Top news
* The U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai sought support from fellow officials for the approval of Nexstar Media Group Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Tribune Media Co., Reuters reported, citing a spokeswoman for the U.S. agency. A majority of the five-member FCC will have to grant a go-ahead for the deal to push through.
* The personal account of Twitter Inc. CEO Jack Dorsey was hacked Aug. 30 after the phone number associated with the account was compromised amid a security lapse by the mobile provider, the company said in a tweet. The issue has now been resolved, the company said.
* Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. accused the U.S. government of planning a campaign to threaten its employees and commencing cyberattacks to penetrate the company's internal network, Bloomberg News reports. The Chinese equipment maker said Washington has been using every tool at its disposal to malign the company and to unsettle the normal business operations of Huawei as well as its partners.
* Although DISH Network Corp. now has an agreement with ESPN Inc. to air the ACC Network (US), the distributor remains at carriage impasses with several other content providers, including regional sports network Altitude Sports & Entertainment (US). DISH is also still involved in contract disputes dating back to July with Meredith Corp. and the regional sports networks now owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.
Internet & OTT
* Viacom Inc. added its ad-supported video-on-demand platform Pluto TV in the U.K., Germany and Austria to Apple Inc.'s Apple TV and mobile devices, Broadband TV News reports, citing a statement. Pluto TV is also making its debut in Switzerland.
* In other Pluto TV news, the AVOD platform added Pluto TV 007, its 24/7 James Bond-dedicated streaming network, to its content lineup, Deadline.com reports. The channel will offer 18 Bond films on a rotational basis.
* Facebook Inc. lost 300,000 active users in Ireland in the last nine months, Dublin's Irish Independent reports, citing the company's own advertising numbers. The drop in user base came amid the social media giant's involvement in a number of scandals and data privacy issues.
* Netflix Inc. announced "Into the Night," its first Belgian original series, which will be directed by Belgian pair Inti Calfat and Dirk Verheye, with Entre Chien et Loup producing the series. The series is about preserving humanity in the wake of a cosmic disaster when the sun inexplicably starts killing everything in its path.
* In other Netflix news, the streaming service said Hwang Dong-hyuk will produce a new Korean original series called "Round Six." The series tells a story of people, who were invited to take part in a survival game with a chance to win $10 million.
Advertising & Film
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* Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.'s "Angel Has Fallen" pulled in $11.6 million to top the domestic box office for the Aug. 30 weekend, followed by Universal's "Good Boys" at No. 2 with $9.2 million and Walt Disney Co.'s "The Lion King" at No. 3 with $6.7 million, according to comScore Inc. Universal's "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" was No. 4 with about $6.3 million, while Sony Corp.'s "Overcomer" took the fifth spot with $5.7 million.
Technology
* Google LLC's Project Zero discovered 14 massive security holes in iPhone software that existed for two years, CNBC reports. The security analysts team said the flaws, which were fixed in February when Apple released iOS 12.1.4, gave attackers access to photos, location information and private messages, among other information.
* The U.S. and Poland struck a cooperation agreement on 5G technology, which was signed by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, The Associated Press reports. Polish President Andrzej Duda confirmed that his country has detected "activity that could be of espionage nature" which prosecutors are investigating.
* Apple will replace the screens on eligible Apple Watch units with a screen cracking problem free of cost, the company said in a post. The problem was reported with aluminum models of an Apple Watch Series 2 or Series 3 that were sold between September 2016 and September 2019.
Regulation
* AT&T Inc. is seeking a special temporary authority from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in an effort to drive test in the 24 GHz band, FierceWireless reports. The company is looking to calibrate its propagation models for 5G deployments.
* Google reached a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over a probe into YouTube LLC's alleged violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, Politico reported, citing a source with knowledge of the matter. While details of the settlement were not disclosed, the U.S. search giant is paying between $150 million and $200 million to settle the investigation, the source said.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a lower opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 0.39% to 25,527.85, and the Nikkei 225 rose 0.02% to 20,625.16.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.30% to 7,259.44, and the Euronext 100 was down 0.47% to 1,061.71.
On the macro front
The Purchasing Managers' manufacturing index, the Institute For Supply Management's manufacturing index and the construction spending report are due out today.
Click here to read about today's financial markets, setting out the factors driving stocks, bonds and currencies around the world ahead of the New York open.
Featured news
The Daily Dose Europe: Pluto TV's Europe expansion; US, Poland 5G deal; HUYA, ESL joint venture: Viacom launched its Pluto TV service in four European markets, the U.S. and Poland struck a cooperation agreement on 5G technology, and China's HUYA Inc. is acquiring a minority stake in esports company ESL.
The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: ByteDance management reshuffle; Wirecard/Brightstar partnership; HUYA's M&A: ByteDance reshuffled its top executives, German payments company Wirecard AG will partner with SoftBank unit Brightstar Corp. in digital financial services, and Chinese streaming platform HUYA will pick up a stake in Modern Times Group's esports business.
M&A Replay: Millicom closes Telefónica unit purchase; France clears Cellnex, Iliad unit deal: Millicom completed the acquisition of Telefónica SA's mobile operator unit in Panama, while the French competition watchdog approved Cellnex Telecom SA's acquisition of Iliad's mobile towers subsidiary Iliad 7.
Data Dispatch: Spider-Man could still swing to big profits despite Sony-Disney split: Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. and Disney are ending a lucrative partnership on Spider-Man's involvement in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Sony likely still has plenty of webbing to capture profitability for the franchise.
MarketWeek: DISH soars on upgrade; Apple gears up for iPhone launch: DISH shares surged this week after a Wall Street analyst upgraded the stock, saying its valuation represents a strong buying opportunity. Meanwhile, Apple nailed down a date for its highly anticipated September iPhone launch.
Featured research
The Best Of: Editor's picks: Trade war tensions for Apple; transition challenges for Lenovo: Stories about the potential impact of looming tariffs on Apple's position in China and the challenges Lenovo Group Ltd. is facing are featured in the editor's technology, media and telecommunications top picks for the week ended Aug. 30.
The Best Of: Most read: YES Network's sale; PCCW's streaming service Viu; cloud competition: Articles about YES Network and PCCW's streaming service Viu were among the most read in technology, media and telecommunications news for the week ended Aug. 30.
Broadcast Investor: Broadcast Investor: Table of contents for issue No. 648, published August 2019.
Global Multichannel: Global Markets Update — Finland: Kagan has recently updated the Global Multichannel and Broadband analyses for Western Europe market Finland as well as analyses for related operators.
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