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IHeartMedia nearing bankruptcy; 'The Shape of Water' wins Oscar

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Europe: 5 key OTT trends to watch in 2022

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Broadcast deal market recap 2021

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Price wars in India: Disney+ Hotstar vs. Amazon Prime Video vs. Netflix

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Volume of Investment Research Reports on Inflation Increased in Q4 2021


IHeartMedia nearing bankruptcy; 'The Shape of Water' wins Oscar

Top News

* IHeartMedia Inc. unit iHeartCommunications Inc. on March 4 entered into a forbearance agreement with certain lenders regarding a credit agreement, dated as of May 13, 2008, delaying any bankruptcy filing through March 7, according to a Form 8-K filing.

* "The Shape of Water" won the Oscar for best picture at the 90th Academy Awards, while "Coco" won the Oscar for best animated feature film. Gary Oldman scored an award for actor in a leading role for his performance in the "Darkest Hour," and Frances McDormand was named the winner in the actress in a leading role category for "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." The best director Oscar went to "The Shape of Water's" Guillermo del Toro.

* All of the major players with stakes in a potential bidding war for British pay TV giant Sky plc saw shares fall during the week ended March 2. Comcast Corp.'s shares ended trading March 2 at $36.49, down 7.6% since the close of the prior week. Shares of Fox closed at $36.37 on March 2, down about 4.3% for the week, while Walt Disney Co.'s shares ended at $102.99, down about 4% on the one-week chart.

Multichannel

* A potential combination with European video operator Sky would link Comcast to an aggressive digital video strategy in Western Europe and other international markets. Penetration in Western Europe would give Comcast a position in an OTT market that is still filling out, U.K.-based digital media consultant Nathalie Lethbridge said.

Internet & OTT

* Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Network (US) and 21st Century Fox Inc.'s 20th Century Fox have removed ads from the "Infowars" channel on Google Inc.'s YouTube, The Hollywood Reporter reports. A Fox representative said they were "unaware of this ad placement and upon learning of it, immediately had it taken down," while a Paramount Network representative said the network has adjusted its campaign's brand safety filters to ensure its ads do not appear on such channels.

Technology

* Apple Inc. has decided to keep Dialog Semiconductor Plc as a supplier for power management chips through 2019 and 2020, laying to rest concerns that the iPhone maker would cut ties with the Reading, U.K.-based chipmaker, Reuters reports. Dialog CEO Jalal Bagherli told German weekly Euro am Sonntag that Apple has commissioned the company for chips for a number of devices.

* Singapore-headquartered Broadcom Ltd. could complete its return back to the U.S. by mid-May, Reuters reports, citing sources familiar with the details. A vote on the redomiciling proposal will be taken by Broadcom's shareholders by May 6. The company was based in the U.S. until 2016, when it was acquired by Singapore's Avago. The move could help the company allay concerns of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, as it looks to take over QUALCOMM Inc.

Film & TV

* World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. promoted Brian Flinn to chief marketing and communications officer of the company. Flinn previously served the company as executive vice president, marketing & communications, according to a news release.

* Facebook Inc. green-lighted a Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. comedy prank show, called "You Kiddin' Me," for its Facebook Watch platform, The Hollywood Reporter reports. The 10-episode series, which will be executive produced by reality star Kim Kardashian, will show members of the Facebook community chosen to prank their favorite celebrities.

* Disney's "Black Panther" continued to lead the domestic box office by pulling in $65.7 million for the March 4 weekend, followed by 20th Century Fox's "Red Sparrow" at No. 2 with $17 million and MGM Studios Inc.'s "Death Wish" at the third spot with $13 million, according to comScore Inc. Warner Bros.' "Game Night" took the fourth spot with $10.7 million, while Sony Corp.'s "Peter Rabbit" was No. 5 with $10 million.

The day ahead

Early morning futures indicators pointed to a mixed opening for the U.S. market.

In Asia, the Hang Seng declined 2.28% to 29886.39. The Nikkei 225 slid 0.66% to 21,042.09. In Europe as of midday, the FTSE 100 rose 0.20% to 7,083.92, and the Euronext 100 added 0.44% to 1,002.59.

On the macro front

The US Services Purchasing Managers' Index, the Institute For Supply Management non-manufacturing index, and the TD Ameritrade Investor Movement Index are due out today.

Featured news

The Daily Dose Europe: Fox buys stake in Italian OTT Chili; EU eyes new tax rules on tech giants: 21st Century Fox unit 20th Century Fox acquired a 4% holding in Italian transactional video-on-demand platform CHILI S.p.A., while the European Union is eyeing taxes on tech companies' revenues within the range of 2% to 6%.

The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: Bilibili files for US$400M IPO; China to grant tech IPOs speedy approvals: Chinese anime streaming platform Bilibili wants to raise US$400 million in its U.S. IPO, while China plans to grant speedy approvals to tech companies seeking domestic IPOs.

The Program Guide: 'Archer' season 9 gets premiere date; Amazon bolsters content lineup: Comedy Central (US) green-lighting "Corporate" and Amazon.com Inc. ramping up its content lineup with renewals and series orders are included in this edition of The Program Guide.

Data Dispatch: Record-breaking 'Black Panther' to maul 'Red Sparrow,' 'Death Wish' debuts: "Black Panther" will continue its prowl through box offices during the weekend of March 2. The film is expected to easily pounce over two debut titles.

The Best Of: Media & Comm, editor's picks: Sinclair to sell stations; NBCU to reduce ad time: Stories about Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.'s recent plan to divest a number of stations, NBCUniversal Media LLC cutting ad time by 10% in original prime-time shows this fall and CBS Corp.'s CBS Sports HQ service are among the editor's top five picks for the week ended March 2.

The Best Of: Media & Comm, most read: Comcast's Sky plans; Discovery's OTT opportunities: Stories about Comcast's plans for Sky, Microsoft Corp.'s data privacy case and Discovery Communications Inc. eyeing U.S. and global OTT opportunities following the close of the Scripps deal are included in the most read stories for the week ended March 2.

Featured research

Economics of TV & Film: Coming on PPV/VOD in March; UFC signs Amazon deal: Pay-per-view may have originated with multichannel operator delivery, but that is changing with major events accessible more often from various online distributors.

Economics of Networks: Seattle Sounders name YouTube TV as exclusive local sports streaming partner: Seattle Sounders FC signed an agreement to have YouTube TV serve as their exclusive local streaming partner, joining Los Angeles FC, which announced its partnership with the Google-owned streaming a month prior.

Wireless Investor: Brazil emptying 700 MHz for mobile; towercos watchful as MNOs begin to recover: Brazil's Digital Switchover, clearing the country's 700 MHz for mobile use, is expected to finish by 2019. In addition to 10-year and 4G subs forecasts, Kagan's update on Brazilian mobile includes spectrum and tower information.

Economics of Advertising: ESPN tops January Nielsen ratings: The basic cable networks rang in 2018 with bifurcated results, as evidenced by taking a look at the average C3 prime-time TV household delivery figures from Nielsen Holdings for the top 10 highest rated networks.

Technology: Global smart TV market grew 15% in 2017 as 3rd party OS competition increased: Double-digit growth has propelled global smart television shipments to constitute 70% of all television shipments in 2017.

The Daily Dose is updated as of 7 a.m. ET. Some external links may require a subscription.