TOPNEWS
*Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd. filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. alleging that certainHuawei smartphones infringed on six Samsung Group patents. The South Korean firm is seeking161 million Chinese yuan, or US$24 million, in damages and is requesting thatBeijing's Intellectual Property Court block Huawei and Beijing HengtongdaDepartment Store Co. from creating or selling the devices.
* U.S. civil lawsuits allege Red Granite Pictures, a Los Angeles-basedproduction house, took part in a money-laundering scheme by financing the hitmovie "The Wolf of Wall Street" with US$100 million diverted from1Malaysia Development Bhd., a Malaysian state fund known as 1MDB, Reuters reports.The lawsuits aim to seize the proceeds from the 2013 movie amid the assetsworth more than US$1 billion linked to money allegedly stolen from 1MDB.
* ThePhilippine Court of Appeals denied Globe Telecom's application for a temporary restrainingorder against the Philippine Competition Commission's review of the 70 billionPhilippine peso, or US$1.5 billion, deal to purchase 's telco unit,the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.Both telcos previously made separate filings that sought to stop the review.
PAN-ASIAN
* SouthKorean cloud-based smart TV solutions provider Anypoint Media and videoadvertising platform SpotX have entered into an agreement that would enabledynamic ad insertion through set-top boxes, RapidTV News reports. Adspace buying will reportedly be on a household-by-household basis, coveringIPTV and cable operators that use Anypoint's linear TV ad infrastructure.
*Amazon.comInc. is adding two original series to its Amazon Prime Videoservice in Japan. Users can now stream the tennis-focused drama "BabySteps," while the anime series "Crayon Shin-Chan: Alien vs.Shinnosuke" will reportedly debut Aug. 3.
* Chinesee-commerce giant Alibaba GroupHolding Ltd. is teaming up with Japan's to introduce itscloud service in Japan, according to an interviewin The Nikkei. Simon Hu,president of Aliyun, Alibaba's cloud computing unit, said his company aims tobecome Japan's biggest provider of public cloud space within two years,achieving annual sales in that period of ¥100 billion.
* TheJapanese launch of "Pokémon Go" on July 22 had a muted effect onshares of gamemaker Nintendo, which ended the day up 0.8% at ¥28,220in heavy trading, accordingto The Nikkei. Japanese tourist sites issued safety warnings as the mobilegame craze swept Nintendo's homeland, Kyodo reported.
*Mitsubishi Electric CoLtd. will install elements of its artificial intelligence programin driver-assistance systems as early as the fiscal year ending March 2018, The Nikkeireported.The system can warn of driver sleepiness by monitoring a person's steeringwheel movements, face and heartbeat; it relies on a proprietary AI system thatsteeply reduces computation times, the report said.
* "ZombieSurvival," a multiplayer virtual reality game created by Australia's ZeroLatency, launched July 23 in Tokyo at the Joypolis theme park operated byJapanese gamemaker SegaEntertainment Co Ltd., accordingto the park's website.
*LG Uplus Corp. launchedan LTE-based traffic control service in South Korea which allows users to checkvehicle locations and conditions as well as driving history on electronicdevices in real time, ChosunBiz reports.The service is expected to be used by companies that require integratedhigh-level management of their business vehicles.
* SouthKorea's mobile virtual network operator industry is expected to introduce newdata plans in August which will be up to 25.1% cheaper than those provided bythe country's major telcos, SKTelecom Co. Ltd., KTCorp. and LG Uplus Corp., boosted by the government's supportpolicies including the reduction in wholesale rates, Newsis reports.
* WhileNintendo Co. Ltd.'s augmented reality game "Pokémon Go" cannot beofficially accessed in South Korea due to restrictions on Google Maps, it canbe played in Ganjeolgot Park in the Korean city of Ulsan, Yonhap News Agency reports.This has resulted in an unexpected tourism boom, leading the city government tobuild a task force to plan for visitor support, including free Wi-Fi and tourprograms.
, HONG KONG ANDTAIWAN
* Gamingand streaming platform Machinima will bringits content to China through an exclusive licensing deal with ChineseInternet giant Sohu.comInc. Under the deal, Sohu will carry some of Machinima's shows onits online video platform. Ad-supported content will be made available througha Machinima-branded portal on Sohu TV and Sohu apps.
* Taiwanmobile network carrier TaiwanMobile Co. Ltd. (TWM) signeda memorandum of understanding with Nokia Corp. to develop a 5G experimental network. TWMpredicts that Taiwan will officially roll out 5G networks in 2020.
*Apple Inc. is set toopen its first storein Taiwan and is currently looking for a team in the country. The move comesafter the California-based tech giant raised US$1.38 billion in a bond offeringin the country in June. The company reportedly confirmed its plans to open aTaiwan Apple Store, but did not give further details.
* PhoenixNew Media, a Chinese state-owned media group, signed an agreement withOppo Mobile Telecommunications, a Shenzhen-based smartphone maker. Under theagreement, Phoenix's news app Yidian Zixun will come preinstalled in Opposmartphones.
*TCL Corp.,a Chinese TV manufacturer, plansto establish a joint venture in Brazil with local home appliance manufacturerSEMP. The JV, called SEMP TCL, will be funded by an approximately US$60 millioninvestment from both companies and will produce TCL-branded TVs targetingmiddle-class families in Brazil and South America.
SOUTHEASTASIA
*Thailand's Office of the Auditor General confirmed thatit will file a lawsuit against telco giants Dtac and True Move, accusing thetwo companies of misappropriating base towers owned by state firm , Thai Rath reports. The contracts bywhich Dtac and True Move were able to rent CAT's base towers expired inSeptember 2013. While both parties continued to use and profit from CAT'snetwork of base towers, neither party negotiated a renewed rental agreement, ora deal to purchase the towers outright.
