TOP NEWS
* EUantitrust regulators are planning to order Google Inc. to stop giving incentives to smartphonemakers for preinstalling Google apps on their devices, Reuters reports,citing an EU document. The regulators also reportedly want to prevent theAlphabet Inc. unitfrom forcing the smartphone makers to preinstall the apps.
*Telefónica SA unit O2is considering selling shares to ordinary investors as part of its publicshares flotation, The Sunday Telegraphof London reports.O2 CEO Mark Evans said the move could help Telefonica reach a valuation for O2that is closer to its failed £10.3 billion takeover by CK Hutchison HoldingsLtd.'s Hutchison 3G UK.
AND IRELAND
*The U.K. will initiate its exit from the European Union by the end ofMarch 2017, Prime Minister Theresa May said in a speech that reiterated hergovernment's will to leave the union while attempting to assuage the concernsof international businesses. By triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, theU.K. would enter negotiations on the terms of leaving the union and futurerelations with the EU, putting the country on track to be out of the union in2019.
*British Telecomcustomers could face higher bills after the U.K.'s Valuation Office Agency morethan doubled the telco's annual business rates to £343 million from £149million, the Daily Express reports.BT also warned that the rate hike could cause a negative impact on futurenetwork investments.
*Sky plc COO AndrewGriffith called for the separation of BT and its infrastructure unit Openreachto help drive investment in the U.K.'s broadband network. In an articlefor The Daily Telegraph of London,Griffith urged the government to step in to help speed up the broadband rolloutif British telecom regulator Ofcom will not impose radical reforms on BT.
*British BroadcastingCorp. Director of Radio Helen Boaden is retiring from the publicbroadcaster, according to a newsrelease. James Purnell is taking over Boaden's post in an expanded role as directorof radio and education.
, SWITZERLAND ANDAUSTRIA
*RTL Deutschland-owned channels RTL, VOX, n-tv, RTL NITRO, RTLplus, SUPER RTLand RTL II reached a higher market share of 29.7% in September, according to a newsrelease. The group scored ahead of rival broadcaster at 25.5%.
*German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF launched a new youth-focused multimediaservice called funk, Handelsblatt reports.According to head of programming Florian Hager, 40 different formats will beavailable on the service.
*Investigations of employees at German dating service Lovoo over allegations offraud have been halted following overall compensation payments of €900,000, Die Zeit reports.Dresden prosecutors said 12 Lovoo employees had been accused of inventing falseprofiles to lure customers to use the dating service.
*Deutschlandradio director Willi Steul may be announcing his retirement ahead ofhis term's official end in 2019, DWDL reports.Steul has been the radio broadcaster's director since 2009.
*Vivendi SA CEO Arnaudde Puyfontaine said his company and Italian groupMediaset SpA couldreach a compromise to settle the dispute regarding the latter's pay TV unit,Reuters reports.However, De Puyfontaine declined to comment whether or not Vivendi will submita new proposal.
*French media regulator Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel issued a warning tothe NRJ group for serious shortcomings regarding respect for women's image andthe protection of children on NRJ's radio show "C'Cauet," Les Echos reports.
*TF1 Group announced theappointment of Eric Monier as editor of the LCI channel, Ozap reports.He was editor in chief of France 2 from 2010 to 2015.
*Free Mobile extended its€70 rebate offer for the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge devices in France.Originally due to end on Oct. 3, the offer has been extended to Nov. 20.
*Corsican was added to the languages ??offered by to its users, L'Expansion reports.The translation of over 25,000 terms was carried out by 2,000 volunteers over atwo-year period.
, BELGIUM ANDLUXEMBOURG
*Amazon.com Inc. isexpected to launch its video streaming service Amazon Prime in the Netherlandsin 2017, RTL reports.According to RTLNederland CEO Bert Habets, Amazon has been buying Dutch broadcastingrights for several American TV series, which will go into effect at the startnext year.
*Belgian startup Sentiance will expand its operations to the U.S. and China, De Tijd reports.The software company, specialized in building user profiles through machinelearning, opens its New York office on Oct. 3.
* Het Laatste Nieuws editor-in-chief WimVerhoeven is stepping down after 23 years at the Belgian newspaper, De Redactie reports.Verhoeven will be replaced by the tandem of Dimitri Antonissen and FrankDepoorter.
