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DISH-Meredith pact; Cloudflare IPO; Facebook-NFL deal

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Broadcast deal market recap 2021

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Volume of Investment Research Reports on Inflation Increased in Q4 2021

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Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future


DISH-Meredith pact; Cloudflare IPO; Facebook-NFL deal

Top news

* Meredith Corp. and DISH Network Corp. struck a new multiyear retransmission agreement that restored access to Meredith's local television stations to DISH pay TV customers in 12 markets, ending a nearly two-month contract standoff. Meredith stations affiliated with CBS (US), NBC (US), FOX (US) and ABC (US) had been disconnected from DISH subscribers in markets including Atlanta; Phoenix; St. Louis; Portland, Ore.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Springfield-Holyoke, Mass., since mid-July.

* Cloudflare Inc. priced its IPO of class A common stock at $15 per share with the internet performance and security company offering 35 million shares of its class A common stock. Underwriters have an option to buy an additional 5,250,000 shares at the IPO price less underwriting discounts. Cloudflare's shares are expected to begin trading on the NYSE on Sept. 13, under the ticker symbol NET. The offering is expected to close Sept. 17.

* The National Football League extended its content distribution deal with Facebook Inc. through the 2020 season, Variety reported. Pursuant to the deal, the NFL will continue distributing recaps on Facebook's Watch video streaming platform, along with other original content such as video versions of NFL-produced podcasts and video clips featuring NFL Media analysts, reporters and on-air personalities.

* Apple Inc.'s new streaming video service is a smart way to appeal to its existing user base, but it might not offer enough compelling features to gain footing in a saturated market, analysts said.

Multichannel

* Charter Communications Inc. CFO Christopher Winfrey sees multiple opportunities for his company in broadband. Speaking at a Sept. 12 investor conference, Winfrey said the proliferation of devices inside the home means that people will be looking for a way to manage and enable devices connecting to a network.

Film & TV

* Microsoft Corp. teamed up with The Walt Disney Studios to test new ways to create, produce and distribute content on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. Under a five-year partnership, the companies will use the Walt Disney Co.-owned studio's StudioLAB technology hub to deliver cloud-based services that can be used for "scene to screen" content workflows, or for production and postproduction processes, according to a news release.

* WarnerMedia's Rooster Teeth Productions LLC is laying off 13% of its workforce, or about 50 employees, Rooster Teeth CEO Matt Hullum said in a memo to staff posted by Variety. Hullum said the layoffs were not "reflective of anyone's individual performance" but were needed to achieve future growth targets of the company.

* Boat Rocker Media Inc. purchased Platform One Media — the television production and sales business launched in 2017 with backing from Liberty Global PLC and private equity firm TPG Capital Management LP — to expand its scripted television operation, Variety reports. Platform One CEO Katie O'Connell Marsh will become chairman of Platform One and will also take on a leadership role at Toronto-based Boat Rocker.

Internet & OTT

* A limited version of the Disney+ streaming service is live in the Netherlands as part of a beta test two months ahead of the full launch, scheduled for Nov. 12 for Dutch, U.S. and Canadian subscribers. As part of the test phase, Variety reported that interested Disney fans in the Netherlands can sign up for the new subscription video-on-demand service and view certain catalog programming for free until Nov. 12.

* Netflix Inc. struck a multiyear overall deal with Kuku Studios to produce animated films and series for Netflix members globally. The streaming giant already greenlighted their first animated feature film, which will be produced out of Kuku's Berkeley, Calif.-based studio.

Technology

* Washington warned its Gulf allies about the risks attached with using Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.'s technology for the countries' 5G mobile infrastructure, Reuters reports. Robert Strayer, the U.S. State Department's deputy assistant secretary for cyber, international communications and information policy, said the U.S. "shared a message about the importance of securing 5G technology and applying risk-based security principles."

* Avaya Holdings Corp. is in talks to form a joint venture with RingCentral Inc. and may abandon plans for a full sale of the company, Bloomberg News reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Financial terms of the proposed joint venture were not disclosed. Talks between the companies may fall apart, sources said, adding that the outcome of Avaya's strategic review is not certain.

