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Google facing probe; Huawei withdraws lawsuit; Elliott calls for AT&T shakeup

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


Google facing probe; Huawei withdraws lawsuit; Elliott calls for AT&T shakeup

Top News

* Fifty state attorneys general confirmed Sept. 9 they are launching an investigation into potentially monopolistic behavior by Alphabet Inc.'s Google LLC in the online advertising marketplace. The probe, led by the Texas attorney general's office, will focus on whether Google stifled competition by dominating the search and advertising markets, and whether its actions resulted in fewer choices and higher prices.

* Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. withdrew a lawsuit against the U.S. government after Washington returned telecoms equipment it had seized on allegations of a breach of export controls, Reuters reported, citing a court filing by the Chinese company. Huawei's decision reportedly came after the U.S. authorities returned the equipment in August and confirmed to the company that no export license was needed.

* AT&T Inc. shareholder Elliott Management Corp. is urging the telco to make some changes to improve its business and deliver more value to investors. Terming the wireless carrier "deeply undervalued," the hedge fund outlined a plan to improve AT&T's share price and its business. The four-part plan called the "Activating AT&T Plan" recommends increased strategic focus, improved operational efficiency, a formal capital allocation framework and enhanced leadership and oversight.

Broadcasting

* Canada-based Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. purchased a majority interest in HDNet LLC, the parent company of AXS TV (US) and HDNet Movies (US). Under the terms of the deal, Anthem Sports will assume the operations of the AXS TV and HDNet channels that cater to music, sports, entertainment and lifestyle audiences. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.

* TUDN (US), the multimedia sports brand of Univision Communications Inc., will begin its coverage of the 2019-2020 UEFA Champions League on Sept. 17 when the soccer competition's group stage kicks off. All 137 matches will air live across Univision's platforms this season.

Internet & OTT

* Viacom Inc.'s BET Networks and Tyler Perry Studios' new subscription video-on-demand service will launch Sept. 19 in the U.S., Variety reports. Priced at $9.99 per month, BET+ will feature more than 1,000 hours of content, including exclusive new original programming and series, movies and specials from BET Networks, Tyler Perry and other African American content creators.

* Netflix Inc. commissioned Lightbox for the feature documentary "Tell Me Who I Am," TBI Vision reports. The original content will premiere at BFI London Film Festival and will launch on the streaming platform on Oct. 18.

Technology

* Google launched its latest smart home gadget, Nest Hub Max, according to an official blog post. A Google Assistant smart display, Nest Hub Max comes in chalk and charcoal for $229 in the U.S. The device can operate a number of devices, including TV for kitchen, indoor camera, smart home controller and digital photo frame, and can be used to make video calls.

* Microsoft Corp. rolled out a redesigned to-do app to replace Wunderlist, a mobile productivity app it acquired in 2015. The tech giant, however, did not specify when Wunderlist will officially be shut down.

Regulation

* The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals turned down LinkedIn Corp.'s request to prevent an August 2017 preliminary injunction that required the Microsoft unit to offer hiQ Labs Inc. access to publicly available member profiles, Reuters reports. LinkedIn expressed its disappointment over the decision and is reportedly evaluating its options to protect its "members and their information."

* Remark Holdings Inc. on Sept. 3 received a notice from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC regarding the company's failure to satisfy certain listing requirements. The bid price of the company's common stock for 30 consecutive trading days closed below the minimum $1.00 per share required for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, according to a Sept. 9 Form 8-K filing.

* The U.S. Federal Communications Commission proposed a $272,000 fine against CBS Broadcasting Inc. for transmitting a simulated Emergency Alert System tone during an episode of the sitcom "Young Sheldon" on April 12, 2018, Broadcasting & Cable reports.

The day ahead

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

In Asia, the Hang Seng rose 0.01% to 26,683.68, and the Nikkei 225 gained 0.35% to 21,392.10.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.26% to 7,217.27, and the Euronext 100 was down 0.64% to 1,073.50.

On the macro front

The Redbook Index for retail sales and the Labor Department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey 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: Google, Facebook on Russia; Viaplay in Iceland; Huawei's eastern European biz: Google and Facebook respond to Russia's allegations, Nordic Entertainment Group will launch Viaplay in Iceland, and Huawei's executive gives an overview of operations in Poland and the Czech Republic.

The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: Apple's labor law violations; ByteDance's Baike purchase; 5G deal in China: Apple denied claims in a report alleging it violated labor laws in China, ByteDance has fully acquired online encyclopedia service Baike.com, and rival operators China Unicom and China Telecom have agreed to co-build 5G networks.

Data Dispatch EMEA: Roku's UK expansion pits it against country's TV gatekeepers: The connected TV software company is bringing its smart TVs to the U.K., where it will have to compete with several established players.

The US Week Ahead: Antitrust scrutiny of big tech set to expand: A bipartisan group of state attorneys general is set to announce Sept. 9 a multistate antitrust probe into large tech companies, according to the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

M&A Replay: Palo Alto to buy ZingBox; Microsoft completes Movere acquisition: Palo Alto agreed to buy ZingBox, an internet of things security company, for $75 million in cash, while Microsoft acquired Movere, a technology provider in the cloud migration space, for an undisclosed sum.

M&A Replay: EC clears Canal Plus, M7 Group deal; Romania approves Telekom Romania stake sale: The European Commission cleared Canal Plus' acquisition of pay TV and free-to-air operator M7 Group, while the Romanian government approved Deutsche Telekom's planned sale of its stake in Telekom Romania to Orange.

Featured research

Economics of Internet: Top YouTube channel rankings, Q2'19: More than 2 billion users access YouTube each month, with a growing audience in Asia increasingly influencing viewing for top YouTube channels.

Economics of TV & Film: KBOX Week 35: Summer season fizzles out over Labor Day: The summer season ended over the Labor Day weekend without a new major studio film released in theaters. Instead, audiences had to choose from the films that had been released earlier in August.

Multichannel Trends: Comcast looks up market for commercial growth: Comcast Business Services employs a combination of broadband connectivity and managed services to reach 195,000 locations of Fortune 1000 companies, and it has plans to migrate up the market.

Economics of Internet: Global Video, OTT Index: Kagan provides links to its video provider operational tracking and programming spreadsheets, video-on-demand and over-the-top library data and analysis, and over-the-top company and country reports.

Consumer Insights: Survey finds consumers in India spend more time viewing mobile video than TV: Results from the Kagan 2019 India Consumer Insights survey reveal that digital entertainment users spend a higher percentage of their daily TV and video viewing time watching on a smartphone (38%) than on the TV (36%).

Technology: Nintendo Switch sets up big Q4'19 with Pokemon, Overwatch: Nintendo is likely looking to repeat or surpass the 9.4 million Switch units it sold globally in the fourth quarter of 2018, a feat unmatched by the 3DS or Wii U.

Economics of Internet: State of German OTT video: Subscription: The streaming video market in Germany is on a strong growth trajectory, reaching 14.6 million subscriptions in 2018 and further strengthening its position behind the U.K. as the second-largest market by revenues in Europe.

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 Sept. 6.

The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7:30 a.m. ET. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.