Amazon close to resolving pricing dispute with Warner Bros: WSJ

Reuters

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc has resumed preorders of movie discs from Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros Studio as the companies are close to resolving a pricing dispute, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter. In mid-May, Amazon started refusing pre-orders of upcoming home video movie titles including "The Lego Movie," "300: Rise of an Empire," "Winter's Tale" and "Transcendence." Amazon had been seeking more favorable pricing terms from Warner, the report said. (http://on.wsj.com/1pw2vVW) Amazon did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment on the report. Warner Bros declined to comment. Amazon has a record of being involved in combative negotiations. The e-commerce retailer is in an ongoing dispute over contract terms with Hachette, a unit of French media company Lagardere SCA. Last month, Amazon removed an option to pre-order Hachette titles, including "The Silkworm" - an upcoming novel written by author of the Harry Potter series J.K. Rowling. Authors and other publishing insiders have criticized Amazon for unfairly wielding its power as a major retailer to gain an edge in contract talks. (Reporting by Soham Chatterjee; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)