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Microsoft buying GitHub; Hulu initiates strategic reorganization

Top News

* Microsoft Corp. struck a deal to acquire code-storing website GitHub Inc. for undisclosed sum, Bloomberg News reports, citing sources familiar with the matter. The software giant was initially interested in entering into a partnership with GitHub but the talks then progressed to an acquisition, a source reportedly said.

* Hulu LLC initiated a strategic reorganization that may help the company better serve subscribers and drive growth. As part of the initiative, Hulu said it tapped former TiVo Corp. COO Dan Phillips as chief technology officer, and Jaya Kolhatkar, a former global data and analytics executive for Walmart Inc., as chief data officer of the company. Hulu also is combining its live TV and subscription video on demand content licensing, acquisition and business functions into a single group, called Content Partnerships.

* Discovery Inc. teamed up with the PGA Tour to create a PGA Tour-branded, over-the-top, video streaming service. Discovery expects to invest more than $2 billion over the course of the 12-year partnership, including licensing of the PGA Tour's international media rights and building a global OTT platform available outside the U.S., according to a news release.

* Walt Disney Co. shares ended the month of May on a difficult note as the company's brewing bidding war over 21st Century Fox Inc. continued to escalate and as a social media controversy caused the company's ABC (US) network to cancel its sitcom "Roseanne."

Communications

* President Donald Trump intends to tap Geoffrey Starks as commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, the agency said in a statement. Starks, whose nomination is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate, would succeed Democrat Mignon Clyburn.

Technology

* Alphabet Inc. unit Google Inc. is not renewing its partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense for a program dubbed "Project Maven" that helped the department identify and track drones through artificial intelligence, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a confirmation by Diane Greene, CEO of Google's cloud-computing business. The partnership between the two entities is set to expire in March 2019.

Internet & OTT

* Netflix Inc. sued bankrupt studio Relativity Media LLC for allegedly violating an exclusivity agreement between the companies, Variety reports. In addition to failing to provide Netflix with the required number of movies for 2017, Relativity Media provided five movies to Amazon.com Inc. and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.'s Starz, according to the report. Netflix is seeking $12.6 million in damages for the exclusivity violations, in addition to $5 million for each film Relativity failed to deliver.

* Facebook Inc. is winding up its "trending" news section that was launched in 2014 as a list of headlines alongside the main news feed, The Associated Press reports. Facebook is now reportedly testing new features such as a "breaking news" label for stories.

Film & TV

* CBS Corp. has been seeking high-single-digit to double-digit percentage increases in its upfront negotiations for prime-time slots, Variety reports, citing executives familiar with the pace of negotiations. The programmer is looking for double-digit price increases for daytime, news and late-night fare, sources said.

* Disney's "Solo: A Star Wars Story" topped the domestic box office for the June 3 weekend with $29.3 million, followed by 20th Century Fox's "Deadpool 2" at the second spot with $23.3 million and STX Entertainment's "Adrift" at No. 3 with $11.5 million, according to comScore Inc. Disney's "Avengers: Infinity War" took the fourth spot with $10.4 million, while Paramount's "Book Club" was No. 5 with $6.8 million.

The day ahead

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

In Asia, the Hang Seng was up 1.66% to 30,997.98. The Nikkei 225 rose 1.37% to 22,475.90. In Europe, as of midday, the FTSE 100 was up 0.31% to 7,701.77, and the Euronext 100 climbed 1.02% to 1,059.77.

On the macro front

The factory orders report is due out today.

Featured news

The Daily Dose Europe: Mediapro eyes sports rights deals; Vivendi's Bolloré to keep Italian investments: Mediapro considers to enter sports deals with operators, while Vivendi SA's Vincent Bolloré plans to retain investments in Italy despite setbacks.

The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: Toshiba completes ¥2T sale of memory chip unit; Tencent suing Toutiao: Toshiba Corp. completed the approximately ¥2 trillion sale of its memory chip business to a Bain Capital LP-led consortium, while Tencent Holdings Ltd. is suing Toutiao's two units for defamation.

The Best Of: Media & Comm, editor's picks: ABC cans 'Roseanne'; Tennis Channel's auto deals: ABC canceling sitcom "Roseanne," new auto deals for the Tennis Channel (US) and federal regulators advancing recovery funding efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are all among the editor's top five story picks for the week ended June 1.

The Best Of: Media & Comm, most read: NBA finals on ABC; White House report on cybersecurity: Stories about the impact of the NBA finals on ABC and a White House report on cybersecurity gaps among federal agencies are included in the most read stories for the week ended June 1.

Data Dispatch: 'Solo' finds itself 'Adrift' as its box office expectations dive deeper: While "Solo: A Star Wars Story" may lead at the U.S. box office over the June 1 weekend, it is tracking to be one of the worst-performing films in the sci-fi franchise's history with Disney.

Featured research

Economics of TV & Film: Changes for WWE PPV events: World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. announced some changes to its pay-per-view events in June that will extend show times. See details on this and the upcoming event and movie calendars for June.

Economics of Networks: EVINE Live boosts adjusted EBITDA by 7.2% in Q1: The home shopping channel improved its bottom line but still lost money in the quarter.

Economics of Advertising: Positive signs for 'New FOX' from recent 21st Century Fox earnings: Executive co-Chairman Lachlan Murdoch said during the recent earnings call, "We saw continued strength in sports and news, demonstrating the competitive advantage of our outstanding brands and content that are primarily viewed live."

Economics of TV & Film: Kagan box office report, week 21: Franchise films were the big draw over the 2018 Memorial Day weekend in week 21, which led to $254.5 million in weekly box office, up 55.1% from the $164.1 million grossed during week 21 in 2017.

Economics of Advertising: Masters Golf Tournament scores top telecast rating in April: Of the many sports events covered on television in April, CBS (US)' broadcast of the final round of the 2018 Masters Tournament emerged as the highest-rated telecast during the month, based on comScore TV Essentials data.

Global Multichannel: The state of DTT in Eastern Europe: Digital terrestrial television penetration in Eastern Europe is rising, reaching 30% of TV households at year-end 2017, up from 27.5% a year earlier. The total number of DTT households in the region is estimated at 42.2 million.

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