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YES Network stake sale; AT&T-Nexstar retrans deal; Huawei probe

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YES Network stake sale; AT&T-Nexstar retrans deal; Huawei probe

Top news

* Walt Disney Co. sold its equity interest in the YES Network (US) to a newly formed investor group, including Yankee Global Enterprises LLC, Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. The group acquired the 80% of the YES Network not already held by the Yankees for a total enterprise value of $3.47 billion.

* AT&T Inc. resolved its nearly two-month retransmission dispute with Nexstar Media Group Inc. The companies struck a new multiyear retransmission consent agreement that will allow Nexstar-owned network affiliated and local broadcast stations to return to customers of AT&T's video platforms in 97 markets across the U.S.

* U.S. prosecutors are investigating additional allegations of technology theft by Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., The Wall Street Journal reports, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. The alleged instances being probed include claims that the Chinese technology company stole intellectual property from multiple people and companies over several years, and how it poached staffers from rivals, the sources said.

Broadband & Wireless

* The U.S. Federal Trade Commission revised the list of companies from which it is seeking additional information as part of its examination of broadband companies' privacy practices, policies and procedures. The agency withdrew orders to AT&T and Verizon Communications Inc. and is instead sending orders to AT&T's advertising subsidiary, AppNexus Inc.; Verizon's wireline advertising subsidiary, Verizon Online LLC, and another Verizon advertising subsidiary, Oath (Americas) Inc. The FTC is also sending a new request to Charter Communications Inc.

* AT&T struck tentative agreements with the Communications Workers of America labor union for contracts covering about 20,000 employees, the company said. The three agreements with CWA District 3 cover Southeast wireline, BellSouth Telecommunications Utility Operations and AT&T Billing Southeast employees in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

* The U.S. Department of Justice raised national security concerns regarding Google LLC, Facebook Inc. and Chinese investor Dr. Peng Telecom & Media Group plan for an undersea internet cable that will connect the U.S. with Hong Kong, Bloomberg News reports. The regulatory review of the planned high capacity fiber-optic cable running about 8,000 miles remains pending amid an ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China.

Programming

* Disney cut nearly 60 jobs within its Media Distribution division, Variety reports, citing a source with knowledge of the matter. People laid off include 20th Century Fox TV Distribution's Worldwide Marketing Executive Vice President Greg Drebin and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment's Worldwide Marketing And Strategy Senior Vice President Jennifer Chai.

* DISH Network Corp. subscribers lost access to Colorado sports team coverage from regional sports network Altitude Sports & Entertainment (US) on Aug. 29. The blackout affected DISH customers in Colorado, Utah, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, South Dakota and Wyoming. While Altitude accused DISH of making unrealistic demands, DISH said the RSN is demanding "unreasonable rates" for its channel.

Internet & OTT

* Chinese dating app Blued International Inc. plans to go public in the U.S. in 2020, Bloomberg News reports, citing sources with knowledge of the details. The proposed IPO could help the company raise $200 million and may value Blued at around $1 billion, sources said.

* Facebook launched a new suite of tools for its businesses and developers on Messenger, according to a company post. The new features include appointment booking, lead generation and event reporting.

* Plex, an advertisement based video-on-demand service, inked a licensing deal to add Warner Bros.' movies to its content lineup, Rapid TV News reports, citing an official statement. Supported Plex platforms include Macs, PCs, smartphones, tablets, Smart TVs and Roku devices.

Technology

* Apple Inc. scheduled a Sept. 10 event to unveil three new iPhones, TechCrunch.com reports, citing invites sent out by the tech giant. Apple is expected to unveil a standard version of the iPhone 11, along with two 11 Pro models.

The day ahead

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

In Asia, the Hang Seng inched up 0.08% to 25,724.73, and the Nikkei 225 rose 1.19% to 20,704.37.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.65% to 7,231.22, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.97% to 1,067.18.

On the macro front

The personal income and outlays report, the Chicago PMI, the consumer sentiment report, the farm prices 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: Vodafone España's network sale; YouTube Originals in UK; RTL streaming service: Vodafone España SAU is looking to sell its fiber-to-the-home network, YouTube Originals is adding more educational content for the British audience, and RTL Group SA plans to compete with Disney+ on subscription fee.

The Program Guide: Netflix sets 'Breaking Bad' film premiere; Disney+ unveils Obi-Wan Kenobi series: Netflix Inc. has set an Oct. 11 global launch for "El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie," while Disney+ unveiled several new projects, including the untitled Obi-Wan Kenobi series starring Ewan McGregor.

The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: Tencent raises US$6.5B; Huawei plans phone launch; Sony to sell stake in Olympus: Tencent Holdings Ltd. raised US$6.5 billion via a dollar loan, beating its earlier US$5 billion target, Huawei is pushing through with plans to launch its new high-end smartphones in Europe, and Sony Corp. said it will sell the 5.03% stake it holds in Olympus.

Hires and Fires Europe: Sky Media managing director to depart; Telekom Slovenije names new CEO: Sky Media GmbH Managing Director Thomas Deissenberger is leaving the company, while Slovenian operator Telekom Slovenije d d named Matjaž Merkan as its new CEO.

Q&A: PCCW exec: Dual revenue model best for Asia's emerging streaming market: Managing Director of PCCW Media Ltd. Janice Lee says the company's streaming service Viu makes money from subscriptions and advertising, which has given it an edge over competitors.

The Program Guide: Comedy Central renews 'Drunk History'; Disney+ picks up 'Lizzie McGuire' reboot: Comedy Central (US) renewed "Drunk History" for a 16-episode seventh season, while Walt Disney's upcoming Disney+ streaming service picked up a "Lizzie McGuire" reboot.

Hires and Fires: AT&T Communications CEO to retire; Former Google exec joins Comcast unit: John Donovan will retire as CEO of AT&T Communications LLC, effective Oct. 1, while Comcast Spotlight LP appointed former Google executive Melanie Hamilton as vice president of national sales.

Featured research

Multichannel Trends: Cable TV Investor: Table of contents for issue No. 780, published August 2019.

Economics of Internet: Profile: Snap: Snap Inc.'s speedy rise in the world of social media and messaging has seen the company carve out its own $1 billion-plus slice of the global digital advertising pie despite intense competition from Facebook and others.

Global Multichannel: European license fee broadcasters face new challenges: Despite content popularity, public broadcasters across Europe are facing challenges to produce programming to match global giants like Netflix Inc. while being tied to funding mechanisms set up in a less competitive market.

Technology: Q2'19 cable headend gear dips further ahead of distributed access transition: Worldwide shipments of total DOCSIS and quadrature amplitude modulation, or QAM, channels declined in the second quarter of 2019, marking the third consecutive quarter that capital expenditures on cable headend equipment have dropped.

Wireless Investor: Netherlands mobile: Consolidation and 5G auctions to revive falling revenues: T-Mobile Netherlands BV's acquisition of No. 4 operator Tele2 AB closed in January and, while the combined company still ranks second by total subs, it has the most spectrum of the three remaining operators.

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