days’ worth of “popular programming” so that users who forget to schedule a recording may not have to freak out or wait for a rerun.

The cloud-based DVR service has no storage limits and no restrictions on overlapping programs. Users can also tag “favorite” shows, giving them access to broadcasts for 28 days.

“Everyday TV is about to become extraordinary with our new cloud-based TV service, PlayStation Vue,” said Andrew House, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. in a statement.

In addition to the lingering question of price, there is also the issue of how much data this service will consume and whether it will trigger data caps put in place by certain cable operators. If demand for the service gets too hight, cable companies could also pull what they did with Netflix, allowing the data to bottleneck until Sony pays for a more direct connection to end-users.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

Food Bank Gets Butterball Windfall After Truck Carrying 25K Pounds Of Frozen Turkeys Overturns

Free turkey! (NBC Bay Area)

As my Great Uncle Aloysius always used to say, one wholesale distributor’s loss is a food bank’s gain: After a semi-truck carrying somewhere between 25,000 and 30,000 pounds of frozen Butterball turkeys overturned on a California highway, spilling fuel in the process, a local food bank will reap the benefits.

After the truck reportedly took a turn too quickly yesterday morning, flipping onto its side and jostling its cargo of cardboard boxes packed with turkeys, the food isn’t allowed to be sold in stores, reports NBC Bay Area.

The turkeys were meant for a distribution center and then were going to make their way on to a Costco in Livermore, but they’ll now be going to feed the hungry and homeless at the Alameda County Food Bank in Oakland, a spokesman for the group said. Some of the turkeys will also be shared with shelters in the neighboring county.

“This is a fantastic windfall as our food bank heads into one of the busiest times of year,” the spokesman said. “Receiving this volume of meat protein is rare for us any time of year – and a donation like this simply couldn’t come at a better time. This is going to add a significant helping of holiday joy to thousands of households throughout our community.”

California Highway Patrol officials say the driver “got confused” on the interstate around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, and rounded a ramp unfamiliar to him at a “high rate of speed.” His rear trailer lost control and the rig hit the guardrail, tipping the truck and spilling between 20 and 40 gallons of diesel on the road.

The driver and co-driver were trapped inside the truck, and were rescued by firefighters. The driver suffered minor injuries.

Meanwhile, all of the turkeys had to first be offloaded from the overturned truck onto another, before the big rig could be righted again. That and the spilled fuel on the road caused traffic problems for hours in the area.

25,000 Pounds of Frozen Turkeys Spilled on Bay Area Highway Will Feed Hungry [NBC Bay Area]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

SUV Drives Into Closing Sears Store, Injures No One

(Trent Rose) Not the Sears in question. No SUVs visible here.

When a driver lost control of her Lexus SUV in the parking lot of a mall in Solon, Ohio yesterday afternoon, the story could have had a tragic ending. Instead, only the driver sustained minor injuries. While there was property damage to the shopping center, the car ended up inside a Sears Grand department store…one that is scheduled to close before the end of the year.



Based on the photos in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, it looks like very little merchandise was even damaged. See, there’s a bright side in the demise of Sears, even for people who aren’t bargain-hunting or looking for large amounts of commercial real estate. The vehicle went through a wall of the Sears store, close ot the wall with a neighboring Marc’s store. (That’s a discount chain.)

An unofficial report from the scene was that the driver’s minor injuries were from bruises when her airbag deployed. Officially, police don’t know whether she had more serious injuries than that, and she was taken to a nearby hospital.

While some Lexus vehicles of that era used potentially deadly or dangerous airbags from Takata, the driver’s 2002 SUV apparently didn’t. See, losing control of your car and plowing into a Sears isn’t all bad news.

Lexus smashes into soon-to-be shuttered Sears in Solon (audio) [Cleveland.com]

by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

Hasbro Looking To Buy DreamWorks Animation Because There Aren’t Enough Toy Movies

(Paxton Holley)

For decades, Hasbro products — Transformers, G.I. Joe, My Little Pony, Jem & the Holograms — have been the subject of TV shows and movies, but now the toy company is reportedly looking to go even bigger with the possible acquisition of DreamWorks Animation.

According to the Wall Street Journal, it seems like an inevitability for both companies, as Hasbro has seen its recent toy-related movie franchises bring in a boatload of cash, while DreamWorks has been expanding its movie-related toy and merchandise business.

By owning a studio, Hasbro — which recently launched its own film production company — would not have to share as much of the loot with its current studio partners, and it would be able to pump out even more toys for DreamWorks hits like Shrek and How To Train Your Dragon. And its existing connections with retailers would help to move more of the merch that DreamWorks has been trying to sell.

DreamWorks Animation is no longer part of live-action movie studio DreamWorks SKG, so the Hasbro deal would not impact that business.

The Journal says that talks are still in the early stage, but that an announcement could be made in the coming weeks.

by Chris Morran via Consumerist

The East Coast Will Not Be Outdone By The West; NYC Is Getting A Cat Cafe, Too

Cat unrelated to this story beyond the fact that it is also a cat. (flaimo)

Put away the boxes and unpack your suitcase, East Coast folks — you no longer have to move to Oakland in order to live closer to a cat café. All coasts striving to be equal, New York City is stepping up for the eastern folk and will soon get its first cat/coffeehouse combo. Not a cathouse, to be clear.

