Google, Wikipedia face Russia court; Deezer to go public through SPAC deal

TOP NEWS IN TMT

* A court in Russia filed administrative cases against Alphabet Inc.'s Google LLC and Wikimedia Foundation Inc.'s Wikipedia for not deleting content that is banned in Russia, particularly related to its military operation in Ukraine, Interfax news agency reported.

* French audio streaming platform Deezer SA agreed to merge with special purpose acquisition company I2PO SA and go public for €1.05 billion, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

➤ Netflix earnings to shed light on growth prospects as Russia sanctions add drag

Estimates are mixed regarding Netflix Inc.'s exposure to Russia, but the suspension of service in the country could hurt the company's ability to deliver the kind of growth it saw in the past, analysts say.

➤ Consumer Insights: Sweden survey report: More video viewing on more devices

Results from a recent Kagan survey show that the television is still the screen of choice for watching TV and video content in Sweden, but TV viewing time is declining, in favor of more time viewing on PCs and mobile devices.

TECHNOLOGY

* Ericsson may face a fine imposed by U.S. regulators over its handling of corruption-related misconduct in Iraq, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing Barrons.

INTERNET & OTT

* Netherlands-listed internet company Yandex NV named Artem Savinovsky general director of its principal Russian operating unit Yandex LLC, effective April 15. Savinovsky succeeds Elena Bunina.

* Beijing Byte Dance Telecommunications Co. Ltd.'s TikTok Inc. recorded 2.25 million active user accounts in Ireland, up from January's 2.1 million, Irish Independent (Dublin) reported. The short-video platform is under investigation by the Data Protection Commissioner over its personal data transfers to China and its handling of children's data.

* Russia's media and communications regulator blocked access to the website of French news network Radio France Internationale SA, Challenges reported.

* The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets published a draft decision following recent proposals from Dutch telco KPN NV and fiber-optic company Glaspoort regarding lower tariffs and improved conditions for access to their fiber-optic networks. The ACM ruled that the commitments may lead to more competition on price and download speeds in the market and therefore has submitted a draft decision that is up for consultation by various parties.

* Danish podcast app company Podimo ApS has launched its app in the Netherlands, Emerce reported. The company offers subscriptions for €5 or €10 per month, which gives access to both podcasts and audiobooks.

* Russian telco MegaFon and video service Start intend to merge their online video services, with the new format expected to launch in May, Telecompaper reported, citing Telecomdaily.ru.

MEDIA

* Polish video game developer CD Projekt SA will launch a new expansion of its Cyberpunk 2077 game next year, Reuters reported. This comes as the company indefinitely postponed the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt for next-generation consoles, according to a separate Reuters report.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

* Telecom Italia SpA struck an agreement to sell a 41% stake in its Daphne 3 holding company to a consortium led by Ardian for around €1.3 billion, as well as a loan repayment of around €200 million, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

* In more Telecom Italia news, Executive Vice President Alessandro Picardi will exit the company to become the chairman of the telco's subsidiary Olivetti SpA. Telecom Italia-owned infrastructure operator FiberCop also signed a co-investment agreement with telecommunications operator TLC Telecomunicazioni SRL to accelerate the deployment of fiber-to-the-home across Italy.

* British Telecom's Openreach Ltd. has connected over 7 million houses and businesses in the U.K. to its full-fiber broadband network. The company said it is on track to connect 25 million sites by December 2026.

* Dublin-based eir Ltd. launched 5G roaming services for customers within the U.K., Irish Times (Dublin) reported.

* Ericsson signed a memorandum of understanding with Batelco to collaborate on next-generation 5G technologies in Bahrain.

FILM & TV

* French language network TV5MONDE SA partnered with Netgem SA to launch on Netgem TV across over 15 Ultrafast fiber broadband providers in the U.K.

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Naimatullah Khan, Anne Freier, Sylvia Edwards Davis, Charlotte van Hek and Esben Svendsen contributed to this report.

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