* Semiconductor provider Rambus Inc. agreed to buy the Silicon intellectual property and secure protocols business of Verimatrix SA, formerly Inside Secure, for $65 million in cash. This acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions, including certain regulatory approvals, though it is expected to close this year.

Regulation

* The U.S. government ordered Google LLC to allow its employees to talk about the workplace issues pursuant to a settlement with federal regulators over complaints that the Alphabet Inc. unit restricts free speech, The Wall Street Journal reports. The National Labor Relations Board wants the company to remind employees that it is within their rights to openly debate political and workplace issues.

* In other Google news, a California judge rejected the U.S. search giant's request to dismiss the email-scanning lawsuit filed last year, Bloomberg News reports. The suit accused Google of intercepting and analyzing emails that non-Gmail users sent to Gmail users to collect information for advertising purposes.

The day ahead

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

In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 0.98% to 27,352.69, and the Nikkei 225 rose 1.05% to 21,988.29.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was down 0.06% to 7,340.47, while the Euronext 100 was up 0.26% to 1,094.53.

On the macro front

The retail sales report, the import and export prices report, the business inventories report, the consumer sentiment report and the Baker-Hughes Rig Count 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: Disney+ test run; Google's penalty in France; Sky Studios' US venture: Walt Disney is running a limited version of Disney+ in the Netherlands, Google will pay a €965 million settlement fine in France, and Sky Studios launched a production services hub in the U.S.

The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: Yahoo Japan inks ¥400B deal; Huawei may sell 5G technology; Kuaishou eyes US IPO: A Japanese billionaire agreed to sell a majority of his shares in Zozo Inc. to Yahoo Japan, Huawei may sell its 5G technology to a Western buyer, and a Tencent-backed video app is eyeing a US$1 billion IPO in the U.S.

The Program Guide: Apple TV+ sets launch date; Facebook taps European publishers for Watch content: Apple unveiled its Apple TV+ subscription streaming service that will launch Nov. 1 for $4.99 per month, while Facebook signed partnerships with European publishers to create more content for its video platform Watch.

The Program Guide: Apple streaming service to launch Nov. 1; HBO renews 'The Righteous Gemstones': The Apple TV+ will debut Nov. 1, retailing at $4.99 per month, while HBO renewed the comedy series "The Righteous Gemstones" for a second season.

Hires and Fires: Interpublic Group makes executive changes; Netflix hires European director: Interpublic Group appointed Philippe Krakowsky COO, while Netflix hired Sasha Bühler to become the director of original film for Germany, France and Nordics.

Hires and Fires Europe: KPN gets new CEO; Telia names interim CEO, CFO: Dutch operator KPN named Dominique Leroy as its new CEO, while Swedish telco Telia appointed an acting CEO and CFO following the resignation of outgoing chief executive Johan Dennelind.

Featured research

Wireless Investor: Expanding mobile connectivity through nonterrestrial networks: With a little over a month before the International Telecommunications Union convenes for the World Radiocommunication Conference, regulators and industry stakeholders gathered at ITU Telecom World 2019 in Budapest, Hungary.

Economics of TV & Film: KBOX Week 36: 'IT Chapter Two' gives Losers Club a winning weekend: The Losers Club were back for another round with Pennywise in "IT Chapter Two," and audiences filled theaters to take the journey with them. The horror sequel helped propel week 36 box office to $187.8 million, up 8.5% from $173.1 million in 2018.

Technology: Tethered VR tied to lofty price points in 2019: HTC announced Sept. 12 that the Vive Cosmos VR headset will retail for $699, keeping the manufacturer near the top of the consumer virtual reality headset market in terms of price.

Multichannel Trends: Comcast positions Flex streaming media player for scale, fickle consumers: Comcast is positioning its Flex hardware to enable a simple transition for customers leaving X1 while offering an easy way back for returning multichannel subscribers.

Global Multichannel: Global Markets Update — France: Kagan has recently updated the Global Multichannel and Broadband analyses for Western European market France as well as analyses for related operators.

Economics of TV & Film: 'Aladdin' conjures up $79 million in video revenue: Things continue to go well for Disney as "Aladdin" is poised to become the top September DVD and Blu-ray release. The film is estimated to ship over 3.5 million video units to retailers and earn $78.7 million in wholesale video revenue.

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