* Comcast Corp. added sports streaming service DAZN to its Xfinity Flex platform, as part of a distribution deal, according to a statement. The
* Brazilian operator Oi SA is in talks with Spain's Telefónica SA and Italy's Telecom Italia SpA for the sale of its mobile network, in an effort to avoid insolvency, Reuters reports, citing five sources. Oi expects to raise more than 10 billion Brazilian reais from the potential sale, two of the sources said.
* U.S.-headquartered security company UpGuard Inc. said Russian authorities are intercepting messages of Mobile TeleSystems PJSC's subscribers through a System for Operative Investigative Activities. Other details, such as emails, user IDs, IP addresses and phone numbers can also be accessed on the hardware, also known as SORM.
* Roku Inc. is releasing the U.K.'s cheapest ultra-high-definition streaming stick as its battle with Amazon.com Inc. for control of the country's smart TVs heats up. The Roku Premiere is a £40 device that plugs into an internet-connected television to let users stream on-demand and live video in 4K.
PAN-EUROPEAN
* Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.'s Galaxy Fold sold out on the day it was released in the U.K., Germany, France and Singapore, Korea JoongAng Daily reports. This was the second batch of countries that started selling the foldable device after Korea, where two batches of the phones have already sold out since their Sept. 6 launch.
* French IT company Atos SE unveiled its global computing test lab in Angers, France and an artificial intelligence lab in Munich, Germany, according to separate announcements.
UK AND IRELAND
* British Telecom and its rival broadband providers are in secret discussions with the government about a proposal to switch off copper broadband services across Britain by 2027, Sky News reports, citing sources. Under the plans, infrastructure operators would reportedly be required to commit to full-fiber rollouts on a region-by-region basis.
* Ofcom said it does not see a material change in the British Broadcasting Corp.'s commercial activities, in relation to its involvement in upcoming U.K. streaming platform BritBox. According to the British regulator, potential changes that will be made by BBC in available programming on commercial services "will not create an unfair advantage or appreciably distort the market."
* BBC plans to move more staff and services to other parts of the U.K., while reducing its presence in London, The Guardian reports. BBC Director General Tony Hall said he wants the public broadcaster's organization to be "fully embedded and distributed" around Britain.
* In other BBC news, the broadcaster will continue airing highlights, radio commentary and online clips from the Ryder Cup golf tournament until 2022, as part of an extended deal with the European Tour.
* Users of BBC's iPlayer radio app complained about the broadcaster's decision to turn off the app and replace it with the BBC Sounds app, London's The Guardian reports. The BBC Sounds app works only on operating systems such as Apple Inc.'s iOS 11, Android 5, Amazon OS 5 or newer, according to the report.
* TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC unveiled new commitments to ensure fairer pricing for new and existing broadband customers. These include better support and tariffs for "vulnerable" subscribers, as well as fair price increases.
* Australia-founded technology company Nitro Software Pty. Ltd. will seek to double its headcount at its Dublin office by creating 70 new positions over the next two years, Dublin's The Irish Times reports.
* The British government failed to reduce the gap between urban and rural areas in terms of broadband and mobile data access, despite improvements in coverage, according to a parliamentary report. The House of Commons' Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said the lack or absence of connectivity continues to frustrate and marginalize rural communities and businesses.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
* German Federal Minister of Finance Olaf Scholz said the government would reject the introduction of parallel currencies in the country, such as Facebook Inc.'s Libra, Reuters reports. Germany intends to work with its international allies to prevent the use of stablecoins, a certain form of cryptocurrency backed by assets, as an alternative to official currencies, the report said, citing a government document.
* Rocket Internet SE has no plans to delist from the stock market, Reuters reports. Founder Oliver Samwer said the company may be able to buy back additional shares over the next five years.
* Rocket Internet announced consolidated profits of €548 million for the first half of 2019. The company reported consolidated revenues of €32 million for the same period.
* Stefan Wolf, CEO of Beitragsservice, owned by German public broadcasters ARD, ZDF (DE) and Deutschlandradio, left the company due to personal reasons, Medienkorrespondenz reports.
FRANCE
* Former Canal Plus SA and Havas SA executives, Lorenzo Benedetti and Benoit Bunaigre, respectively, launched an international podcast production studio called Paradiso, TBI Vision reports. The studio is intended to create and produce premium scripted and documentary content for international platforms such as Spotify Technology SA, Audible GmbH and Sybel.