* AdvancedInfo Service (AIS) will double the size of its 4G network by the end of 2016,surpassing close rival True Move as Thailand's largest 4G network provider, Prachachat reports.AIS's current 4G network covers only 50% of the population, but is expected tocover 98% following an accelerated network expansion, surpassing True Move at90% coverage.
* SouthKorean e-commerce platform 11street has confirmed it will launch Thai versionsof the 11street online store and mobile app next month, according toThai business news site Brand Inside.The 11street platform is based on technology designed by SK Planet, asubsidiary of South Korean wireless network provider SK Telecom.
*Ireland-based VoIP solutions provider One Horizon announcedthe sale of its second software license for its data-roaming VoIP solution toPhilippine telco giant Smart Communications. The new service, called Marino AllAbroad, is targeting 500,000 registered Filipino seafarers who have higherestimated average revenue per user due to the duration of their travels.
* Grab, aMalaysian based transportation network start-up,partnered with Indonesianconglomerate, LippoGroup to integrate Lippo's electronic money payment platform intoGrab's payment feature, GrabPay, in Indonesia, Arena LTE reports. Theplatform will be integrated in stages starting from the fourth quarter of 2016.
*Ant Financial ServicesGroup, an Alibaba affiliate that runs the payment gateway Alipay,invested in M-Daq, a fintech startup from Singapore, viaan entity called API (Hong Kong) Investment Ltd., Tech in Asia reports. Ant ownsUS$22 million worth of M-Daq's issued share capital.
*Maxis Berhad, aMalaysian telecom services provider, recorded 2.1 billion Malaysian ringgit ofrevenue and 488 million ringgit of net profit for the second quarter of 2016, The Star reports.
AND NEW ZEALAND
* Pay-TVoperator FOXTELrenewed its longest-running original Australian drama series,"Wentworth," for a fifth season, Rapid TV News reports.Set to air in 2017, FremantleMedia Ltd.'s Australian unit will beginproduction on the 12-episode fifth season in August.
* Perth-basedtelco VocusCommunications raised A$152 million through a retail entitlement offer andA$76.5 million through a retail shortfall bookbuild to put toward its A$700million acquisition of Nextgen Networks, ZDNet reports.The Australian company also raised A$134 million to pay for the North WestCable System and A$27 million to acquire the Australia Singapore Cable project.
*Telstra Corp. Ltd.boosted its 4G capacity across 200 sites in Australia, utilizing the spectrumit bought during the 1,800MHz auction earlier this year, The Australian reports.The areas seeing the speed boost include Cairns, Townsville, Ayr, Innisfail,Port Douglas, Mossman, Ingham and Charters Towers in North Queensland, while inSouth Australia the areas are Ceduna, Port Lincoln, Coffin Bay, Port Pirie,Whyalla, Victor Harbour, Goolwa, Renmark, Mount Gambier and Robe.
AND SOUTH ASIA
*Bharti Airtel Ltd.'sdirect-to-home arm Airtel Digital TV has partnered with entertainment contenthouse Shemaroo EntertainmentLtd. to launch a subscription video-on-demand service calledRelamchhel for its customers in Gujarat, Indian Television reports.The ad-free service features various entertainment content, includingtraditional stand-up comedy and blockbuster films.
* ThePakistan Telecommunication Authority confirmed itsshutdown of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement's web TV service after the PTA, alongwith the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, previously deniedbanning it, Pakistan Today reports.PEMRA, under its counterterrorism strategy, bans broadcast media from coveringany content that promotes religious hatred or violence, accordingto Channel News Asia.
* India'sTelecom Minister Manoj Sinha called a meeting with CEOs of the country's mobileservice providers today to discuss industry issues, particularly oncall drops and net neutrality regulations, the Press Trust of India reports.This is reportedly the first time the minister will be meeting the chiefexecutives.
FEATUREDNEWS
: Media analysts weigh in on how Roger Ailes' resignationwill impact FOX News and its parent.
: The Republican National Conventiondominated headlines during the week ended July 22, but for media andcommunications investors all eyes were on earnings reports.
: The 2015 paypackage of Liberty Media President and CEO Gregory Maffei is among thosehighlighted in the latest installment of The Pay Check.
: S&P Global Market Intelligencepresents a roundup of recent programming announcements from variousinternational networks and online video platforms.
FEATUREDRESEARCH
: Home video continues tobe a vital source of revenue for movies despite the declining DVD and Blu-rayretail market and the rise in popularity of subscription streaming serviceslike Netflix and Hulu.
: Netflix released its second-quarterresults, and the world's leading provider online video content missed the markin its projected subscriber growth for the quarter.
: The 2016 NBA Finalsdelivered record-breaking numbers for ABC while the NHL's 2016 Stanley CupFinal on NBC and NBCSN succumbed to ratings declines, according to data fromcomScore's TV Essentials.
: The weekly box office growth streakcame to a halt in week 29 as this year's batch of films was unable to competewith the numbers put up by 2015's week 29 hits.
RECENTEARNINGS
: On the same day that DISH reported its largest quarterlysubscriber losses on record, AT&T Inc.'s DIRECTV said it continued toadd subscribers in the second quarter.
: Over a month into a retransmission consentdispute between DISH Network Corp. and Tribune Media Co., DISHCEO Charlie Ergen suggested that at least some of Tribune's stations could bepermanently struck from the satellite TV operator's lineup.
Joji Sakurai, Myungran Ha, Frances Wang, KevinOsmond and Patrick Tibke contributed to this report. The Daily Dose has aneditorial deadline of 7 a.m. Hong Kong time. Some external links may require asubscription.