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* British Telecom is in exclusive discussions with Mayfair Equity Partners LLP for the potential sale of the operator's corporate business in Ireland, Sky News Editor Mark Kleinman said in a tweet. The deal to sell the British operator's Irish business is expected to be worth more than €300 million.
* Orange Polska SA began offering Viacom Inc. subscription video-on-demand service Paramount Play to Orange TV customers, Telecompaper reports. The platform offers access to content from Paramount Pictures Corp. as well as the MTV, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr. (US) and Comedy Central (US) channels.
* Swiss telco Sunrise Communications Group AG defended its proposed acquisition of Liberty Global PLC unit UPC Schweiz, saying concerns raised by freenet AG are unjustified and not in its best interests. Freenet, which is Sunrise's largest shareholder, said it is open to talks despite criticizing the deal, Reuters reports.
PAN-EUROPEAN
* Fremantle announced that it has sold adventure series "Expedition with Steve Backshall" to media companies in about 140 countries. In Europe, media companies that have acquired rights to the series include Discovery Inc.'s German unit, Spain's RTVE and Telefónica SA-owned Movistar+, Cyprus' CYBC, Bloomberg Inc.'s Turkish unit, Belgium's VRT, Denmark's DR, Poland's Canal+ Dokument and AMC Networks International Southern Europe for Portugal's Odissea channel and Switzerland's Radio Television Suisse.
* TVN Discovery Polska added a video-on-demand library to its TVN International offer, which originally includes only three live channels, Broadband TV News reports. The move comes at a time the Polish company is expanding TVN International's footprint to Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Spain.
* European Union civil servants have drafted a plan for a €100 billion sovereign wealth fund aimed at financing European companies in technology and other strategic sectors in a bid to compete with major foreign rivals, Financial Times reports, citing an internal EU document. The proposed European Future Fund should prioritize long-term holdings in "EU-based corporates in strategically important sectors."
UK AND IRELAND
* David Montgomery, a former editor and publisher in the U.K., is planning to list a takeover vehicle named National World, and is looking to acquire local newspapers, the Financial Times reports. Former directors at Reach PLC, such as Vijay Vaghela and Mark Hollinshead, will be joining National World's board. Montgomery refused to disclose publications targeted for acquisition.
* The British Broadcasting Corp. announced that BBC One is launching new series namely: "Inside Man," "Whilst," "When It Happens To You," "Ridley Road" and comedy show "Bumps." Meanwhile, BBC Three will be airing "RuPaul's Drag Race UK" on Oct. 3 and announced three-part comedy "My Left Nut."
* Channel 4 (UK) announced that it will be airing the highlights of the 2019 World Chase Tag Championships in partnership with Sunset+Vine Productions Ltd.
* Smithsonian Channel's U.K. series "Mystic Britain" has been renewed for a second season, Rapid TV News reports. The Smithsonian Networks' travel show's upcoming season will have 10 episodes.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
* Academic publisher Springer Nature AG & Co. KGaA has come to an agreement on a national license with over 700 German research organizations, reports book industry magazine Buchreport. More than 13,000 Springer publications will be available via Open Access in Germany, beginning 2020.
* Sky Deutschland GmbH has continued the expansion of its HD service. The Sky Krimi channel will be available for all customers of the Sky Starter and Sky Entertainment packages, effective Oct. 8.
* OSRAM Licht AG said its managing and supervisory boards have waived the existing standstill agreement with AMS AG, which prohibited the Austrian sensor solutions company from acquiring the former's shares. AMS can now advance its €38.50 per share offer to take over the German lighting products and solutions company.
FRANCE
* French President Emmanuel Macron urged the U.S. government to help reform taxes applied to big tech companies, Reuters reports. Macron denounced the permanent tax haven status of digital giants, La Tribune reports. Macron said in a press event ahead of the G7 summit in France that the current system is not sustainable.
* Iliad's Free launched a new offer on private sales platform Veepee available until Sept. 3, UniversFreebox reports. The Freebox Révolution box with TV by Canal is priced at €9.99 per month for one year and €39.99 per month thereafter.
NETHERLANDS,
* Tele2 AB unit Tele2 Nederland BV lost a lawsuit against a customer who used his SIM card in a hotspot to be able to connect multiple devices to the 4G connection, reports Tweakers. The court agreed with the customer, who said there was no norm stating that using a hotspot for such a practice was not allowed.
* Belgian media company and publisher DPG Media will launch its new radio channel, Willy, this autumn, reports HLN. The new radio channel will exclusively be available digitally.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* Former Telia Co. AB executive Gabriela Styf Sjöman joined Nokia Corp. as chief strategy officer, effective Dec. 1. Sjöman, who will also be a member of Nokia's group leadership team, is replacing Kathrin Buvac, who will continue to serve as a member of the group leadership team and as Nokia Enterprise president.
* Eight Mile Style, the music publisher of songwriter Eminem, sued Spotify AB over alleged copyright infringement, according to BBC News. Eight Mile Style has not been compensated for songs streamed on Spotify.
* Telenor ASA said that it must pay an extra tax bill of 2.5 billion Norwegian kroner, after a reassessment of the company's deduction of 2012 losses in connection with the settlement of bank guarantees connected to its Indian subsidiary Unitech Wireless Ltd. Telenor will pay the full amount in the third quarter of 2019, but said that it disagrees with the tax authorities' position and plans to appeal the reassessment.
* Swedish communications product provider TH1NG said it is acquiring the broadband operations of Brabit for an undisclosed amount. TH1NG said that the acquisition fits in with its growth strategy and that further acquisitions are likely to follow.
* Ericsson's Fadi Pharaon is stepping down as vice president for networks and managed Services in Market Area Europe and Latin America. Pharaon is moving to a new role as senior vice president and head of market area in the Middle East and Africa, according to a news release.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
* Italian broadcaster Mediaset SpA said it filed a complaint against Vivendi SA with securities regulator Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa. Mediaset claimed that Vivendi is again trying to undermine the former's share price by discrediting the proposed cross-border merger between Mediaset's Italian and Spanish operations.
* Italian fixed wireless broadband operator Eolo SpA is offering a six-month free trial of sports streaming service DAZN, Telecompaper reports. After the promotion, Eolo subscribers will need to pay €9.99 per month to continue accessing DAZN.
EASTERN EUROPE
* Mobile TeleSystems PJSC rolled out its narrowband internet of things network in Russian cities of Strezhevoy and Seversk in the Tomsk region., Telecompaper reports, citing Comnews.ru. The NB-IoT services will rely on the Russian telco's LTE infrastructure.
* Slovakia national transmission company Towercom as secured a license from watchdog Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Postal Services to operate a DVB-T digital TV multiplex, regarded as the first in the country, Broadband TV News reports. The license requires Towercom to ensure a population coverage of at least 86.6% for its first multiplex by June 1, 2021.
* The Slovenian government is planning to announce a new tender for the construction of broadband infrastructure in unserved rural areas identified as white spots, Telecompaper reports, citing Sta. EU funds of about €38 million have been set aside for the project.
FEATURED NEWS
Hires and Fires Europe: Telia Denmark CEO to step down; Nokia names strategy chief: Streaming giant Netflix Inc. named executives to work for its upcoming offices in Paris and Berlin, while Morten Bentzen is stepping down as CEO of Telia Co. AB's Danish unit.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Consumer Insights: Germany SVOD user profiles offer insight into future market growth: Data from the Kagan European Consumer Insights surveys conducted in Germany over the past four years shows steady growth of the online subscription video-on-demand market.
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