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The on-going spats between online retailer Amazon, and distributors and publishers, has claimed another victim: Disney DVDs and Blu-rays.
Over the past week, the pre-order option for Disney titles, including 'Muppets Most Wanted', 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' and 'Maleficent' have disappeared as the online giant flexes its market share muscles to force Disney to come up with a better distribution deal.
Fellow movie studio Warner Bros. was subject to the same treatment when it too was in negotiations with Amazon over a new deal, and Amazon's dispute with book publisher Hachette is still on-going (and was even featured on The Colbert Report).
Like with the Warner Bros. ban, which lasted from May to June, pre-order of Amazon Instant Video downloads remain unaffected. Buyers interested in pre-ordering the new Muppets movie, which hits streets this week, are only presented with a "Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available" message.
Amazon's tactics with Hachette differ slightly, with the online retailer marking up prices for Hachette books, recommending users to buy similar books from other publishers, or takes weeks to deliver a book that normally takes days.
Critics warns that Amazon's recent tactics could attract unwarranted attention from antitrust regulators who could see Amazon's actions are anti-competitive.
Over the past week, the pre-order option for Disney titles, including 'Muppets Most Wanted', 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' and 'Maleficent' have disappeared as the online giant flexes its market share muscles to force Disney to come up with a better distribution deal.
Fellow movie studio Warner Bros. was subject to the same treatment when it too was in negotiations with Amazon over a new deal, and Amazon's dispute with book publisher Hachette is still on-going (and was even featured on The Colbert Report).
Like with the Warner Bros. ban, which lasted from May to June, pre-order of Amazon Instant Video downloads remain unaffected. Buyers interested in pre-ordering the new Muppets movie, which hits streets this week, are only presented with a "Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available" message.
Amazon's tactics with Hachette differ slightly, with the online retailer marking up prices for Hachette books, recommending users to buy similar books from other publishers, or takes weeks to deliver a book that normally takes days.
Critics warns that Amazon's recent tactics could attract unwarranted attention from antitrust regulators who could see Amazon's actions are anti-competitive.