Amazon's Prime Day will take place in the U.S. on Oct. 13 and 14, internal emails suggest. The e-commerce giant has yet to confirm the dates after it delayed the original Prime Day, typically held in July, due to the pandemic.

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• The Verge reportedly saw an email confirming that the annual shopping event would take place over 48 hours on Oct. 13 and 14. The email also said the company would officially announce the dates this Sunday, Sept. 27.
• A separate email told Amazon warehouse employees that the company would not accept any new vacation requests for Oct. 13-20, suggesting that it expects shipments to pick up at that time.
• Sources also told CNET that Prime Day would begin on Oct. 13. The leaks confirm Amazon's statement that Prime Day would take place in the fourth quarter.
• The fifth annual Prime Day is expected to include many Apple deals, plus the usual discounts on TVs, speakers, laptops, apparel, and more.

Amazon prevents some rival device-makers from buying ads on search results for the company's own products, a WSJ investigation found. For example, Roku is barred from buying sponsored ads that show up in Amazon Fire TV search results. The restrictions, which give Amazon an advantage in the gadget market, could draw scrutiny from regulators.

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• The Amazon competitors include makers of smart speakers, video doorbells, security cameras, and other gadgets. Their products directly compete with Amazon's Fire TV, Ring, Echo Show, and more.
• Besides Roku, smart security company Arlo Technologies and Facebook experienced issues buying sponsored ads on Amazon product search results.
• Sponsored Products are keyword-targeted ads that permit advertisers to promote certain products. Advertisers bid on terms and the ads with higher bids are more likely to appear.
• An Amazon spokesman told the WSJ that "retailers promote their own products and often don’t sell products of competitors." He cited Walmart, which doesn't sell any Amazon products.
• The practice could face investigations from regulators, who are already investigating Amazon for its business practices and treatment of rival sellers. These include government regulators in the U.S., the EU, and Canada.
• Close to half of all online shopping searches in the U.S. begin on Amazon.com. The company's advertising power has dramatically increased in recent years:

WHAT'S NEW ON AMAZON STREAMING

Check out the latest movies and shows to stream on Prime, courtesy of our Inside Streaming writer Lon Harris.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY: Animated 2019 film based on the characters originally created by Charles Addams, and featuring the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Chloë Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, Snoop Dogg, Bette Midler, and Allison Janney. [Amazon and Hulu]

ANTEBELLUM: Psychological horror film starring Janelle Monáe as a prominent author in contemporary America who finds herself abducted and forced into slavery on a pre-Civil War plantation. The film, from writer/directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz, was originally scheduled for theatrical release prior to the pandemic, but will now debut on Amazon Prime.

ALL IN: THE FIGHT FOR DEMOCRACY: Documentary feature from director Liz Garbus ("I'll Be Gone in the Dark") about the fight against voter suppression efforts across the U.S. Featuring interviews with voting rights activist Stacey Abrams, academic Carol Anderson, former Attorney General Eric Holder, civil rights leader and politician Andrew Young, and philanthropist Luci Baines Johnson...

A new Fire TV Stick Lite will likely be revealed at tomorrow's Amazon hardware launch event. A leak shows the alleged new Alexa voice remote, which is missing the power and volume buttons but includes a new live TV button and Amazon logo at the bottom.

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• The device will reportedly be sold as a successor to the now-discontinued $35 second-gen Fire TV Stick, and a less expensive alternative to the $50 Fire TV Stick 4K.
• The reveal is expected to occur at Amazon's annual hardware launch event on Thursday, Sept. 24. The invite-only event kicks off at 10 a.m. PT and will not be live streamed to the public.
• Alexa-equipped gadgets will take center stage, CNET reports. Amazon could unveil its new Eero WiFi 6 routers.
• At last year's event, Amazon unveiled the Amazon Echo Studio, Alexa Smart Oven, Amazon Echo Frames, and a dozen other devices.

Amazon launched a new program that places Climate Pledge Friendly labels on more than 25,000 items. The label is designed to make it easier for customers to find more sustainable products, CEO Jeff Bezos said.

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• Products that receive the label have at least one of 19 sustainability certifications, including Amazon's own Compact by Design certification.
• The items are specially marked in shopping search results and include additional sustainability data on their product page. They're also featured in a dedicated section on Amazon.com.
• In June, Amazon announced plans to launch its $2b Climate Pledge Fund, a venture capital fund to invest in companies geared toward sustainable development and climate change reduction. The program is part of Amazon's pledge to become net carbon neutral by 2040.

Amazon removed Echelon Ex-Prime bikes from its site hours after the bike company launched its new product, as Echelon claimed the bike was built in collaboration with Amazon. Amazon now claims it didn't build the bike and has told Peloton to stop selling it. Earlier, Peloton shares fell 6.7% on the announcement of the launch as it signaled Amazon's entry into the fitness market.

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• The "Peloton knock-off" was priced at $499, compared to Peleton's ~$2,000 range. The bike doesn't have an integrated screen, and fitness programs can be streamed via mobile phones or tablets.
• During the launch, the company's CEO said, "the Prime Bike was developed in collaboration with Amazon," and "Amazon looking to us to partner on their first-ever connected fitness product." 
• Later, an Amazon spokesperson said, "This bike is not an Amazon product or related to Amazon Prime. Echelon does not have a formal partnership with Amazon. We are working with Echelon to clarify this in its communications, stop the sale of the product, and change the product branding." 
• Echelon sells a similar bike at Walmart.com, though the model is currently out of stock.

This story first appeared in Inside Business. You can read the full issue here. 

QUICK HITS

• Jeff Bezos will open his first free preschool for children from low-income families on Oct. 19. The Bezos Academy in Des Moines, Wash., will be the first of many preschools for underserved children, he said.
• Amazon paid $148.5m for a 1.5-acre site and hotel in Pentagon City to expand its HQ2.
• Sports broadcaster Dan Patrick teamed with Amazon Music and IMDb to launch a podcast focused on iconic moments in film and TV history.
• Bezos-founded Blue Origin is hiring an “Orbital Habitat Formulation Lead" that suggests the company will begin developing habitable space stations.
• Amazon is building an in-house flight simulator to test out its delivery drones.
• Amazon Studios will produce the film "All the Old Knives," starring Chris Pine and Thandie Newton.
• Sales of the nearly 3-year old Xbox One X were up 747% on Amazon's 'Movers and Shakers' chart yesterday due to name mixups with Xbox's new product, the Xbox Series X.
• Amazon expanded its app-based telehealth services for its Washington state employees.
• Brands see 18.5% of e-commerce revenue from SMS marketing. See 6 top SMS campaigns here.* 

*This is a sponsored link.

Tweet of the Day: Amazon and TurboVote launched a new website to help voters with registration and more.