TOP NEWS

* Germany's Infineon Technologies AG has denied suspending shipments to Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Reuters reports. The Nikkei Asian Review earlier reported that Infineon stopped certain shipments to Huawei. Meanwhile, chipmakers Dialog Semiconductor PLC and STMicroelectronics NV both refused to comment on the potential impacts of its shipments to Huawei following the U.S. ban, according to separate Reuters reports.

* Mediaset España Comunicación SA is preparing to launch an over-the-top offering based on a pay-window revenue model before the end of the year, Advanced Television reports. The offering will reportedly be rolled out into the Mediaset SpA unit's streaming service Mitele, with features similar to Netflix Inc., HBO and Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video. Spanish broadcaster Atresmedia is also eyeing a similar service, according to the report.

PAN-EUROPEAN

* Germany's economy ministry is looking into the potential impact on local firms of a U.S. government move to blacklist China's Huawei due to perceived threats to U.S. national security, Reuters reports. Meanwhile, Deutsche Telekom AG refused to comment on reports that some Western companies were trying to cut their exposure to Huawei following the ban, but said it is working on a network vendor review, according to a separate Reuters report. For its part, Spanish telecom giant Telefónica SA said it is still assessing how the U.S. order against Huawei will affect its customers, Reuters reports.

* Sony Corp.'s European unit has started accepting pre-orders for its 8K-compatible television units, ahead of a formal launch in June, Digital TV Europe reports. The electronics giant's ZG9 8K HDR Full Array LED TV is expected to offer 16 times the resolution of a full HD TV.

UK AND IRELAND

* Amazon has acquired rights to air the WTA Tour in the U.K. from British Telecom's BT Sport, Advanced Television reports.

* Tencent Holdings Ltd. participated in a funding round for Prowler.io Ltd., an artificial intelligence platform based in the U.K. Prowler said it raised $24 million from new and existing investors, valuing the company at $100 million. The company said the funding will be used to support its product expansion and growth.

* U.K. software company Immense Simulations Ltd. raised $4.6 million in series A funding co-led by Amadeus Capital Partners Ltd. and Global Brains Co. Ltd., Reuters reports. The startup's simulation software is intended for carmakers' autonomous vehicles.

* Netflix is close to securing a 10-year lease agreement for office space at Pinewood Studios Ltd. in the U.K., London's The Guardian reports.

GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA

* Facebook Inc. formed a financial technology company in Switzerland focused on blockchain and payments, according to a filing on the Geneva Commercial Register, Reuters reports. Facebook Global Holdings is a stakeholder of Libra Networks, which was registered in Geneva on May 2. Libra Networks will provide financial and technology services and develop related hardware and software.

* ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE said it made a strategic investment of "one-digit million euros" in exchange for a 20% stake in HolodeckVR, a Nuremberg-based developer of advanced free-roam virtual reality experience. HolodeckVR plans to use the funds to extend its open content platform and its location network as the company prepares to launch several new virtual reality experiences this year.

* Australia-based online design and publishing platform Canva Inc. acquired free stock image providers Pexels GmbH and Pixabay GmbH, DealStreetAsia reports.

* Axel Springer SE announced that its subsidiary WELT is expanding its online career portal in collaboration with online job platform StepStone. WELT's editorial team intends to focus more on providing advice and other useful content for job seekers and employees.

* Liberty Global PLC's Unitymedia GmbH announced the expansion of its fiber-to-the-building network for about 365 households in Baden-Württemberg, after deploying over 10 kilometers of fiber network. The expansion allows customers to surf the internet at speeds of up to 400 Mbps.

FRANCE

* The French government filed an appeal before the administrative court about the concession contract signed between the Corsican Community and Altice Europe unit SFR Collectivités, Univers Freebox reports. The Corsica judicial police had launched a preliminary investigation in April into alleged favoritism in the award of the fiber network deal to SFR.

* Japanese video game developer Bandai Namco Studios Inc. partnered with French startup ISKN SAS to market a product for six- to 12-year-old children using augmented interaction technology, Le Figaro reports. The release is set for late 2019.

* Orange SA's pay TV bundle of film channels and series surpassed the 3 million subscriber mark, Satellifax reports, citing Orange Cinéma Séries SA President Serge Laroye's statement during the Cannes Film Festival. OCS is the only broadcaster of HBO in France since 2018. HBO is a unit of AT&T Inc.'s Warner Media LLC.

NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG

* KPN NV announced it has reached an agreement to sell its data center subsidiary NLDC BV to a fund managed by DWS, an infrastructure investment manager, for an undisclosed amount. The proceeds of the transaction will be retained to increase operational and financial flexibility. The transaction is still subject to regular closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

* Telindus and Tango, the two brands of Proximus in Luxembourg, announced that their 5G core network is now operational, Telecompaper reports. The deployment in densely populated areas is expected to start by 2020.

