Kobo chief calls US ebook battle 'a knife fight in a dark basement'

Rakuten Kobo chief Michael Tamblyn said contesting United States ebook sales against Amazon, Google, Apple and Barnes & Noble is "a knife fight in a dark basement." He spoke to Open Road chief David Steinberger on the Open Book podcast, in an episode reported 1 October 2026. The contest is for market share, meaning a portion of total sales.