trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/vquuleahvxjomynbxw5ycw2 content esgSubNav
In This List

Orange eyes video unit, Altice Studios merger; Mediapro to set up French channel

Blog

Broadcast deal market recap 2021

Blog

Price wars in India: Disney+ Hotstar vs. Amazon Prime Video vs. Netflix

Blog

Volume of Investment Research Reports on Inflation Increased in Q4 2021

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future


Orange eyes video unit, Altice Studios merger; Mediapro to set up French channel

TOP NEWS

* Orange SA is eyeing a merger of its unit Orange Cinema Series with Altice Studio, the video services arm of Altice NV's SFR Group SA, in a bid to challenge streaming services such as Netflix Inc., Reuters reports, citing Le Figaro. The potential deal would enable Orange to access U.S. content secured by Altice Studio.

* Mediapro is set to launch a dedicated channel for the La Ligue 1 soccer games in France, after the Spanish broadcaster bagged the TV rights to the tournament, Advanced Television reports. Mediapro Manager Jaume Roures said that the company has no intentions to resell the broadcasting rights of the soccer competition, Reuters reports.

PAN-EUROPEAN

* Various consumer groups in Europe are launching class-action suits against Facebook Inc. following the data privacy scandal involving Cambridge Analytica LLC, according to reports from Telecompaper and The Local. Belgium's Test-Achats/Test-Aankoop, Spain's OCU and sister organizations in Italy and Portugal seek damages not just for affected users, but for all Facebook users in their territories. At least €200 per user will be sought as damages.

UK AND IRELAND

* The British Broadcasting Corp. announced that it is launching live broadcast trials of the FIFA World Cup in Ultra HD on BBC iPlayer. The British company will also provide broadcasts in virtual reality.

* Alphabet Inc. unit Google Inc. is said to be pursuing additional office space in the Dublin Docklands, with the proposed purchase of the Treasury Building for more than €120 million and the under-construction Sharp Building at Hogan Place, Dublin's Irish Independent reports.

* CityFibre Infrastructure Holdings PLC said it has been tapped by the West Sussex County Council to provide gigabit broadband services to nine urban communities under the council's jurisdiction. The 30-year project worth up to £52 million will be funded under the British government's stimulus program for the Local Full Fiber Networks initiative.

* The Irish Supreme Court will continue hearing the case filed against Apple Inc.'s supposed €850 million data center in Athenry despite the tech giant's decision to scrap the project, Dublin's The Irish Times reports. The appeal filed by two local residents against the project raises important legal issues, according to the report.

* Twofour Group Ltd. announced that it has promoted Factual and Fact Ent Development Head Edward Phillips as development head, wherein he will lead unscripted developments. Meanwhile, Director of Development Jonny Coller will become group director of development.

* Independent News & Media PLC has sued its former chairman Leslie Buckley over his involvement in an alleged data breach that entailed the removal of the company's IT backup tapes from its premises to a site abroad, INM-owned Irish Independent reports. Buckley said he will "robustly defend himself" against the legal action, The Irish Times reports.

GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA

* Sky PLC unit Sky Deutschland GmbH said it will air three World Cup test matches on Sky Sport News HD and online before the 2018 World Cup tournament kicks off on June 14 in Russia. The matches will be aired live and for free on Sky Sport News HD, while a livestream of the games will be available on skysport.de and the Sky Sport app.

FRANCE

* Altice France SA will transform SFR Sport into a sport-themed subscription video-on-demand service to be known as RMC Sport, beginning July 3, Advanced Television reports. The new service will be composed of five premium channels as well as a live online hub for all sport content.

* Orange Digital Ventures said it has joined forces with Google to fund startups in the fields of new connectivities, internet of things, cybersecurity, cloud, artificial intelligence and financial technology. The partnership will explore opportunities for co-investments in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

* A new offer by Iliad's Free has come under fire for hiding a price increase in fixed Internet fees, reports Le Figaro. The 12-month subscription offer marks a change in the Iliad unit's strategy, as it has never offered promotions available to all.

NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG

* Dutch provider KPN NV announced that it will stop its online TV service KPN Play, effective July 2, following the conclusion that there was insufficient market demand for the application. The operator launched the service in 2015.

* Deutsche Telekom AG unit T-Mobile Netherlands said it is disappointed by the decision from the European Commission to approve the merger between Liberty Global PLC and Ziggo NV, reports Telecompaper. According to T-Mobile, the merger has received the green light based on the exact same conditions as the first approval in 2014 and added that it is not ruling out any further legal steps against the merger.

NORDIC COUNTRIES

* Nokia Corp. completed the sale of its digital health business, Withings, to the latter's co-founder and former chairman, Éric Carreel. The Finnish company planned the sale after conducting a review of strategic options for the unit, according to a news release.

* Nokia also announced that it appointed Maria Varsellona president of Nokia Technologies, replacing Gregory Lee. Varsellona is chief legal officer and will continue to report to Nokia's president and CEO Rajeev Suri.

* Ericsson has secured a €250 million credit facility from the European Investment Bank, the proceeds of which will be used for the tech giant's 5G-related research and development activities. The research efforts will be done mainly in Sweden, with portions in Ireland, Poland, Spain and other EU countries, according to the EIB.

* Elisa Corp. will begin developing a 5G-ready network for Jyväskylä, Finland in June, according to a news release. The network is anticipated to be ready by end of August.

* Doro AB said it has acquired the U.K.-based telecare company Welbeing. The purchase will result in an initial payment of 130 million Swedish kronor to Welbeing's owners.

SOUTHERN EUROPE

* The Portuguese-language version of European cinema-themed channel Eurochannel has been added to the pay TV offer of Vodafone Group PLC unit Vodafone Portugal, Digital TV Europe reports.

* Portuguese public broadcaster RTP and NOS SGPS SA agreed to broadcast the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Russia in 4K resolution via a dedicated channel dubbed RTP 4, according to Advanced Television.

EASTERN EUROPE

* Milan Vasina is stepping down as CEO of Deutsche Telekom units Slovak Telekom and T-Mobile Czech Republic as, effective Oct. 1, Telecompaper reports. Jose Perdomo Lorenzo, currently CEO of Tigo Paraguay, will take over Vasina's post at the two telcos.

* Romania's Digi Communications NV completed the purchase of Hungarian alternative operator Invitel for €135.4 million, Broadband TV News reports, citing ZF. Under the deal, Invited will provide network and IT services worth 2.8 billion Hungarian forints to Digi per year over a decade.

* Turkish telco Turkcell is planning to invest at least another $150 million in its Lifecell LLC unit, with the money to be spent on expanding the Ukrainian mobile operator's 4G/LTE network, Telecompaper reports, citing BizLigaNet.

* Pavel Durov, CEO of Russian-founded messaging service Telegram Messenger LLP, said that the app's updates have been prevented by Apple globally after the Russian government banned the service, Reuters reports.

FEATURED NEWS

Hires and Fires Europe: Telekom Austria appoints supervisory board chair; Netia CEO quits: S&P Global Market Intelligence presents a biweekly rundown of executive and board changes in the European media and communications industries.

FEATURED RESEARCH

Broadcast Investor: Broadcast station ad projections update: political, digital lead growth: Kagan projects U.S. TV station ad revenues to grow 8.0% in 2018 boosted by political, while our radio forecast is up 1.1% mostly on digital and off-air revenue growth.

Daniela Latini, Amanda Kelly, Charlotte van Hek and Gerard O'Dwyer contributed to this report.

The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription. Links are current as of publication time, and we are not responsible if those links are unavailable later.