TOP NEWS
* Telecom Italia SpA said it received a request from investors led by Elliott Associates LP to include a motion to replace six board members as part of the agenda during the telco's April 24 shareholder meeting. The list of directors in the request includes Telecom Italia Executive Chairman and Vivendi SA CEO Arnaud Roy de Puyfontaine. Elliott has reserved the right to request for additional agenda in the shareholders' meeting, Reuters reports, citing a source.
* De Puyfontaine is considering suspending his executive functions at Telecom Italia, as activist hedge fund Elliott pushes for a shakeup at the telco, Reuters reports, quoting a Vivendi spokesman. The French media group said it is ready to support an alternative business strategy for Telecom Italia.
* EU antitrust regulators on April 23 will release a decision on Apple Inc.'s proposal to acquire U.K.-based music recognition app Shazam Entertainment Ltd., after the Cupertino, Calif.-based company submitted a filing seeking for the approval of the deal, Reuters reports.
PAN-EUROPEAN
* The European Union plans to propose rules that would impose a "digital tax" on tech companies' revenues, which the bloc expects to generate about €4.8 billion annually, the Financial Times reported, citing a draft proposal. The proposed EU regulation, which is anticipated to be announced in the week of March 19, is likely to enforce a tax of 3% from earnings of companies.
UK AND IRELAND
* Sky plc has entered into a confidentiality agreement with 21st Century Fox Inc. and Walt Disney Co., in relation to the proposed deal between the two U.S. companies. The agreement states that Sky may be required to share information to relevant regulators, as well as to Fox and Disney, in relation to the deal. In turn, Disney will share its "intentions in relation to seeking and maintaining those regulatory approvals relevant to the continued operation of the business of the Sky Group."
* Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video acquired exclusive rights to the new series of singing contest "American Idol" in the U.K. from FremantleMedia Ltd.'s FremantleMedia International. Amazon Prime Video UK will stream episodes weekly a day after they air in the U.S.
* The U.K. is allotting a £67 million investment to provide faster internet connections to residents and small or medium-sized businesses, U.K. Chancellor Philip Hammond announced. Under The Nationwide Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, the government will provide vouchers of up to £3,000 and £500 to businesses and residents, respectively.
* Uber Technologies Inc. will share "aggregated data" of its trips to satisfy the requests of regulator Transport for London, Reuters reports. The anonymized data, which will include past travel conditions and travel times, can be accessed by anyone.
* U.K.'s HM Revenue & Customs has implemented rules that will sanction online marketplaces when U.K.-based online sellers on their platforms commit VAT fraud. HMRC will hold the online marketplaces responsible for sellers' future unpaid taxes if these nonpaying sellers have not been removed after the regulator's notice.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA U.K.
* German prosecutors in Munich have launched a preliminary investigation on suspicion of market manipulation following the crash of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE stocks, reports newspaper Handelsblatt.
* Austria's public sector spent around €177 million on media advertising in 2017, signalling a slight decline of €2 million compared to 2016, according to Die Presse. The Austrian federal government spent €22.6 million on ads.
* In the coming week, RTL Group will launch Now Us, reports DWDL. The channel will initially be distributed via TV Now.
FRANCE
* Mediawan SA, an independent European audiovisual content platform, acquired a majority stake in Makever SAS.
NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG
* Dutch SME telecom service provider Fieber will merge with provider Trietel, supported by investment fund Vortex Capital Partners.
* Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile Netherlands will introduce three packages for organizations in 2018 to access its national internet of things network. The packages will provide access to either 10, 100, 1,000 or more than 10,000 connection points.
* Ilse Openneer has been appointed as deputy editor-in-chief of RTL Nieuws as of April 1. Openneer has been with RTL Nieuws for 10 years.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* Shares of Spotify Technology SA, the parent of Spotify AB, will most likely be traded at the NYSE from April 3, the company announced on its investor day. CFO Barry McCarthy said Spotify's focus will continue to be on growth, not profit, adding that the company's long-term operational goal is to increase revenues by between 25% and 35% and gross margin by 30% to 35%.
* Swedish eye-tracking technology company Tobii AB will collaborate with QUALCOMM Inc.'s Qualcomm Technologies Inc. to make its technology available to mobile virtual reality and augmented reality head-mounted displays.
* Telia Co. AB unit Telia Denmark is launching a new mobile subscription with unlimited data in the Nordic and Baltic countries. Telia One will also include unlimited calls, texts and MMS.
* TRT World (US), an English-language news channel from Turkey, has debuted as part of Get AS' cable TV lineup in Norway, Digital TV Europe reports.
* The Norwegian online quiz company Kahoot! AS has raised about $17 million through a share issue, bringing the company's valuation to around $100 million, Dagens Næringsliv reports, citing information sent to the company's investors.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
* Spanish data protection regulator AEPD has slapped a €300,000 fine each on Facebook Inc. and its WhatsApp Inc. unit for processing personal data without consent from users, Telecompaper reports, citing a statement. AEPD said WhatsApp's unauthorized sharing of user data with Facebook and the latter's processing of the data for its own purposes violated Spanish and EU data protection laws.
EASTERN EUROPE
* Tricolor TV CEO Aleksey Kholodov has stepped down amid a dispute with the company's largest shareholder Andrey Tkachenko, Telecompaper reports, citing Vedomosti. The Russian satellite TV operator's shareholders are reportedly looking for Kholodov's replacement.
* Elisa Corp.'s Estonian unit has achieved data speeds of up to 1.8 Gbps in its 5G trials conducted under a partnership with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Telecompaper reports.
* Romanian telecom watchdog ANCOM opened a public consultation to measure market interest in the allocation of available spectrum for digital terrestrial television services, Broadband TV News reports, citing a statement. ANCOM will accept responses on the matter until April 11.
FEATURED NEWS
Analysis: Blocked Broadcom deal highlights questions around government's 5G role: The tension over the government's role in 5G was highlighted after U.S. President Donald Trump barred Singapore-based Broadcom from acquiring the U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Economics of Internet: State of online video: esports and OTT gaming: Whether or not you believe playing video games qualifies as a "sport," it is undeniable that esports have evolved to attract a global audience that rivals that of many traditional pro sports leagues.
Anne Freier, Amanda Kelly, Charlotte van Hek and Esben Svendsen contributed to this report. The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription.
