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Google pulled 3.2 billion ads in 2017; Apple Music hits 38 million paid subs

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Europe: 5 key OTT trends to watch in 2022

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Broadcast deal market recap 2021

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Price wars in India: Disney+ Hotstar vs. Amazon Prime Video vs. Netflix

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Volume of Investment Research Reports on Inflation Increased in Q4 2021


Google pulled 3.2 billion ads in 2017; Apple Music hits 38 million paid subs

Top News

* Alphabet Inc. unit Google Inc. removed 3.2 billion ads that violated its advertising policies in 2017. Also, the U.S. search giant blocked 79 million ads in its network for attempting to send people to malware-laden websites, and removed 400,000 of such sites last year, according to an official blog post.

* Eddy Cue, Apple Inc.'s senior vice president of internet software and services, said the company's Apple Music streaming service has reached 38 million paid subscribers, up from 36 million in February, Reuters reports. The comments came at an event in Austin, Texas.

* Broadcom Ltd. will continue its plan to re-domicile to the U.S. as it nixed its offer for QUALCOMM Inc., people familiar with the matter told Reuters. This comes after President Donald Trump issued an executive order to block the chipmaker's proposed acquisition on national security grounds.

* Senators concerned about gaps in broadband data are pushing the Federal Communications Commission to revisit its coverage maps to better guide federal infrastructure dollars. During a March 13 committee hearing titled "Rebuilding Infrastructure in America: Investing in Next Generation Broadband," Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said the first step toward using federal funds to deploy broadband infrastructure must be the collection of "standardized and accurate data about where reliable fixed and mobile broadband already exists and where it does not."

Technology

* Apple's 29th annual Worldwide Developers Conference will take place in San Jose, Calif., from June 4 through June 8, the company said. The tech giant is expected to make announcements about a range of developer APIs, next generation of iOS and macOS, and possibly cheaper versions of iPads and MacBook devices.

Internet & OTT

* ESPN (US) green-lighted an untitled documentary series that will follow members of the National Basketball Association's rookie class, Variety reports. The eight-episode series will exclusively stream on ESPN Plus.

* YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki unveiled a new feature that will display text from Wikipedia articles and other websites alongside some videos on the video-sharing platform, Reuters reports. Set to be introduced in a couple of weeks, information cues are expected to tackle hoaxes and conspiracy theories on the service, Wojcicki reportedly said at an event in Austin, Texas.

* FandangoNow, Fandango's digital movie rental and sell-through service, is now connected with Walt Disney Co.'s Movies Anywhere service, Multichannel News reports. The integration will allow FandangoNow customers to watch movies on the Movies Anywhere platform.

* Amazon.com Inc.'s Twitch video social service is offering free games to Prime users. Starting March 15, Twitch will let users download a collection of games each month for free, according to an official blog post.

TV Networks & Programming

* Nancy Dubuc, who is stepping down as A+E Networks' president and CEO in April, will succeed founder Shane Smith as CEO of VICE Media LLC, Multichannel News reports. Smith will assume the position of executive chairman at VICE.

* Turner Broadcasting President David Levy in an interview said the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship has delivered in myriad ways since Turner Sports started collaborating with CBS Sports on the tournament.

Broadband

* Although investors like the high margins of Cable One Inc.'s residential broadband service, the cable operator's tepid subscriber growth at the end of 2017 has some analysts wondering whether those margins have gotten too high for consumers. Cable One — a top 10 cable operator in the U.S. with roughly 800,000 customers across 21 states — is perhaps best known for its 2012 decision to prioritize its residential high-speed data and business services over its pay TV video product.

Regulation

* U.S. District Judge Richard Leon allowed AT&T Inc. to use a voluntary commitment not to withhold content in licensing talks in its antitrust trial over its proposed merger with Time Warner Inc., Reuters reports. With the trial set to start March 19, the U.S. Department of Justice had asked Leon to not let the U.S. carrier use the commitment, arguing that it was a "unilateral promise" that was not relevant to whether the transaction would reduce competition.

The day ahead

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

In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 0.53% to 31,435.01 and the Nikkei 225 dropped 0.87% to 21,777.29.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 rose 0.26% to 7,157.38 and the Euronext 100 rose 0.24% to 1,026.40.

On the macro front

The Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations and EIA Petroleum Status Report are due out today.

Featured news

The Daily Dose Europe: Finland buys Nokia stake; Spotify launches in 4 countries: Finland has acquired a 3.3% stake in Nokia Corp., while Spotify launched in Israel, Romania, South Africa and Vietnam.

The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: SoftBank acquires stake in Charter; China to abolish media regulator: SoftBank Group Corp. quietly acquired a nearly 5% stake in Charter Communications Inc. in a transaction led by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, while China announced an overhaul of its governmental structure, including moves to abolish its existing media watchdog.

The Program Guide: Global edition: Disney orders 'Star Wars' series; Apple preps 1st animated show: Walt Disney ordered a live-action series based on the "Star Wars" film franchise for its upcoming direct-to-consumer streaming platform, while Apple commissioned its first animated series.

Featured research

Wireless Investor: Germany mobile projections, 2018-2028: As German mobile network operators complete buildouts of nationwide 4G networks using 700MHz spectrum acquired in 2015, we estimate German 4G mobile subscribers totaling 41.9 million and representing 33% of total mobile subscribers.

Economics of Networks: Nielsen universe estimates highlight a potential stall in subscriber erosion: March Nielsen Holdings Plc universe estimates show VSP adoption starting to mitigate the effects of cord-cutting.

Technology: Despite 8% increase in Q4, broadband CPE unit shipments down 6% in 2017: Major technology shifts, including the transition to DOCSIS 3.1 and 10 Gig fiber-to-the-home, or FTTP, technologies resulted in a slight slowdown in broadband customer premises equipment, or CPE, purchases in 2017.

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