Meow Parlor will open on Dec. 15 reports Eater (and every person who knows you likes cats and will send you links about this), and is the brainchild of the people behind a bakery called Macaron Parlour.

It sounds a lot like previous cat cafés, both pop-up and permanent: The area with the cats is kept separate from the space selling hot beverages and pastries. You can bring your food into the cat room if you’re looking for that same cathair garnish you find at home, but cats stay where they are.

Guests pay $4 for every half hour they rent with the cats, with a cap on visits at five hours. At that point you probably just need to get a cat of your own. Reservations can be made online, which will likely be a more convenient choice than just trying to walk in and cuddle.

The cats come from rescue centers and will be available for adoption. Oh and there’s free WiFi, because all your friends definitely need you to social media the heck out of that visit.

Meow Parlour, New York City’s Very First Cat Cafe, Opens Next Month on Hester Street [Eater.com]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Burger King’s Foray Into Cheap Chicken Nuggets Ends A Month After It Started

(Morton Fox)

It was cheep — excuse me, cheap while it lasted, but it’s all over now: A little more than a month after Burger King heralded its cheaper chicken nuggets, selling a 10-pack for $1.49, the company says its reversing course and bumping that price right back up again by the end of this week.

On Oct. 6, Burger King started selling nuggets for about $0.15 a piece, a steal of a deal that apparently wasn’t meant for this world for very long.

Bloomberg reports that a lack of supplies has led to the chain hiking the price for 10 nuggets back up to $2.99. Chicken prices have been on the rise lately, prompting other chains that offer poultry products to reconsider their menus and make some changes.

The special “performed well, in line with our expectations,” said Eric Hirschhorn, chief marketing officer for North America. “We are quickly selling through our promotional supply.”

As a promotional item, the price wasn’t ever expected to stay. But that doesn’t mean your wallet can’t mourn anyway.

Burger King Ending 15-Cent Nugget Deal as Supplies Wane [Bloomberg News]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

Takata Officials Say Company Is Subject Of Criminal Investigation Over Defective Airbags

Japanese auto parts maker Takata, which already faces several lawsuits and investigations by U.S. regulators regarding its production of potentially defective airbags that have been linked to five deaths, is now the subject of a U.S. criminal investigation.

Reuters reports that a federal grand jury in U.S. District Court for Southern District of New York has subpoenaed Takata’s U.S. unit to produce documents related to the deadly airbag defect.

The company reportedly disclosed the investigation during a closed-door meeting with financial analysts.

Also in the meeting, officials with Takata told the analysts that the company is not considering adding production lines to make replacement airbag inflators.

The inflators are the explosive device that allows the airbag to inflate in a fraction of a second. In Takata’s airbag defect case, the chemical in the inflators are believed to become unstable when exposed to humid or wet conditions, causing pieces of the inflator to shoot at passengers with enough force to cause injuries or even death.

Since 2008, nearly 16 million vehicles have been recalled because of the defect, with large portions of the recalls being issued this year. Just last month, the NHTSA urged owners to affected vehicles to have them fixed as soon as possible. However, many manufacturers say they don’t have the parts available.

Reuters reports that Takata also publicly disputed a New York Times piece regarding secret testing of airbags years before the first recall was announced in 2008.

The company says the Times story was “based on serious misunderstandings of the facts,” and that the tests were conducted to detect tears in the cushions of the airbag modules.

Also on Thursday the fifth fatality related to the defect was announced: Honda reported that a driver in Malaysia died in July after being hit with shrapnel from a Takata airbag.

So far, all five fatalities linked to the Takata airbag defect have occurred in Honda vehicles. Honda, Takata’s biggest customer, has recalled nearly 10 million vehicles globally because of the defect.

UPDATE 1-Takata says subject of U.S. criminal probe on air bag flaws [Reuters]

by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

Walmart Tells All U.S. Managers They Can Now Price-Match Online Retailers Like Amazon

(SchuminWeb)

It’s a war out there in the world of retail, and having the lowest prices around is a weapon every brick-and-mortar store has been trying to keep in its arsenal. Not so easy when online retailers like Amazon are constantly lowering prices. All that might change for Walmart, as store managers have been told it’s time to officially start price-matching Amazon and others.

We’ve known for a few weeks now that Walmart was considering allowing stores to match lower prices found online for customers who walk into the 5,000 or so locations in the country, and today the company’s head of U.S. business says that idea has been given the go ahead.

According to a brief report from Reuters, Greg Foran, president and CEO of Walmart U.S., made it seem basically inevitable, saying that the company informed managers that they can match prices with online retailers, because plenty of them were doing just that anyway.

This is just a way to formalize that practice, Foran explained. Some managers were already price-matching on certain items on a case-by-case basis.

“About half of the stores were doing it anyway,” he said during a call this morning reporting Walmart’s quarterly results.

Price-matching might end up costing Walmart money, but it also works against showrooming: If a customer likes something they see in a store, go online on their phones and see that Amazon has it for less, they’re not going to purchase it right there in the store. But if the price is the same, it’s more likely that shopper will just buy it right there.

Let the price-matching wars begin — because when more companies are fighting to give shoppers the lowest price, consumers win.

Wal-Mart told store managers to match online prices with Amazon [Reuters]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

New Prepaid Debit Card Rules Would Add Protections, Curb Overdraft Abuse