* A European court allowed a number of technology companies to intervene in Google LLC's appeal against a €4.34 billion fine imposed by the European Commission, Reuters reports, citing a court document. The companies permitted to intervene in the Alphabet Inc. unit's appeal include Gigaset Communications GmbH, HMD Global Oy and Opera Software. The court proceedings are anticipated to start in 2020.
* Connect Bidco Ltd.'s proposed $3.4 billion acquisition of Inmarsat PLC is anticipated to secure approval from the U.K. government following an initial finding from the country's Competition and Markets Authority that determined the deal should not result in "a substantial lessening of competition." In a statement with the report's publication, U.K. Culture Secretary Nicky Morgan said she will accept statutory undertakings set out by the two companies in relation to the deal.
* The U.K. will be forced to pick a side and decide whether to ban telecom equipment maker Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. as it looks to strengthen economic ties with the U.S. and China post-Brexit, trade experts said.
* Online platforms such as Facebook Inc. have a responsibility to combat the spread of misinformation, U.K. Member of Parliament Damian Collins said at an event on Brexit and the media. Collins, who heads the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport committee, said "social media isn't very good at transparency." Highly partisan companies can flood social media channels and it is not always clear who is behind certain content, the MP added.
PAN-EUROPEAN
* Members of the European Parliament adopted a resolution to take action against fake news and foreign electoral interference. The MEPs called on the EU to create a legal framework to counter threats, as well as internet and social media companies to cooperate on efforts to counter disinformation without limiting freedom of expression.
* The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development released a proposed amendment to cross-border tax rules, that may provide governments the authority to impose taxes on companies, including technology giants, Fox Business reports. Under the proposal, countries could implement taxes on digital companies based on sales and not based on their physical presence.
UK AND IRELAND
* John Skipper, executive chairman of sports streaming platform DAZN, stated that the U.K. is a "logical DAZN market," Advanced Television reports. Skipper, however, underscored that DAZN would need to acquire broadcasting rights for Premier League before launching the platform in the U.K.
* IQE PLC is acquiring the stakes held by its partners in its loss-making Singaporean joint venture CSDC Pte. Ltd. for a nominal fee. The British chipmaker, through its unit MBE Technology Pte. Ltd., owns 51% of CSDC. It will buy out the shareholdings of Taiwan's WIN Semiconductors Corp., Nanyang Technological University and individuals connected to Nanyang University, which own stakes of 25%, 18% and 6%, respectively.
* Mirriad Advertising PLC announced a two-year exclusive agreement with Tencent Holdings Ltd. to allow advertisers in China to integrate branded content directly into entertainment programming without interrupting the viewer experience. The companies are working to develop a new technology that integrates Mirriad's in-video technology with Tencent's video platforms.
* ITV PLC, Channel 4 (UK) and Sky Ltd. entered into a three-year agreement for a £10 million airtime investment in promoting healthy eating habits and exercise among children. The British broadcasters will relaunch ITV's previously-run Eat Them To Defeat Them campaign in February 2020.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
* Vivendi SA and Banijay Group SAS are looking to acquire the U.S. production business of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE's Red Arrow Studios International GmbH, Reuters reports, citing sources. Red Arrow's U.S. operations account for about $350 million of the $600 million total annual revenues.
* Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. recommended for Sunrise Communications Group AG's shareholders to vote against the rights issuance that would finance the Swiss operator's UPC Schweiz acquisition, Reuters reports.
* Vodafone Deutschland Gmbh plans to save up to €135 million after its takeover of internet company Unitymedia GmbH, reports Handelsblatt. The Vodafone Group PLC unit's move includes potentially laying off about 2,700 employees.
* German public broadcaster ARD officially launched its new news office in Hamburg. The expansion cost about €15.7 million and staff members will move in November.
FRANCE
* Orange SA and Altice Europe indicated willingness to add subscription video-on-demand platform Salto to their offers, though no deals have yet been signed, Digital TV Europe reports. Groupe M6 CEO Nicolas de Tavernost previously indicated that Salto would initially only be available as an over-the-top TV service.
* Eutelsat Communications SA announced the launch of its new Eutelsat 5 West B satellite, which will service the broadcast of more than 300 TV channels and host the GEO-3 payload. The broadcasts fall under a 15-year agreement with the European GNSS Agency valued at about €102 million.
* Lagardère SCA sought damages of €84 million from activist fund Amber Capital SAS concerning cases of alleged abuse of minority shareholder powers and smear campaigns. The claim was filed before the Paris court of appeals.
