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YouTube creates $100M kids fund; Twitter halts tweet via SMS; NYC sues T-Mobile

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Broadcast deal market recap 2021

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Volume of Investment Research Reports on Inflation Increased in Q4 2021

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Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future


YouTube creates $100M kids fund; Twitter halts tweet via SMS; NYC sues T-Mobile

Top news

* YouTube LLC set up a $100 million fund to invest in original children's content on YouTube and YouTube Kids. The announcement came on the back of Google LLC and YouTube agreeing to pay $170 million to settle allegations from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the New York attorney general that the companies violated children's online privacy rules.

* Twitter Inc. suspended the ability to tweet via text message a few days after CEO Jack Dorsey's account got hacked, the company said in a tweet. The company said it took this step to protect people's accounts and to manage its reliance on having a linked phone number for two-factor authentication.

* New York City sued T-Mobile US Inc. over claims that it engaged in "rampant" sales abuses of customers for its prepaid wireless brand Metro, Reuters reports. In a filing with the Supreme Court in Manhattan, the city said it had proof that various Metro stores sold used or reconditioned phones as new, and charged taxes that were excessive or appeared to be made up.

* Amazon.com Inc. reported more than 37 million active users for Fire TV. The online retailer also unveiled new products, including a Fire TV Cube and over 15 Fire TV Edition devices.

Internet & OTT

* Netflix Inc. will release its new competition reality show "Rhythm + Flow" in weekly episodic batches, but the company said it has no plans to abandon the content-binge model it popularized. "In hopes of keeping Rhythm + Flow's winner a surprise, we're trying something new! but not happening with more shows than that," the company tweeted from its U.S. account.

* In other Netflix news, the streaming service unveiled more than 10 new Korean originals based on various genres, including supernatural action drama, romance, stand-up comedy and sci-fi, among others. Netflix also announced the returning seasons of "Kingdom S2" and the unscripted variety "Busted S2."

* Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. and Hulu LLC will adapt "The Testaments," Margaret Atwood's sequel to her novel "The Handmaid's Tale," TechCrunch reports. The studios are in talks with showrunner Bruce Miller regarding the adaption of the novel.

* A cybersecurity researcher discovered more than 419 million phone numbers linked to Facebook Inc. accounts, TechCrunch reports. The database, which included 133 million records of U.S.-based Facebook users, 18 million records of U.K. users, and more than 50 million from users in Vietnam, has since been taken offline.

Technology

* Microsoft Corp. acquired Movere Inc., a technology provider in the cloud migration space, for an undisclosed sum. The company said the acquisition will complement Azure Migrate and its integrated partner solutions to make migration an easier process for customers.

* Apple Inc. is planning to raise $7 billion via a bond sale, Reuters reports, citing an SEC filing. The tech giant will offer notes maturing over the next three to 30 years and plans to use the proceeds for share repurchases, dividend payment, capital expenditures, acquisitions and repayment of debt.

* Palo Alto Networks Inc. agreed to buy ZingBox Inc., an internet of things security company, for $75 million in cash. The proposed acquisition is expected to close during Palo Alto Networks' fiscal first quarter of 2020, the company said.

Programming

* Disney Media Distribution and Cox Communications Inc. inked an agreement to carry ESPN Inc.'s newly launched ACC Network (US). Pursuant to the deal, users and followers of Atlantic Coast Conference will be able to access the multiplatform network in all Cox markets once launched.

Regulation

* U.S. intelligence agencies held a meeting with U.S. tech companies, including Facebook, Google, Twitter and Microsoft, to discuss their preparation for the upcoming 2020 presidential election, Reuters reports. Representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security met with the companies' security teams in an effort to strengthen strategic collaboration regarding the security of the elections.

* The U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai issued an item approving Nexstar Media Group Inc.'s pending merger with Tribune Media Co. for a vote by the other commissioners, Broadcasting & Cable reports, citing an FCC official with the knowledge of the matter. The news comes as the broadcaster reached an agreement with the FCC to settle an investigation into a couple of Nexstar stations.

* Altice USA Inc. reached a settlement agreement with the Dolan family over a lawsuit involving layoffs at News 12 networks. Under terms of the settlement, which is effective until Feb. 28, 2023, News 12 will maintain 371 full-time employee positions and keep its number of open positions at no more than 10% of total budgeted full-time equivalent employees.

The day ahead

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

In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 0.03% to 26,515.53, and the Nikkei 225 rose 2.12% to 21,085.94.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.65% to 7,263.46, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.67% to 1,080.80.

On the macro front

The motor vehicle sales report, ADP employment report, jobless claims report, the productivity and costs report, PMI services index, factory orders report, ISM non-manufacturing index, EIA petroleum status report, Fed balance sheet, and the money supply 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

5G Focus: US, Poland tie-up; ZTE deals; Russian telco trials: 5G Focus is a weekly global roundup of notable 5G trials, launches, use cases and major equipment supply contracts. It also features in-depth analysis of strategies, expansion plans, business models and other related initiatives.

UK broadcasters target big tech's stronghold in advertising showdown: In a volatile TV advertising market, companies including ITV PLC and Comcast Corp. unit Sky Ltd are using targeted advertising tools inspired by Google and Facebook to attract small and medium-sized enterprises.

The Daily Dose Europe: Google privacy probe; Facebook data leak; Mediaset's merger vote: Google's data practices are being probed in Ireland, records of about 18 million Facebook users in the U.K. have been leaked online, and Mediaset shareholders voted in favor of a merger into a new holding company.

The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: Indonesia's tax overhaul; Alibaba-NetEase deal update; ByteDance M&A: Indonesia is preparing a bill to make tech giants pay VAT in the country, Alibaba and NetEase are finalizing their Kaola transaction this week, and ByteDance bought a stake in a video conference technology developer.

Featured research

Economics of Internet: OTT in Asia-Pacific: Current state of the market: A roundup of select over-the-top services in the Asia-Pacific region that have been recently added to our OTT Services & Devices database.

Technology: Global Q2'19 smart TV growth rate slows; market set for a bounce in H2'19: Smart TV shipments grew in the second quarter as Xiaomi Corp. is making a name for itself in the mid-range segment, while competition in the premium space is fierce with average selling prices, or ASPs, climbing ever higher.

Economics of Advertising: Cable news nets top July ratings: Analysis of July Nielsen ratings data that includes program and genre breakouts.

Multichannel Trends: Q2 residential broadband, video subscribers in MediaCensus: MediaCensus' latest video and broadband subscriber data sets at the ZIP code, county, DMA® and state level and by operator is now available.

Multichannel Trends: Q2 cable financials highlight broadband's role in connectivity pivot: A PowerPoint presentation with details on U.S. cable providers leveraging broadband momentum to counter pervasive softness in video subscriptions and revenue to post gains in the second quarter of 2019.

Economics of Internet: Q2 broadcast network OTT library update: Major U.S. broadcast networks continued to diverge in their ad-supported video strategies, with FOX (US) and NBC (US) leaning into the idea of providing deep libraries of online prime-time content, while ABC (US), CBS (US) and The CW (US) have been far more parsimonious.

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