Top News
* HC2 Holdings Inc. subsidiary HC2 Network Inc. acquired Azteca America, a Spanish-language broadcast network, from affiliates of TV Azteca SAB de CV. HC2 Network also signed a definitive acquisition agreement with Northstar Media LLC, a licensee of numerous broadcast television licenses in the U.S., the company said.
* The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in a case centered on whether government agencies, including law enforcement, should be required to get a warrant before obtaining cell phone location records. The court's decision, which likely will not come until June 2018, could have important privacy implications for the digital and mobile age.
* Curiosity-seeking viewers could generate a short-term ratings bump for NBC (US)'s morning show, media consultants and analysts said in interviews. NBC fired "Today" show host Matt Lauer on Nov. 29.
* Hulu LLC secured subscription streaming rights to more programming from The Disney/ABC Television Group. The deal makes Hulu the exclusive U.S. SVOD home for ABC (US)'s "Designated Survivor," and includes complete libraries of "Revenge," Shadowhunters," "Marvel's Agent Carter," "Blossom," "The Catch," Bunheads and other shows from the Walt Disney unit, Hulu said.
Internet & OTT
* Netflix Inc. will stream new series "A Korean Odyssey" on the streaming platform in late December. The series, which is inspired by the novel, "Journey to the West," features Lee Seung-Gi, Cha Seung-Won and Oh Yeon-Seo, the company said.
* Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s Youku struck a distribution deal with Netflix for 32-episode detective drama series "Day and Night." This is Youku's first online drama series that has been acquired for global distribution, the company said.
* Snap Inc. revamped its Snapchat app to better organize chats and stories from friends on one side and stories from publishers, creators and the community on the other side. Also, Snap unveiled a new Friends page and a Discover page, according to an official blog post.
* As strict new rules place a 20% foreign ownership cap on popular online video platforms in Russia, foreign media companies are forced to sell assets and team up with local partners. The new law, which took effect in July, directly impacts a number of big, non-Russian streamers.
* The business wires are buzzing about Cyber Monday setting a new high watermark of $6.59 billion in online sales. That is a lot of spending and also a lot of potential for data exposure, blogger Bishop Cheen wrote in his post.
Advertising
* With scores of middlemen and hidden costs in the supply chain, marketers at the ad:tech London event questioned whether blockchain technology, a mechanism used to process and store data, would ensure cleaner and higher performing traffic. Blockchain technology's ability to provide a clear trail of every transaction in the ad-buying process appears to provide it with enormous potential to tackle fraudulent activity, a panel at the conference discussed.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng fell 1.51% to 29,177.35, and the Nikkei 225 was up 0.57% to 22,724.96.
In Europe, as of midday, the FTSE 100 rose 0.21% to 7,409.15, and the Euronext 100 climbed 0.40% to 1,047.22.
On the macro front
The j obless claims report, the personal income and outlays report, the Chicago PMI report, the EIA natural gas report, the Fed balance sheet and the money supply report are due out today.
Featured news
The Daily Dose Europe: Nokia denies Juniper buyout talks; HBO Go expands in eastern Europe: Nokia Corp. denied reports that it is in talks to acquire network equipment company Juniper Networks Inc., while HBO Go has been rolled out as a direct-to-consumer service in seven other eastern European countries.
The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: SoftBank's offer values Flipkart at US$10B; Alibaba prices US$7B debt offering: SoftBank Group Corp. is offering to buy Flipkart India Pvt. Ltd. shares at a range of US$85 to US$89 apiece, giving the e-commerce giant a valuation of up to US$10 billion, while Alibaba priced its senior unsecured notes offering to raise up to US$7 billion.
The Short Report: CenturyLink short interest plummets in early November: CenturyLink Inc. posted the biggest decrease in short interest relative to shares outstanding among Kagan-covered communications companies between Oct. 31 and Nov. 15.
The Short Report: Roku leads new media short interest gainers: Roku Inc. posted the largest jump in short interest relative to shares outstanding among Kagan-covered new media companies between Oct. 31 and Nov. 15.
The Short Report: Entercom short interest skyrockets in 1st half of November: Entercom Communications Corp. saw the biggest jump in short interest relative to shares outstanding among Kagan-covered media and entertainment companies between Oct. 31 and Nov. 15.
Featured research
Economics of Advertising: Sports telecasts top TV viewing in October: The top 500 telecasts in October from comScore Inc.'s TV Essentials continue to reflect the high value of sports content on television.
Economics of TV & Film: Regal's target price puts possible sale to Cineworld at 9.0x cash flow: News broke on Nov. 28 that Cineworld Group plc, a major exhibitor chain in the U.K., is in talks to acquire Regal Entertainment Group, the world's second-largest exhibitor behind AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc.
Economics of Internet: Profile: iflix (Malaysia): Iflix initially launched in the Malaysia market in May 2015 as a partnership between Catcha Group and Evolution Media Capital LLC.
Global Multichannel: Evolution as Euro networks' pay TV strategies capitalize on non-linear trends: European TV groups are increasingly looking to video on demand and over-the-top services to transform their businesses.
Broadcast Investor: Public trading multiples: Broadcast stocks mixed on softer ad trends: Stock price averages dropped 4.5% for radio and rose by a marginal 0.5% month-to-date for TV as of Nov. 27, affected by recent earnings call comments on a softer ad environment and the first signs of multichannel sub declines.
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