Top News
* Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson targeted Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. unit Google Inc. in lawsuits over political advertising data. In lawsuits filed in King County Superior Court, the Attorney General's Office alleged that the companies did not obtain or maintain all the information required of campaign advertisers. The state is seeking penalties and injunctive relief.
* Apple Inc. unveiled iOS 12, its next-generation mobile operating system, with expanded Siri capabilities, new augmented reality tools, app time-tracking tools and other initiatives at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference. Apple will release iOS 12 as a free update later this year, according to a news release.
* Moving forward on its goal of encouraging next-generation wireline and wireless broadband deployment, the Federal Communications Commission has a packed agenda for its June meeting. On June 7, the agency will vote on a total of 11 items, plus an enforcement bureau action, the details of which will be revealed after the vote.
* The next generation of broadcast television is on the horizon. But it will be up to station owners and TV set manufacturers to work together to execute a timely transition without leaving any viewers behind. To read S&P Global Market Intelligence's first part of a series on Next Gen TV, click here.
Radio
* Cumulus Media Inc. completed its financial restructuring and emerged from Chapter 11 after reducing its debt by more than $1 billion. The Atlanta-based radio broadcaster reduced its total debt balance to $1.30 billion from $2.34 billion, the company said.
TV Networks
* Cyma Zarghami is stepping down as president of Viacom Inc.'s Nickelodeon Group. Viacom Media Networks COO Sarah Levy will lead the brand on an interim basis while the company looks for a permanent replacement, the company said.
* Walt Disney Co.'s ABC (US) is engaged in talks with producers of the canceled show "Roseanne" about a potential spinoff, Variety reports, citing sources. According to the report, talks between the producers and ABC executives began late last week and carried through the weekend of June 3.
Multichannel
* Charter Communications Inc. will offer Apple Inc.'s Apple TV 4K device to its pay TV customers along with a version of its Spectrum TV app that runs on and is tightly integrated with the device, Multichannel News reports. The Apple TV version of the Spectrum TV app will be released later this year.
Internet & OTT
* Netflix Inc. greenlit a new anthology series featuring Dolly Parton. Each episode of the series will be based on a song by Parton, the company said. The series will feature eight episodes.
* Twitter Inc. will become part of the S&P 500, while Netflix is set to join the S&P 100 before trading opens June 7, according to an announcement from the S&P Dow Jones Indices. Netflix and Twitter will replace Monsanto Co. in the S&P 100, and the S&P 500, respectively.
The day ahead
Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.
In Asia, the Hang Seng gained 0.31% to 31,093.45, while the Nikkei 225 rose 0.28% to 22,539.54.
In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.33% to 7,715.60, and the Euronext 100 lifted 0.55% to 1,070.93.
On the macro front
The Redbook, the US Services Purchasing Managers' Index, the Institute For Supply Management nonmanufacturing index and the Labor Department's JOLTS report are due out today.
Featured news
The Daily Dose Europe: BT secures Premier League rights; Qualcomm appeals against EU antitrust fine: British Telecom acquired Premier League broadcasting rights at a discounted price, while Qualcomm Inc. appealed to scrap the €997 million antitrust fine imposed by EU antitrust regulators.
The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: Xiaomi to raise $3B from depositary receipts; Sharp eyeing Toshiba's PC business: Xiaomi Inc. is planning to raise US$3 billion in Chinese depositary receipts in its upcoming Hong Kong IPO, while Toshiba Corp. is in talks with electronic products-maker Sharp Corp. on the sale of its personal computer business.
M&A Replay: CenturyLink closes assets sale; Zynga buys game developer: S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a wrap-up of U.S. companies' media and communications deal announcements and completions from May 28 to June 1.
The week in OTT: Discovery to take PGA Tour OTT; Facebook nears content deals: Discovery Inc. teamed up with the PGA Tour to create an international PGA Tour-branded over-the-top video streaming service, while Facebook is nearing more programming deals for its Watch video platform.
M&A Replay: European deals: Liberty Global/Ziggo deal reapproved; Nokia closes Withings sale: The European Commission has reapproved Liberty Global PLC's acquisition of Dutch cable operator Ziggo NV, while tech giant Nokia Corp. completed the sale of its digital health business Withings SA.
Featured research
Economics of Networks: Comcast moves popular cable networks up the tier: In the face of declining video margins, cable operators are continuously reviewing channel lineups to try to prevent further margin erosion.
Economics of Networks: CPM increases offset some impact of viewing erosion for cable nets: The average cable network CPM across all dayparts rose 4.2% in 2017 to $6.80, slightly below the 4.6% gain posted in 2016, and has risen at a CAGR of 2.7% over the past decade.
Economics of Advertising: General networks post higher coverage ratings in April: Average coverage ratings for non-Nielsen Holdings-rated networks from the general genre climbed 22.8% year over year, as 16 out of 24 networks delivered higher viewership in April, based on data from comScore Inc.'s TV Essentials.
Economics of Advertising: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh leads RSN ratings for 3rd consecutive month: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh (US) (in the Pittsburgh market) secured its third straight month leading the RSN prime-time ratings, scoring a 3.89 in April, anchored by the Pittsburgh Penguins' first-round playoff series win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Economics of TV & Film: AMC Networks steadily expanding content offerings: As the pay TV market continues to contract in total subs, networks turn toward programming investment in order to show their value. Total programming costs for AMC Networks more than tripled between 2009 and 2017.
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