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Judge to decide AT&T/Time Warner deal; Comcast may announce Fox bid June 13

Top News

* U.S. District Judge Richard Leon will decide today whether to permit or block AT&T Inc.'s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Inc. The decision will be announced in open court at 4 p.m. ET.

* Comcast Corp. expects to formally submit an all-cash offer for 21st Century Fox Inc.'s assets June 13 if AT&T wins court approval for its proposed acquisition of Time Warner, sources told CNBC.com. Comcast in late May said it was in advanced stages of drafting an offer to purchase the assets that Fox had previously agreed to sell to Walt Disney Co. in an all-stock transaction.

* It is a big week for the media and communications sectors, as federal net neutrality protections ended June 11 and a decision on the AT&T/Time Warner deal is also expected. The order, adopted in a contentious party-line vote in December 2017, reclassified broadband as a Title I service under the Communications Act versus the Title II classification adopted in 2015 under the Democratic administration.

* Microsoft Corp. did not show off new hardware at its Xbox E3 2018 briefing but did announce numerous new titles, studio acquisitions and streaming initiatives. Xbox head Phil Spencer took the stage to announce that Microsoft is forming a brand new game development studio called The Initiative and is buying Playground Games.

Internet & OTT

* Facebook Inc. submitted responses to more than 2,000 questions for the company's CEO Mark Zuckerberg by members of U.S. Senate and House committees, The Wall Street Journal reports. The more than 450 pages of responses sought to address concerns raised by the U.S. lawmakers regarding users' privacy and user information. The social-networking company has faced increasing scrutiny of its data-sharing policies since March when it disclosed that millions of users' data had been improperly accessed by the now-defunct data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica LLC and other third-party developers.

* Facebook is introducing a new feature that will let users rate their shopping experience after viewing a Facebook ad, The Wall Street Journal reports. The social networking giant will warn businesses with a high number of negative feedback and can cut down the number of ads that businesses can deliver. The company can also ban the businesses if they are unable to address users' concerns.

Technology

* Uber Technologies Inc. unveiled Uber Lite, a lighter version of the rider app. The new app, which requires less than 5 MB to download, offers core functionality such as guided pickups, tap over type and maps when a uses wants to access them, Shirish Andhare, ?head of product for emerging markets at Uber, said in an official blog post.

* Bozoma Saint John is leaving Uber Technologies to become chief marketing officer at Endeavor, Recode reports, citing an internal memo by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. The former Apple Music executive joined Uber as chief brand officer in June 2017.

TV Networks

* Comcast Corp.'s NBC (US) is considering moving the "Megyn Kelly Today" show to a new time slot amid a decline in ratings, the New York Post reports, citing sources. Megyn Kelly's show could reportedly be moved an hour later, while Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb's popular hour of the "Today" show could take Kelly's slot, the sources said.

* T-Mobile US Inc.-owned multichannel video programming distributor Layer3 TV Inc. will offer access to Fox Sports' live coverage of the 2018 World Cup tournament in 4K, Multichannel News reports. Layer3 TV will make all 64 World Cup matches available in 4K, and will provide coverage on two 4K channels.

* TBS (US) and TNT (US) TV Everywhere apps are now available on the Xbox One console, Multichannel News reports, citing an official statement. TBS and TNT app will also launch on smart TVs from Vizio Inc. and Sony Corp. later this month.

The day ahead

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

In Asia, Hang Seng gained 0.13% to 31,103.06, while the Nikkei 225 rose 0.33% to 22,878.35.

In Europe, around midday, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.29% to 7,715.36, and the Euronext 100 shed 0.13% to 1,063.03.

On the macro front

The National Federation of Independent Business' Small Business Optimism Index, the Consumer Price Index and the Redbook are due out today.

Featured news

The Daily Dose Europe: Microsoft buys UK gaming developer; Germany's Pantaflix launches on Apple TV: Tech giant Microsoft acquired U.K.-based video game developer Playground Games, while German video-on-demand service PANTAFLIX Technologies GmbH has debuted its app on Apple TV.

The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: Baidu prepares for China listing; Reliance Industries looking to raise US$3B: Baidu Inc. is preparing for a Chinese depository receipts issuance application, while Reliance Industries Ltd. will seek shareholders' approval to raise 200 billion Indian rupees, or US$3 billion.

Data Dispatch: Sweden leads SVOD market in the Nordics as streaming giants ramp up originals: Sweden is set to lead the growing subscription video-on-demand market in the Nordics as global online video platforms ramp up investments in original content in the region.

M&A Replay: Microsoft buys GitHub; Rakuten acquires Curbside: S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a wrap-up of U.S. companies' media and communications deal announcements and completions from June 4 to June 8.

The week in OTT: Watch gets news-focused shows; ESPN+, Conference USA ink deal: ESPN Inc. struck a multiyear deal with Conference USA to ramp up college sports offerings on ESPN+, while Facebook unveiled several news-focused shows that it is funding for its Watch video platform.

Data Dispatch: Tencent's video, gaming business challenges Alibaba in cloud computing race: While Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. commands an estimated 60% of the fiercely contested cloud computing market in China, the e-commerce giant finds itself challenged by tech rival Tencent Holdings Ltd., largely due to the company's rapidly expanding gaming and video business.

M&A Replay: European deals: UK conditionally approves Fox/Sky deal, clears Comcast bid: The British government granted conditional approval to 21st Century Fox's proposed takeover of Sky PLC, while also saying it will not intervene in Comcast's rival bid for the British pay TV giant.

Featured research

Economics of Internet: State of Belgian online video: Subscription: Belgium is a market characterized by above-average levels of multichannel and broadband penetration compared to the rest of Western Europe.

The Best Of: Kagan research and analysis, editor's picks: Presenting the editor's top picks from Kagan's exclusive research and analysis for the week ended June 8.

Global Multichannel: Bosnia and Herzegovina: Pay TV market overview: With growth fueled by the demand for triple-play services and premium content, the Balkan market of Bosnia and Herzegovina has grown by 60% over the last five years, reaching pay TV penetration of 74% as of year-end 2017.

Technology: Cisco seeks to ease distributed access transition with cloud-native CCAP: On Tuesday, Cisco Systems Inc. revealed a cloud-native version of its flagship cBR-8 converged cable access platform, taking a big step forward in helping cable operators move to a completely cloud-based architecture for their DOCSIS broadband networks.

Multichannel Trends: Satellite ISPs gain combined 58,000 broadband subs in Q1: The top two U.S. satellite broadband providers ended the first quarter with more than 1.8 million high-speed data subscribers, despite lingering losses at ViaSat Inc.

Broadcast Investor: Kagan MediaTalk Podcast: TV's Summer Soccer Fever: FOX (US) and Telemundo (US)'s World Cup coverage highlights soccer's global brand.

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