*Dutch music TV channel DJAZZ.tv underwent a change of name and appearance, andcontinues as Stingray Djazz, Media Magazine reports. Thechanges, effective Oct. 1, are the result of its acquisition in 2015 byStingray Digital Group.
*Dutch fiber broadband provider Lijbrandt Telecom will terminate its services onJan. 1, 2017, TotaalTV reports.Customers will get the opportunity to be transferred to Lijbrandt's parentcompany KPN NV, wherethey will be able the use the same fiber connection.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
*Ericsson AB's boardis getting close to finding a replacement for President and CEO Hans Vestberg, Dagens Industri reports,citing sources. Håkan Eriksson is the most likely candidate. Eriksson is presentlyhead of Ericsson's Australian business, and was previously technical directorat Ericsson for 10 years.
*Ericsson said that it willmove the position of chief human resources officer to from the U.S., to be closer to the CEO and theexecutive leadership team. Bina Chaurasia is stepping down as senior vicepresident and chief human resources officer, with Maj-Britt Arfert taking overuntil a replacement has been found.
*Facebook is planning to build a data center near Odense in , FyensStiftstidende reports.The data center will include three server halls and a number of otherbuildings, covering 184,000 square meters, and will reportedly cost "billions"of Danish kroner.
*Swedish media group Shortcut Media is acquiring 60% of the shares in Swedish VRstudio Good Motion, Breakit reports.Good Motion specializes in 3D animations and visual effects, and had revenuesof 5 million Swedish kronor last year.
*TDC A/S is hiring 250new employees for its service centers, Finansreports.The reason is a sharp increase in customer inquiries after it merged itsconsumer brands TDC and YouSeeA/S. The company receives an average of 104,000 inquiries daily.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
*Turksat Satellite Comms &Cable removed 12 channels from its lineup in compliance with aTurkish government order, Advanced Television reports,citing Anadolu. The channels were reportedly removed due to the "threatthey pose to national security."
*Ericsson's Spanish unit isplanning to slash up to 350 jobs, or 11.86% of its total workforce, as part ofcost-saving measures, Telecompaper reports,citing a company statement. The tech firm said it had already informed itsemployees of the plan and would meet with union representatives to try reducingthe job cuts.
EASTERN EUROPE
*M7 Group SA'sdirect-to-home platform Skylink will begin offering hybrid satellite receiverSamsung EVO-S to its customers on Oct. 7, Telecompaper reports.Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd. developed the receiver for Skylink, according to the report.
*Ukraine's National Council of Television and RadioBroadcasting, or NRADA, banned three more Russian channels in the country forfailing to comply with the European Convention on Transfrontier Television. Thechannels are Comedy TV, Nash Futbol and Karusel, Broadband TV News reports.
*Telekom Srbija adBeograd launched "mts start-up accelerator," a projectthat aims to support Serbianstartups, Telecompaper reports.Under the program organized in partnership with nonprofit group SEE ICT, thetelco will provide mentoring and €20,000 to three selected startups.
FEATURED NEWS
:India secured more than $8 billion in bids on the first day of its spectrumauction, while Indonesian authorities raided Google's Jakarta office after thecompany refused a tax audit.
: The battle over the U.S.government's continued stewardship over key internet functions nearly went downto the wire.
: Media andcommunications markets saw a mostly bullish week on the back of somesubstantial swings in the television and digital spaces.
: TV's golden age has uppedthe ante for marketers looking to create awareness for series.
: S&P Global Market Intelligence presents a roundup ofrecent programming announcements from various international networks and onlinevideo platforms.
: This year looks to be a banner year for politics inentertainment (and entertainment in politics).
FEATURED RESEARCH
: Tennis Channel hada tough slog as an independently owned network. Now under the ownership ofSinclair, which has significant retransmission leverage, the channel isbecoming more mainstream and profitable.
: Although many cableprogramming industry veterans have been concerned about affiliate fee prospectsin light of ratings slides, long-term carriage deals leave most major mediacompanies well-positioned.
:Although Scripps has steadfastly refused to be acquired over the years, leavingits channels with lower license fees than they might have under a larger owner,that low cost may hold benefits for new media distribution.
: Thechallenges and opportunities emerging from the crowded Thai TV market were themain discussion points during CASBAA's Thailand in View 2016 forum.
Sylvia EdwardsDavis, Anne Freier, Koen Pijnappels and Esben Svendsen contributed to thisreport. The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. London time. Someexternal links may require a subscription.