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Comcast may eye Fox on AT&T deal nod; Seattle accuses Facebook of violating law

Top News

* Comcast Corp. could mull plans to top Walt Disney Co.'s bid for 21st Century Fox Inc. assets if the AT&T Inc.-Time Warner Inc. deal is approved, CNBC.com reports, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. While a decision is yet to be made, Disney is reportedly preparing for such a scenario, sources said.

* The Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission found Facebook Inc. to be in violation of a law that requires companies to disclose who buys election ads, Reuters reports, citing a statement. Wayne Barnett, executive director of the city's election authority, said Facebook could either share details about spending on Seattle city elections in 2017, or face penalties of up to $5,000 per advertising purchase.

* Congress is once again facing a deadline to pass a new spending bill, having until the end of Feb. 8 to both agree and vote on a bill in order to avoid another partial government shutdown. As was the case in January, when the government shut down for three days, lawmakers remain starkly divided over immigration.

* An appeals court in South Korea has suspended Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong's jail sentence over charges of corruption, paving the way for Lee's swift return to the company. The Feb. 5 decision means Lee is likely to resume his roles at Samsung Group, including as vice chairman and director of Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.

Technology

* Nomura Instinet expects Apple Inc. to replace Qualcomm Inc. with Intel Corp. as a supplier for modem chips for next-generation iPhones, Reuters reports, citing a research note. The move is expected to help Apple reduce material costs for iPhones.

* The U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of Andrei Iancu as the head of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, Broadcasting & Cable reports. Iancu, who will be undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property, has been serving as the managing partner of law firm Irell & Manella LLP and a member of its litigation and property practice group.

* Alessandro Sabatelli, head of the augmented reality and virtual reality team at Twitter Inc., is leaving the company, according to a tweet. Sabatelli did not discuss his future plans in the post.

* IDT Corp. said the record date for the spinoff of its Rafael Holdings Inc. subsidiary to IDT stockholders is Feb. 15, and that distribution date for the spinoff will be on or about March 5. Rafael comprises IDT's real estate holdings, its interests in Rafael Pharmaceuticals and Lipomedix, two clinical and early stage pharmaceutical companies, and $50 million to $60 million in cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and/or interests in hedge funds, the company said Feb. 5.

The day ahead

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

In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 5.12% to 30,595.42, while the Nikkei 225 shed 4.73% to 21,610.24.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 2.38% to 7,160.28 and the Euronext 100 fell 2.32% to 1,003.85.

On the macro front

The international trade report, the Redbook and the JOLTS report are due out today.

Featured news

The Daily Dose Europe: Broadcom drags NXP in raised Qualcomm offer; Mediapro seals €1.05B soccer deal: Broadcom Ltd. has marked the proposed acquisition of chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV as a condition for its improved offer for Qualcomm, while broadcaster MediaPro Group secured broadcast rights to Italian soccer league Serie A in a €1.05 billion deal.

The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: Samsung heir walks free; Alibaba leads US$1.2B investment in Wanda Film: Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong has regained his freedom, while Dalian Wanda Group Corp. Ltd. agreed to sell a 12.77% stake in its film subsidiary to a pair of investors led by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.

M&A Replay: Meredith closes Time Inc. deal; SAP unit to buy software firm: S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a wrap-up of U.S. companies' media and communications deal announcements and completions from Jan. 29 to Feb. 2.

The week in OTT: Viacom inks streaming deal; Windstream offers DIRECTV NOW: Viacom Inc. inked a mobile streaming deal with Telefónica SA, while Windstream Holdings Inc. agreed to offer DIRECTV satellite service and DIRECTV NOW streaming service to residential customers across its entire service area.

M&A Replay: European deals: TDC buying MTG's TV biz; Cineworld, Regal deal approved: Danish operator TDC A/S agreed to buy Modern Times Group's broadcasting and entertainment business, while Regal Entertainment Group shareholders approved the company's proposed takeover by European cinema operator Cineworld Group plc.

Featured research

The Best Of: Kagan research and analysis, editor's picks: Presenting the editor's top picks from Kagan's exclusive research and analysis for the week ended Feb. 2.

Economics of Networks: 2018 shows RSN sports rights market remains stout: This year's new RSN deals demonstrate the strong local sports rights market that exists in the midst of cord cutting and cord shaving, anchored by RSNs' exclusive sports rights that cater to teams' local fans.

Global Multichannel: Smartphone is the most widely supported device by global TV Everywhere platforms: Kagan's annual global TV Everywhere survey found 230 pay TV operators offered TVE services at year-end 2017, half of them in Europe. Out of 230 TVE platforms, 215 support smartphones, 214 support tablets and 205 support computers.

Economics of Internet: State of Thai online video: Subscription: Thailand's subscription video-on-demand market is becoming tightly competitive, with an increasing number of international and local players that Thai users can choose from.

Multichannel Trends: Charter revenue growth drops 3.1 percentage points in 2017: Charter Communications Inc.'s top-line growth decelerated sharply in 2017 as double-digit drops in voice and advertising and relatively flat video receipts weighed on the cable MSO's overall performance.

Technology: Amdocs buying Vubiquity for $224M: On Jan. 30, Amdocs Ltd. announced its intent to acquire Vubiquity, Inc. for $224 million, which will broaden Amdocs' product offering for its service provider customers who want to add an entertainment product to those already offered to subscribers.

Economics of Internet: European SVOD 5-year outlook: Kagan projects the over-the-top subscription online video-on-demand market in Europe should reach $6.8 billion in 2022, up from $3.9 billion in 2017.

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