Apple's Russian smartphone market share; Vivendi's executive committee plans

TOP NEWS IN TMT

* Russia's minister of digital development, communications and mass media, Maksut Shadayev, said Apple Inc.'s share in the country's smartphone market will halve by the end of 2024 as users struggle to access payment services and download apps, Telecompaper reported, citing Prime.

* France's Vivendi SE said it will set up a new management board and executive committee after the listing of Universal Music Group NV and the launch of a takeover bid for publisher Lagardere SA, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

➤ Meta, Snap look to lead Big Tech into metaverse

Making the metaverse work will require more widespread adoption of augmented and virtual reality, and Meta Platforms Inc., along with Snap Inc., is positioned to lead the way, analysts said. Other Big Tech companies are likely to follow.

➤ Data Dispatch: Europe's box office sustains recovery with 209.7% YOY improvement

Russia's box office decline continued, with cumulative gross box office revenue falling 47.6% year over year to $96.8 million.

TECHNOLOGY

* The Spanish data protection authority fined Alphabet Inc.'s Google LLC and Vodafone España SAU nearly €14 million for violating the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, including the "right to be forgotten" and provisions on confidentiality, according to Telecompaper.

* U.K. cybersecurity technology provider Darktrace PLC said neither the company nor its acting executives were involved in legal proceedings linked to Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.'s acquisition of Autonomy Corp. Ltd. 10 years ago, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

* Germany's Axel Springer SE entered into a global partnership with Snap Inc. to set up new forms of reporting and invest in augmented reality news experiences.

INTERNET & OTT

* Twitter Inc. announced new measures to curb misinformation around armed conflicts, natural disasters and public health emergencies, according to Dow Jones Newswires, citing a statement. Twitter said it will start with Russia's war in Ukraine.

* Chris Bird, managing director of Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video streaming platform in the U.K., said the company invested over £1 billion in the last five years in U.K. content, The Guardian (London) reported.

* Walt Disney Co. will premiere the limited series "Under the Banner of Heaven" under the Star banner on its Disney+ streamer in the U.K. and Ireland on July 27.

* Sports streamer DAZN Group Ltd. acquired global rights, excluding Asia-Pacific, to the sports documentary series "One Team, One Dream," which focuses on Chelsea F.C. Women.

* Viaplay Group AB, formerly Nordic Entertainment Group, renewed its young adult drama series "Threesome" for a second season late in 2022.

* Russian telco Mobile TeleSystems PJSC is eyeing a takeover bid for online streamer ivi.ru Media Ltd., Telecompaper reported, citing Kommersant.

* Open Dutch Fiber BV will connect almost 25,000 households in Kerkrade city in the Netherlands to superfast internet via fiber along with T-Mobile Netherlands BV. The first households are expected to be able to use the internet via fiber starting in October.

MEDIA

* The European Commission is referring the Czech Republic, Ireland, Romania, Slovakia and Spain to the EU Court of Justice for failing to transpose the amended Audiovisual Media Services Directive.

* The Russian government will shut down the Moscow bureau of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. in retaliation for Canada's ban on Russian broadcaster RT in March, according to Digital TV Europe, citing Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

* U.K. state broadcaster Channel 4 (UK) may be discharged from its "public service broadcasting" rights and obligations 10 years after its proposed privatization is completed, Bloomberg News reported, citing U.K. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries.

* Comcast Corp.-owned Sky Ltd. named Noel Tovey to the newly created role of managing director at Sky Studios Elstree.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

* The board of French telecom operator Orange SA elected Jacques Aschenbroich as its nonexecutive chairman. Orange shareholders also approved the appointments of Aschenbroich and Valérie Beaulieu-James as independent directors for a four-year term.

* Telefónica SA agreed to sell a 7.076% stake in media company Promotora de Informaciones SA, or Prisa, to Global Alconaba SL for 68 euro cents per share. As a result, Telefónica's current stake in Prisa is equivalent to 1.953% of its share capital.

* In more Telefónica news, the Spanish telco issued its first senior sustainable bond worth €1 billion with a nine-year term. The newly issued bond allows the company to meet its target to exceed €10 billion in sustainable financing over the next few years in advance.

* Telefónica Deutschland Holding AG's supervisory board extended the contract of Chief Technology and Information Officer Mallik Rao for three more years.

* Liberty Global PLC's Swiss subsidiary Sunrise UPC announced Sunrise as its main brand following a process of integration.

FILM & TV

* ITV PLC commissioned a new series of crime drama "Grace," comprising three feature-length films.

* Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. will offer its Warner Bros. Discovery channel on Magyar Telekom's TV service temporarily this month, Broadband TV News reported.

* Cosmote SA struck a deal with soccer club Olympiakos Piraeus for the 2022-2023 season to transmit all home games of the Super League Championship, among others, according to Telecompaper.

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Naimatullah Khan, Anne Freier, Amanda Kelly, Charlotte van Hek and Esben Svendsen contributed to this report.

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