TOP NEWS
* Itis official: VerizonCommunications Inc. is acquiring Yahoo! Inc.'s operating business for about $4.83 billionin cash to integrate the assets with AOL Inc., creating an entity with a combined portfolioof more than 25 brands. The deal, which is expected to close in the firstquarter of 2017, does not include the Marissa Mayer-led company's cash, thecompany's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. holdings, Yahoo Japan shares, Yahoo'sconvertible notes, certain minority investments, and Yahoo's noncore patents,according to a company newsrelease.
*The U.S. Department of Justice dismissed Microsoft Corp.'s argument that its customers have aconstitutional right to know if the government is their emails, Bloomberg News reports.In a court filing, the DOJ said the agency is allowed by federal law to accesselectronic communication without presenting a warrant, and the software giantcannot sue the agency in order to protect data privacy on cloud.
*The FCC asked major wireless and wireline phone companies to providecall-blocking services to customers. According to an official blog post,FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said robocalls and telemarketing calls topped the listof consumer complaints with the agency, and the consumers should have therequired software to block such calls.
TV Networks
*DISH Network Corp.and Sunbeam TelevisionCorp. reached a one-week extension as they work to reach a newretransmission consent agreement, MultichannelNews reports.Sunbeam stations will go dark for DISH subscribers if the parties fail to reacha new agreement by July 29.
Internet & OTT
* Inmore company news, Netflix will premiere a reboot of the "Mystery ScienceTheater 3000" series on the streaming service in the U.S., Canada, theU.K., Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. According to a company , the first seasonwill feature 14 episodes.
*Comcast Corp.'sNBCUniversal MediaLLC teamed up with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service andU.S. cable, satellite and telco providers to let serving and retired U.S.military members stream NBC(US)'s Olympics' coverage for free, Multichannel News reports,citing an official statement. Eligible service members can access the coveragevia PCs or personal devices by accessing NBCOlympics.com, the NBC Sports app,or selecting the Exchange as their service provider.
*Information provided by FacebookInc. and TwitterInc. helped Brazilian authorities arrest suspected militants inBrazil ahead of the Rio Olympics, Reuters reports,citing a judge overseeing the probe. Without providing additional details,Judge Marcos Josegrei da Silva reportedly said in a weekly news program on theGlobo television network that the companies offered content related to the"conversations and data about where those conversations were posted."
Film & TV Programming
*Paramount's "Star Trek Beyond" topped the domestic box office for theJuly 24 weekend by pulling in $59.6 million, followed by Universal's "TheSecret Life Of Pets" at No. 2 with $29.3 million, and Warner Bros.'"Lights Out" at No. 3 with $21.6 million, to 's "Ghostbusters"also pulled in $21.6 million, while 20th Century Fox's "Ice Age: CollisionCourse" was No. 5 with $21 million.
The day ahead
Earlymorning futures indicators pointed to a mixed opening for the U.S. market.
InAsia, the Hang Seng climbed 0.13% to 21,993.44, while the Nikkei 225 slid 0.04%to 16,620.29. In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.02% to 6,731.67and the Euronext 100 0.67% higher to 875.16.
On the macro front
TheDallas Fed's manufacturing survey is due out today.
Featured news
The Daily DoseEurope: Vivendi shutters Watchever; broadcasters plan 'RussianHulu': Five broadcasters are planning to create a Russianequivalent of HuluLLC, while VivendiSA's German subscription video-on-demand service Watchever is setto cease operations.
Future of FOXNews secure in short-term, analysts: Media analysts weigh in on howRoger Ailes' resignation will impact FOX News and its parent.
MarketWeek:Price hikes pummel Netflix, Tumblr pressures Yahoo: The RepublicanNational Convention dominated headlines during the week ended July 22, but formedia and communications investors all eyes were on earnings reports.
The PayCheck: The 2015 pay package of Liberty Media Corp. President and CEO Gregory Maffei isamong those highlighted in the latest installment of The Pay Check.
The ProgramGuide: International edition: BBC One to make 'Les Misérables' series; Netflixto stream new 'Star Trek' series in 188 countries: S&P GlobalMarket Intelligence presents a roundup of recent programming announcements fromvarious international networks and online video platforms.
TheCommunicator: Looks like Charter, talks like Charter, negotiates like TimeWarner Cable: People who thought they knew what to expect from thecombination of CharterCommunications Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc. may have been wrong.
Best of SNL:Media & Comm, editor's picks: Take a look at the media andcommunications editor's top five picks for the week ended July 22.
Best of SNL:Media & Comm, most read: S&P Global Market Intelligencepresents the five most read media and communications articles for the weekended July 22.
The ShortReport: MeetMe tops list of short interest gainers in late June:MeetMe's shortinterest surged in the second half of June, propelling the company to the topof the list of new media short interest gainers.