TOP NEWS
* Orange SA CEO Stéphane Richard told BFMTV that the operator will not work with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. in France on mobile network deployment. He said that despite Huawei having the greatest R&D resources, the decision is a matter of security.
* The European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have reached an agreement on proposed reforms to existing European copyright laws covering TV and radio content. The new rules would allow European broadcasters to make some of their programs on digital platforms across the EU, among others.
PAN-EUROPEAN
* Discovery Inc. has struck a wide-ranging agreement with the European Tour that will see the former's streaming platform GOLFTV securing global multiplatform rights to all European Tour events and the next two editions of the Ryder Cup. The European Tour deal excludes 15 markets worldwide where Discovery operates, while the Ryder Cup deal rights cover selected European markets.
UK AND IRELAND
* Global afro-urban music and entertainment group TRACE is returning to the British market with its acquisition of music channels Chart Show TV, Chart Show Hits, Starz and The Vault from Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Television Networks UK, Advanced Television reports. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
* Scottish public broadcaster STV Group PLC named Lindsay Dixon as its CFO, effective in the second quarter of 2019. Dixon will take over from George Watt, who has expressed his intention to step down from the post next year.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
* ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE has announced an expansion of its esports ambitions. The company's 7Sports business unit will form a joint venture with international company esports.com AG.
* SK Telecom Co. Ltd. joined hands with Deutsche Telekom AG subsidiary MobiledgeX Inc. to adopt mobile edge computing technology for its 5G network service. The new technology will enable the telco to provide a faster 5G service with lower latency rates.
* German pay TV provider Sky Deutschland GmbH has extended a partnership with All England Lawn Tennis Club to broadcast the Wimbledon tennis tournaments across German-speaking countries until 2022.
* Video streaming platform Zattoo Europa AG has launched a new "Recordings Plus" feature that lets customers record TV shows online, DWDL reports.
FRANCE
* Altice Europe CEO Alain Well reacted to a report published by French telecom regulator ARCEP that identified Altice France SA's SFR as the operator with the highest number of customer complaints, Le Monde reports. Weil told a Senate committee hearing that he considers the report to be incomplete and in bad faith.
* EuropaCorp posted half-year results 2018-2019 with a turnover of €80.8 million, lower than the equivalent period for the previous year at €56.8 million. The motion picture company also registered a net loss of €88.9 million versus €70.6 million for the same period last year.
* Workers at the French unit of magazine publisher Mondadori called a strike to protest the company's acquisition by Reworld Media SA, Le Figaro reports. The action aims to obtain guarantees regarding job security and the future of the publications.
NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG
* Telecom operator VEON Ltd. appointed Ursula Burns as chairman and CEO, effective immediately. Burns previously held the roles of executive chairman and supervisory board chairman in the Dutch company.
* Dell EMC and VMware Inc. will join 5Groningen, an initiative testing 5G applications in the Dutch city of Groningen, as technology partners. Together with 11 other partners, the U.S. IT companies will look for new 5G applications, especially in the internet of things.
* Fairphone BV, a Dutch company making sustainable smartphones, has raised €4.5 million in an investment round, after it earlier this year already raised €2.5 million, Het Financieele Dagblad reports. Funds mainly come from investors with an idealistic objective, such as sustainable investment fund Pymwymic and Doen Participaties.
* Nearly 10,000 people have submitted a privacy complaint to the Dutch Data Protection Authority during the past six months, the regulator said. Since the EU General Data Protection Regulation took effect in May, people who suspect that the processing of their personal data is in violation of the privacy law may file a complaint with the AP.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* Turtle Entertainment GmbH has extended its global partnership with Intel Corp. through 2021, the former's parent entity Modern Times Group AB said. Turtle operates ESL, a leading global esports provider. The deal boosts ESL's esports ecosystem by adding new technologies, tournaments and events.
* NEXT Biometrics Group ASA has formed a new global collaboration with IOTA Foundation, which is focused on distributed ledger technology and permission-less ecosystem development. The deal also covers the development of IoT solutions.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
* Orange Espagne SAU is eyeing the rollout of 5G networks in up to four Spanish cities in 2019, prior to a commercial launch in 2020, Advanced Television reports, citing Europa Press.
* The Italian government has fast-tracked parliamentary procedures that will enable the passage of proposed legislation to create a single national broadband network company in the country, Reuters reports. The measure seeks to create a single wholesale entity from the broadband networks of Telecom Italia SpA and Enel SpA unit Enel Open Fiber SpA.
EASTERN EUROPE
* Canal+ and Polish public broadcaster Telewizja Polska SA secured the rights to games from Polish soccer league Ekstraklasa, covering the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons, Broadband TV News reports. The rights deal reportedly costs €58,168 per season.
* Latvian public broadcaster LTV7 has begun airing Russian-language news from the British Broadcasting Corp., Broadband TV News reports, citing a statement.
FEATURED NEWS
Hires and Fires: Over 10,000 Verizon employees accept buyout offer; Sprint strategy chief departs: About 10,400 employees have accepted Verizon Communications' voluntary separation offer, while Lingo Media COO Gali Bar-Ziv will replace Michael Kraft as president and CEO of the company.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Economics of Internet: State of Russian online video: Advertising: Russian online video advertising revenues are expected to reach to 7.26 billion rubles at the end of 2018, with a year-over-year growth of 13% fueled by broadband expansion and advancements in technology.
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