NETHERLANDS,
* Dutch technology company CM.com is postponing its planned IPO after deciding to extend the bidding period, reports RTLZ. Breda-based CM.com, which was aiming for a price of between €15 and €19 per share, still wants to continue discussions with investors in the hope of making them more enthusiastic about the IPO.
* VodafoneZiggo will launch an offer to provide internet with a download speed of up to 1 gigabit per second to its customers in Utrecht-city, Vleuten, De Meern and Nieuwegein. Hilversum will follow at the end of November and the national rollout will continue in 2020 in cities and regions, such as Amsterdam, Apeldoorn, Arnhem, The Hague, Eindhoven, Groningen, Nijmegen, Rotterdam, Tilburg and Wageningen.
* Sjors Fröhlich will leave his position as editor-in-chief of Dutch broadcaster BNR Nieuwsradio after being appointed as mayor of the new municipality of Vijfheerenlanden in Utrecht, reports Nu.nl.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* Swedish cloud communications provider Sinch AB said it agreed to acquire Brazilian messaging service provider TWW do Brasil for an enterprise value of about 180.8 million Brazilian reals, corresponding to 439 million Swedish kronor.
* Norwegian online quiz company Kahoot! AS started trading on the Oslo stock exchange marketplace Merkur Market, E24 reports. The company was valued at about 5.1 billion Norwegian kroner on the first day of trading.
* Nokia Corp. said it has introduced additions to its fixed wireless access portfolio. The new FastMile 5G Gateway adds 5G frequency bands, and the FastMile 4G Gateway will simplify the process of FWA services rollouts in areas with 4G networks.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
* Italian Economy Minister Roberto Gualtieri confirmed plans to impose a 3% web tax beginning in 2020 to companies with annual revenues of at least €750 million and digital services exceeding €5.5 million, IBC reports. The levies are anticipated to bring in revenues of about €600 million from 2020.
* Enel SpA unit Enel Open Fiber SPA and state lender Cassa depositi e prestiti SpA entered an agreement with Seregno town council for a €5 million investment to bring fiber-to-the-home services to about 15,000 homes, Telecompaper reports. The project is anticipated to be completed in 18 months.
EASTERN EUROPE
* Mobile TeleSystems PJSC has "no concrete agreements" yet for the potential sale of its Ukrainian unit. Azerbaijan's Bakcell LLC is still awaiting approval from the Ukrainian authorities to push through with the transaction to buy MTS' unit, according to Reuters, citing an Interfax report.
* Rostelecom PJSC Chairman of the Board Sergey Oseyevskiy is looking to become the chairman of the management council at Tele2 Russia, upon the completion of Rostelecom's stake acquisition in the Tele2 AB unit, Telecompaper reports, citing Tass.
* Estonian cable operator Elisa Eesti AS teamed up with AS Levira for the broadcast of a new generation of high-definition picture, Broadband TV News reports. The most popular channels in Estonia were brought in HD under the first phase of the transition.
* Cable operator Akado Telecom completed the upgrade of its digital TV platform by deploying Russian company Teletor's TeleTAG solution, Broadband TV News reports.
FEATURED NEWS
Apple's streaming service; Netflix's content push; Dutch test run for Disney+: Apple unveiled its subscription streaming service Apple TV+; Netflix unveiled plans to increase investments in Italian and British content; and Disney is testing its streaming service Disney+ ahead of its full launch.
Hires and Fires Europe: Euskaltel executive chairman stepping down; Talpa Media founder to exit ITV: Alberto García Erauzkin is stepping down as executive chairman of Spanish regional operator Euskaltel, while Dutch tycoon and Talpa Media founder John de Mol will leave British broadcaster ITV in line with a restructuring at its ITV Studios unit.
Q&A: Bookmaker William Hill's US CEO likes the odds for in-arena sports betting in DC: Joe Asher discusses the U.K. company's deal with Monumental Sports & Entertainment LLC to open up a sports betting operation within the Capital One Arena in the nation's capitol and the burgeoning, legalized market for gambling in the U.S.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Wireless Investor: Spain: Operators look to 5G to boost revenue in highly competitive market: Spain's 4G subs grew at a CAGR of 50% from 2014 to 2018, making up 60% of the country's subscription base as of year-end 2018.
RECENT EARNINGS
SAP preliminary Q3 profit climbs 14.7% YOY; CEO to step down: The German software giant named Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein as co-CEOs after Bill McDermott decided not to renew his contract as CEO, effective immediately.
Anne Freier, Sylvia Edwards Davis, Charlotte van Hek and Esben Svendsen contributed to this report.
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