* Belgian radio channels Qmusic and Joe have yesterday moved into the Sound Park, a new studio in the building of media company Medialaan nv, VTM reports. Owner of the channels, Medialaan- De Persgroep Publishing NV, invested over €3 million in the studios.

* Orange Belgium SA said it is adding more than 20 channels to its Orange TV app, both for its French- and Dutch-language packages, including the three channels of Eleven Sports, and National Geographic Wild. The expanded package is free for Orange customers.

NORDIC COUNTRIES

* Swedish digital marketing and online search company Eniro AB said it has agreed to sell Proff, its business-to-business and financial search operations in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, for 120 million Swedish kronor. The buyer is Asiakastieto Group and its Swedish subsidiary UC AB. Eniro said the divestment is in line with its strategy to focus on digital marketing services in the Nordics.

* Finnish operator DNA Oyj said it has strengthened its internet of things capabilities, after widely deploying LTE-M technology on its network in southern, western and central Finland.

* Nokia Corp. said the new flagship phone from Chinese smartphone maker OPPO will come integrated with Nokia's OZO Audio capture capabilities, which includes audio zoom that amplifies sound to correspond with zoomed video.

* Telia Norway's broadband subsidiary Get AS said it has entered a strategic cooperation with energy and fiber company Rissa Kraftlag SA. About 1,500 customers of Rissa Kraftlag will get access to Get TV, fiber and mobile telephony services from Jan. 1, 2020.

SOUTHERN EUROPE

* Italian broadband provider Tiscali SpA agreed to expand a deal involving the use of Enel Open Fiber SPA's infrastructure to roll out fiber-to-the-home services, Telecompaper reports. The expanded agreement will allow Tiscali to bring gigabit internet services to 271 Italian cities by 2023. Enel SpA owns Enel Open Fiber.

* The Royal Spanish Football Federation, or RFEF, denied reports it suspended the rights tender for the broadcast of Copa del Rey games in the country, Broadband TV News reports, citing a statement by rights broker Mediapro. The federation said it awarded the rights to public broadcaster RTVE in line with an order by antitrust regulator CNMC.

* Former Telecom Italia SpA CEO Marco Patuano is stepping down May 24 as chief executive of Edizione Srl, the Benetton family's holding company that owns 29.9% of towers operator Cellnex Telecom SA, Telecompaper reports, citing La Repubblica. Patuano, who will not be offered a new term as Edizione's CEO, will be replaced by a company insider.

* Telecom Italia's board of directors approved the company's interim first-quarter results. Group revenues reached €4.5 billion, down 2.9% year over year. Operating free cash flow reached €541 million.

EASTERN EUROPE

* Mobile operator MegaFon is set to file an application with Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service to greenlight AliExpress Russia, the company's e-commerce joint venture with Mail.ru Group Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Telecompaper reports, citing Prime. Alibaba will own 48% of the joint venture, with MegaFon holding 24% and Mail.ru Group getting a 15% stake.

* ITI Neovision, which manages Polish direct-to-home operator nc+, named Edyta Sadowska as board chair and general director, effective June 1, Telecompaper reports. Sadowska is taking over from Manuel Rougeron, who will remain special adviser to nc+'s board until end-July.

* Marko Lopicic secured a new three-year term as CEO of Bosnian operator Telekom Srpske, doing business as m:tel, Telecompaper reports. Lopicic has been holding his post since June 2016.

* Viacom Inc. unit Viacom International Media Networks named Gabor Harsanyi vice president and general manager of its operations in central eastern Europe and Israel, Broadband TV News reports.

* The Hungarian government launched the first phase of ZalaZone, a test track for self-driving vehicles located in Zalaegerszeg, Budapest Business Journal reports, citing MTI. The government has invested 45 billion Hungarian forints into the project. During the launch, Vodafone Group PLC unit Vodafone Hungary unveiled a live and permanent 5G base station to support tests of self-driving vehicles, Telecompaper reports.

* Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko approved a decree that would enable preparations for the launch of 5G services in the country, beginning in 2020, Telecompaper reports.

FEATURED NEWS

The Week in OTT: Hulu gets Harvey Weinstein doc; Amazon cancels 'The Tick': Hulu bought U.S. rights to "Untouchable," a documentary about disgraced media mogul Harvey Weinstein, while Amazon has pulled the plug on superhero comedy series "The Tick."

FEATURED RESEARCH

Global Multichannel: Global markets update — Russia: Kagan has recently updated Global Multichannel and Broadband analyses for Russia, as well as analyses for related operators Akado Telecom, ER-Telecom, MegaFon, Mobile TeleSystems, NTV-Plus, Orion Express, Rostelecom, Tricolor TV and VEON.

Anne Freier, Sylvia Edwards Davis, Charlotte van Hek and Esben Svendsen contributed to this report.

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