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Ofcom prepared to regulate Facebook, Twitter; RTL Group co-CEO steps down

TOP NEWS

* British media watchdog Ofcom is prepared to regulate internet companies including Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Google Inc.'s YouTube, amid calls for a level playing field in obligations between social media platforms and traditional media publishers, newly appointed Ofcom Chairman Terry Burns has said. Burns was formally named to the post by Culture Secretary Karen Bradley and will serve a four-year term, effective Jan. 1, 2018. Alphabet Inc. owns Google.

* Guillaume de Posch has decided to step down as co-CEO of RTL Group, effective Jan. 1, 2018. He will remain as a nonexecutive board member and Bert Habets will lead the company as sole CEO.

* Deutsche Telekom AG and EWE will invest up to €2 billion to develop a fiber-optic network in northwest Germany. The companies plan to extend access in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bremen, connecting more than 1 million households within 10 years.

UK AND IRELAND

* China Mobile International Ltd., a unit of China Mobile Ltd., launched a mobile virtual network operator business in the U.K. CMLink will provide mobile voice and data services for Chinese immigrants, students and professionals living in and traveling to the U.K. via British Telecom's EE mobile network.

* The city of Sheffield has withdrawn its suspension of Uber Technologies Inc.'s operating license after officials received satisfactory answers to questions about its app management, Reuters reports. Officials are now waiting for the car-hailing company to submit a new license application.

* Channel 5 (UK) is set to launch 5Prime, a premium linear channel featuring high-end factual shows, documentaries and drama, Digital TV Europe reports. It replaces My5 and will debut on all platforms in the U.K. on Jan. 16, 2018.

GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA

* Germany's Federal Cartel Office launched a probe into smart TVs, which plans to assess for possible violations of privacy rights. Smart TVs represent expanding device integrations and may involve the unintentional surrender of personal user data.

* Germany's Kommission für Zulassung und Aufsicht der Medienanstalten ruled that online TV program "blizz" violated advertising principles four times from May to October. Blizz streamed teleshopping shows without labeling them as such.

* Volker Breid, former CEO of motoring magazine Motor Presse Stuttgart, is joining German newspaper publisher Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH as COO, effective Feb. 1, 2018. He will oversee the areas of professional publishing, strategic company development, financials and controlling.

FRANCE

* Altice NV cancelled its plans to roll out fiber broadband technology in France by 2025, following a drop in the company's share price, Reuters reports, citing a company's senior executive. SFR Group head Alain Weill also said the authorities have not approved the plan to build its own fiber technology.

* Orange SA's Orange Digital Ventures announced its participation in the financing of FollowAnalytics, a French startup known for its mobile marketing automation solutions. FollowAnalytics raised a total of $27 million since its creation in 2013.

* Bouygues Telecom SA, with its Perfomics Publicis Media agency, launched TF1 Publicité's Spot4Data offer, CB News reports. During the broadcasting of the advertiser's spot on the MYTF1 platform, the internet user can subscribe in one click to the proposed offer with the help of a dedicated tab in the advertising screen.

* France Télévisions SA's operations were hampered after three organizations called on employees to stop working for 24 hours on Dec. 13 "for the honor of the public service," CB News reports. The strikes made an impact on the group's radio programming.

NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG

* Gemalto NV has rejected Atos SE's €4.3 billion acquisition proposal. The company said Atos' offer does not provide a compelling strategy, undervalues the company and does not adequately address stakeholders' interests.

* The Digital News Initiative, a project from Google and European newsmakers, will give more than €800,000 to five Dutch journalism initiatives, with Het Financieele Dagblad one of the beneficiaries, Emerce reports.

* Dutch satellite TV provider Canal Digitaal added all channels of RTL Nederland to its on-demand offering, TotaalTV reports. Customers of Canal Digitaal customers can view RTL programs from the previous seven days.

* The Dutch House of Representatives rejected the recent proposal of ruling party VVD forcing public broadcaster NPO to give exact insights into its expenses, Villamedia reports.

NORDIC COUNTRIES

* Nokia Corp. partnered with Crèdit Andorrà Financial to support the latter's office connectivity project, Nokia said. The project will use Nokia's Nuage Network SD-WAN technology to more smoothly connect CAF's domestic and foreign office sites.

* Sportkanalen will launch on Boxer TV A/S' and Com Hem Holding AB's cable-TV platforms in February 2018, Com Hem said. The new sports channel will broadcast live games from Sweden's national soccer and ice hockey leagues as well as the NBA.

SOUTHERN EUROPE

* Rai Way SpA, the broadcast infrastructure unit of Italian public broadcaster RAI, confirmed press reports that it submitted a non-binding expression of interest to acquire Telecom Italia SpA's broadcasting unit Persidera SpA.

* Mediaset SpA Vice President and Managing Director Pier Silvio Berlusconi recommended an implementation of an advertising cap against its rival RAI, Advanced Television reports, citing Corriere della Sera's interview with the executive. Berlusconi argued that RAI "distorts the market" given that the company is a hybrid broadcaster that lives off both TV license and advertising.

* Telecom Italia CEO Amos Genish is calling for a discussion with Italian regulators to review potential governance improvements to its fixed-line network, Reuters reports. Genish is looking to use a management model that is most suited for the Italian market.

* Movistar+ will no longer distribute content on satellite operator Hispasat SA as part of the Telefónica SA over-the-top platform's goal to cut costs, Advanced Television reports.

* Greece's top court green-lit the extradition of suspected Russian cybercriminal Alexander Vinnik to the U.S., Reuters reports. Vinnik, who has been indicted for U.S. cybercrime charges, was arrested in northern Greece in July. He is alleged to have laundered about $4 billion in bitcoin to facilitate crimes such as hacking.

EASTERN EUROPE

* PAO Sberbank of Russia and Russian technology company Yandex NV entered into a binding agreement to form an e commerce joint venture on the Yandex.Market platform. Sberbank will subscribe for new shares in Yandex.Market for 30 billion Russian rubles, valuing the platform at 60 billion rubles on a post-money basis, before taking into account potential future synergies.

* Viasat World Ltd.'s new channel Epic Drama will roll out in 11 countries in central and eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine, Broadband TV News reports. In Poland, the channel will initially launch on Cyfrowy Polsat SA, and will later be available on Play's Play Now, Orange Polska SA and nc+.

* Przemyslaw Glebocki stepped down from Netia SA's supervisory board, Telecompaper reports. The Polish operator also appointed Krzysztof Adaszewski as a member of the management board, replacing Katarzyna Iwuc who will act as management board chairwoman and director general. Andrzej Abramczuk was also named as a management board member and director of strategy and operations.

* T-Mobile Czech Republic rolled out a pilot operation of a narrowband internet-of-things network in Prague, as part of its partnership with internet of things network SIGFOX SA, Telecompaper reports. The Deutsche Telekom unit will also advance efforts toward a countrywide coverage of the network.

FEATURED NEWS

France 24 launches Spanish service in Mexico; piracy hits Brazilian pay TV: In this monthly feature, S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a roundup of news related to over-the-top, video-on-demand and other online video initiatives in different Latin American markets.

FEATURED RESEARCH

Wireless Investor: Advanced 4G markets set stage for Asia-Pacific to lead in 5G era: South Korea remains the leader in 4G penetration among the developed Asia-Pacific markets at 76% as of year-end 2016, followed by Australia at 65%, Taiwan at 63% and Japan at 60%.

Anne Freier, Amanda Kelly, Charlotte van Hek and Gerard O'Dwyer contributed to this report. The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription.