* Netflix Inc. applied for a license to continue operating in Turkey, amid fears of censorship under the country's new online broadcasting rules, Reuters reports. As part of obtaining a new license, Netflix will reportedly set up a local unit in the country and pay 0.5% of revenue generated to the government.
* ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE is assessing a potential sale of its Red Arrow Studios International GmbH unit, Deadline reports, citing DWDL. The German media company, which tapped Morgan Stanley for the divestment of the business, has begun reaching out to potential investors and set a Sept. 13 deadline for bids.
* Iliad SA is in exclusive talks with private equity firm InfraVia Capital Partners to form a partnership for the deployment of fiber-to-the-home services outside densely populated areas in France. The telecom operator created a dedicated entity to acquire, manage and build its fiber networks in the said areas, including lines funded under co-financing agreements.
PAN-EUROPEAN
* Australia-based content distributor Beyond Distribution Pty. Ltd. named Anne-Marie Pardoe senior vice president of sales for German-speaking Europe, Scandinavia and Iberia, TBI Vision reports. Pardoe was most recently sales manager for the U.K. and Ireland at Walt Disney Co. unit Disney Media Distribution.
UK AND IRELAND
* TalkTalk Telecom Group PLC named Jonathan Kini as the new managing director of its TalkTalk Business unit, replacing Kristine Olsen-Chapman. Kini most recently was CEO of the customer business at electrical power generation company Drax Group PLC.
* Scottish broadcaster STV Group PLC is teaming up with pay TV sports broadcaster Premier Sports and its sister channel FreeSports, Digital TV Europe reports. The partnership will see STV Player hosting a live stream of the FreeSports channel, and STV will become the exclusive advertising sales agent for subscription services Premier Sports 1 and 2 over a three-year period.
* Apple Inc. will consider hiring contractors who were part of its "grading" program for voice assistant Siri when work resumes in the coming months, Dublin's The Irish Times reports. The iPhone maker suspended the program over data privacy concerns.
* Sky Ltd.'s sales arm Sky Vision will be merged into NBCUniversal Distribution, effective Oct. 1, TBI Vision reports. The change comes after U.S. cable giant Comcast Corp., which acquired Sky, decided to close down the broadcaster's sales arm.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
* ValueTrust Financial Advisors SE gave a fairness opinion on Sunrise Communications Group AG's offered financial consideration for UPC Schweiz. ValueTrust, which was tapped by Sunrise Communications, reviewed various aspects of UPC Schweiz's business, such as key performance indicators and financial projections.
* Deutsche Telekom AG unveiled details of its CarConnect app, which lets users link their vehicles to their homes and remote control lights, temperature and music from afar. From Oct. 1, CarConnect will be integrated with the Magenta SmartHome platform.
* German media group Madsack Medienagentur GmbH & Co. KG launched its news portal RND.de, which provides personalized news for users.
FRANCE
* Iliad posted first-half 2019 results with consolidated revenues of €2.6 billion, up 8.4% compared to the same period last year, and profits from recurring operations at €91 million, down 60.8% from €232 million in first-half of 2018.
* Eutelsat Communications SA announced its withdrawal from the C-Band Alliance, which is responsible for clearing and reallocating C-band spectrum to make part of it available for 5G development in the United States. Eutelsat said it wishes to participate in reallocation talks directly.
* France will impose new requirements on subscription video-on-demand platforms such as Netflix, Amazon.com Inc.'s Prime Video or Disney+ in order to finance local content creation, Les Échos reports. Minister of Culture Franck Riester said at a press event that non-complying platforms may be forced to cease broadcasting in France.
NETHERLANDS,
* Netflix unveiled its first Belgian original series titled "Into the Night," which features an international cast. The six-part series, written and created by Jason George, will premiere on the streaming giant in 2020.
* The works council of XS4ALL Internet BV threatened to go to court if KPN NV's plan to dismantle the XS4ALL brand is not dismissed, NOS reports. KPN announced at the beginning of this year that it would stop using the Telfort and XS4ALL brands.
* Belgian operator Telenet launched a new brand called Tadaam, which would offer broadband and TV services over the mobile network, Datanews reports. Tadaam reportedly includes unlimited TV and internet over Telenet's mobile network starting at €40 per month.
* The Arnhem court announced that the ruling in the appeal between Ziggo NV and film distributor Dutch Filmworks has been postponed to Nov. 5, due to the complexity of the case, NRC reports. Initially, the ruling in the long-running case was planned for Sept. 3.
* VEON Ltd. plans to invest in capex for its connectivity business segment and to invest in new growth areas, as part of the company's strategy and capital allocation framework. The Netherlands-based company also intends to return cash to shareholders through dividends or buybacks.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* Sony Corp. will reportedly shut down its Sony Mobile Communications AB office in Sweden as part of a plan to merge all the company's consumer electronics divisions, Lowyat reports. The company is expected to cut 60 positions on top of the 200 employees that were made redundant earlier. Some of the remaining employees will reportedly be offered positions at the brand's general European unit, Sony Nordic.
* Tele2 AB filed a Form 15F as it seeks to deregister from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in order to reduce reporting complexity and administrative costs. The company, which expects the deregistration to be effective within three months, will continue trading on Nasdaq Stockholm.
* Lycamobile Denmark ApS, the Danish business of British telecom company Lycamobile UK Ltd., has filed for bankruptcy, Finans reports, citing an announcement. Lycamobile has confirmed the bankruptcy, but did not comment further.
* The Norwegian government proposed a mandatory obligation to supply broadband to the whole country. The proposal, which is being sent out for consultation, would mean that the authorities can impose an obligation on one or more providers so that all households and businesses throughout the country are entitled to basic broadband services.
* Nordic Entertainment Group AB is releasing a new Swedish-Norwegian action thriller series, titled "The Machinery." The eight-part series will premiere on the Viaplay streaming service across the Nordics in 2020.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
* Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. denied accusations reported in The Wall Street Journal that it stole technology from a Portuguese inventor and instead accused him of "taking advantage of the current geopolitical situation." The latest controversy involves Portuguese inventor Rui Pedro Oliveira, who claims Huawei met him in 2014 and ripped off his design for a smartphone camera.
* Portuguese health channel Canal S+ will be available for Vodafone Portugal subscribers, Telecompaper reports. Canal S+ earlier launched on pay TV platforms NOS SGPS SA and Altice Portugal's MEO.
* Vivendi SA filed a complaint with Italy's regulator over Mediaset SpA's alleged misleading communication about a court ruling, Digital TV Europe reports. The French conglomerate said Mediaset's Aug. 31 announcement, stating that the Court of Milan ruled against Simon Fiduciaria SpA's attendance on the Italian company's shareholder meeting, is misleading.
* German publisher BurdaForward has expanded into Italy, with plans to launch a new office in Bari in collaboration with strategic partner Fincons Group. About 20 employees will oversee product and software developments for BurdaForward.
EASTERN EUROPE
* Polish direct-to-home operator nc+ has been officially renamed as Platforma Canal+, Broadband TV News reports, citing Presserwis. Canal Plus SA-backed ITI Neovision owns nc+.
* Vodafone Group PLC executives Elisabetta Caldera and Carmen Maria Velthuis are joining Vodafone Romania SA's board following the completion of the U.K.-based company's acquisition of UPC, Telecompaper reports, citing Ziarul Financiar. The executives will have a four-year term on Vodafone Romania's board.
* Russian operator Mobile TeleSystems PJSC mulls restructuring its subsidiary MGTS, Telecompaper reports, citing Kommersant.
* The Romanian government approved Deutsche Telekom's plan to sell its about 54% stake in Telekom Romania Communications SA to Orange, Romania Insider reports, citing information acquired by Economica.net from sources. The decision came after Deutsche Telekom board member Srini Gopalan, who is in charge of the German company's European business, discussed the transaction with Alexandru Petrescu, Romania's communications minister.
FEATURED NEWS
M&A Replay: Sony closes Olympus stake sale; China's HUYA to buy stake in MTG's esports unit: Sony completed the sale of its entire 5.03% stake in Olympus Corp. back to the medical equipment maker, while livestreaming platform HUYA struck a deal to buy a stake in Modern Times Group's esports business.
Data Dispatch: S&P 500 earnings for the week of Sept. 2: For the second quarter, 496 S&P 500 companies have posted earnings as of Aug. 30. Of those, 74% reported earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence's analyst polling.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Wireless Investor: US regulatory bumps in the road on the way to full performance 5G: Political strategies and economic policy waffling in the U.S. are giving pause to the telecom and technology companies trying to roll out 5G. The fate of Huawei and the future of the 5G technology supply chain are caught up in this web.
Consumer Insights: Majority of US internet households use SVOD and AVOD: Two-thirds of internet households (67%) use both subscription video on-demand and free, ad-supported, video on-demand services, according to data from Kagan's U.S. Spring 2019 Consumer Insights survey.
Anne Freier, Sylvia Edwards Davis, Marieke Pijnappels and Esben Svendsen contributed to this report.
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