* French investment firm Eurazeo SE acquired cloud-based digital supply network Elemica Inc. for an undisclosed sum. The seller is technology investor Thoma Bravo LLC.
* Altice France SA's SFR, Essonne Numérique and the Department of Essonne signed a fiber deployment agreement, which will cover more than 182,000 homes and business professionals in 26 municipalities.
* Yannick Carriou is assuming the role of chairman and CEO of Médiamétrie SA in January 2020. He will replace Bruno Chetaille, whose term ends in March 2020.
* Facebook launched three new advertising tools. These include the introduction of polls in ads, the expansion of augmented reality in ads and the extension of playable advertising formats to all advertisers.
NETHERLANDS,
* XS4ALL Internet BV said it will keep plans to merge into KPN NV's main brand, which were first presented in January.
* Belgian police carried out a search on behalf of the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority of current Proximus CEO Dominique Leroy, Algemeen Dagblad reports. The watchdog wants to know why Leroy, who will become KPN's CEO in December, sold more than €285,000 of Proximus shares.
* Blue Field Agency, which focuses on integrated marketing and media strategies, acquired Amsterdam-based marketing agencies Immense, Link Design, Totta Research and Totta data lab, Emerce reports.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* Fingerprint Cards AB is collaborating with partner MeReal Biometrics to help the company carry out their biometric cards order. The MeReal card will feature a Fingerprint Cards sensor from its FPC1300 series.
* Zwipe AS reached an exclusive partnership and distribution deal with IDEMIA France SAS. The agreement will result in the Norwegian and French companies co-investing in the development of a disruptive biometric payment card platform.
* Link Mobility Group ASA named Guillaume Van Gaver CEO, effective Sept. 23. Van Gaver will replace interim CEO Thomas Berge.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
* Turkish banks Türkiye Garanti Bankası AŞ, Türkiye İş Bankası AŞ and Akbank TAŞ tapped Morgan Stanley for the sale of Levent Yapilandirma Yonetimi AŞ, a special purpose vehicle that holds a stake of about 55% in Türk Telekomünikasyon AŞ, Reuters reports.
* Euskaltel SA subsidiary RACCtel+ proposed to push through with the second phase of its service rollout in the Catalonia region. The proposal targets to reach about 2.4 million households in the Spanish region and provide convergent packages with symmetrical internet connections starting at 500 Mb.
* Mediaset SpA struck an agreement with Luxembourg-registered holding company Peninsula Holding SARL to limit the potential outlays for merger of Mediaset and Mediaset España Comunicación SA into MFE - MEDIAFOREUROPE NV. Peninsula committed to purchase up to a maximum of 355 million MFE shares, which came from those withdrawn by Mediaset shareholders.
EASTERN EUROPE
* Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service imposed a fine of about 100,000 Russian rubles on Alphabet Inc. unit Google LLC for circulating adverts for financial services by Ali Trade, Reuters reports. Ali Trade did not have the required license, the report said.
* Russia's State Radio Frequency Commission intends to conduct a 5G auction for frequencies in the 25.25-27.5 GHz bands during the first quarter of 2020, Telecompaper reports, citing sources mentioned by Izvestia. The government agency will make a decision in October.
* Mobile TeleSystems teamed up with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., NVision Group ZAO and Moscow municipality's IT department to test smart city services on the pilot 5G network in Moscow, Telecompaper reports.
FEATURED NEWS
Hires and Fires Europe: CityFibre names nonexecutive chairman; Proximus appoints interim CEO: U.K. fiber network operator CityFibre appointed Steve Holliday its nonexecutive chairman, while Belgian telecom operator Proximus named Sandrine Dufour interim CEO following Dominique Leroy's resignation.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Technology: 5G survey: Spectrum, technology roadmap highlights: This article, the first in a series, provides a snapshot of currently deployed 5G network technologies, as well as insight into the various spectra and network evolution roadmaps that mobile operators will utilize to deliver 5G in the coming years.
Consumer Insights: Attracting and keeping new SVOD subscribers is easier said than done: Just 20% of consumers are willing to pay for a new SVOD service to watch a show they want. These viewers may represent low-hanging fruit, but many could end up only temporarily subscribing.
Anne Freier, Amanda Kelly, Charlotte van Hek and Gerard O'Dwyer contributed to this report.
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