HEARST DEAL: With a rumored tablet not far away, Amazon.com has tightened its relationship with Hearst. The publisher said Tuesday that the two companies have entered a content and consumer marketing relationship. The announcement is light on details — and, as Peter Kafka of AllThingsD mentioned, it never says the word “tablet” — but it said Amazon will become Hearst’s biggest third-party seller of subscriptions through its digital channels and the two companies will work together on e-commerce.
“The deal gives Amazon customers access to content from one of the world’s largest publishers of monthly magazines and provides Hearst access to Amazon’s growing and evolving e-commerce platform,” Hearst said.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Amazon has begun negotiations with magazine publishers on subscription deals for its tablet-in-the-making and the company is apparently ready to cut them a better deal than Apple.