TOP NEWS

Asexpected, agreed to acquireLondon-based Odeon & UCI Cinemas Group from investment firm Terra FirmaCapital Partners Ltd. for about £921 million. The deal comprises £500 millionof equity, 75% of which will be in cash and 25% in shares; £407 million of netdebt as of March 31; and £14 million of employee incentive costs, the companysaid in a newsrelease.

* unit WarnerBros. Home Entertainment Inc. reached a settlement with the U.S. Federal TradeCommission over claims that it failed to provide adequate disclosure aboutusing online influencers to promote video game "Middle Earth: Shadow ofMordor." According to an official news release, the FTC settlement bars Warner Bros. fromavoiding such disclosures and misrepresenting that "sponsored content,including gameplay videos, are the objective, independent opinions of videogame enthusiasts or influencers."

*Online auctioneer eBayInc. agreed to buy SalesPredict, an Israel-based company thatemploys advanced analytics to predict customer buying behavior and salesconversion, for an undisclosed sum. The deal is expected to help bolster eBay'sartificial intelligence, machine learning and data science efforts to supportits structured dataefforts, according to a company news release.

Internet & OTT

*Facebook Inc. isfacing a $1 billion lawsuit over claims that it allowed Palestinian militantHamas group to use its social networking website to plan attacks that resultedin the deaths of four Americans. The suit was filed July 10 in the U.S. DistrictCourt for the Southern District of New York, Bloomberg News reports.

*CBS Corp.'s CBS Newshas teamed up withTwitter Inc. to livestream the Democratic and Republican National Conventions on the micro-bloggingservice. The 24-hour digital streaming news service CBSN will cover theconvention, which will be streamed live on Twitter every day, according to anofficial newsrelease.

TV Networks

*Altice USA struck a deal to license ComcastCorp. unit NBCUniversal Media LLC's multiplatform covering the SummerOlympics, Multichannel News reports,citing an official statement. The coverage represents about 6,755 hours ofprogramming, live and on-demand, according to the report.

*Comcast's USA(US) delayed the premiere of new television series"Shooter" as a result of the police shooting in Dallas, Multichannel News reports.The series, which was expected to debut July 19, will now premiere on July 26.

Film & TV Programming

*Showtime (US)inked an output deal to secure rights to movies released by Steven Spielberg'sAmblin Entertainment, DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media through 2021, Variety reports.The deal, which is an extension of the network's previous agreement withDreamWorks Pictures, will see the movies being aired on Showtime, The MovieChannel, Flix and Showtime multiplex channels and streaming services aftertheir theatrical runs. 

Technology

*Verizon CommunicationsInc. became the first U.S. carrier to its 5G radio specification, andentered pre-commercial 5G testing. The 5G testing is being carried out in multiplelocations in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Texas, according to a companynews release.

*Alphabet Inc. unitGoogle Inc. informedcustomers about 4,000 state-sponsored cyberattacks per month, Reuters reports,citing a senior company executive. Google Senior Vice President and Alphabetboard member Diane Greene disclosed the numbers at a tech conference in Aspen,Colo.

The day ahead

Earlymorning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. market.

InAsia, the Hang Seng rose 1.65% to 21,224.74, while the Nikkei 225 was up 2.46%to 16,095.65. In Europe, as of midday, the FTSE 100 was down 0.05% to 6,679.45,and the Euronext 100 rose 1.31% to 862.09.

On the macro front

NFIBSmall Business Optimism Index, Redbook index and the wholesale trade report aredue out today.

Featured news

The Daily DoseAsia-Pacific: PLDT, Globe deal may draw fine; HBO in Chineseco-production: Philippine telcos PLDT Co. and Globe Telecom could face a heavy penalty regarding itsjoint acquisition of San Miguel's telecom unit, while HBO Asia is partneringwith China Movie Channel to co-produce martial arts films for TV.

The Daily DoseEurope: Virgin Media buys UTV Ireland; Cellnex acquires Bouyguestowers: LibertyGlobal plc's VirginMedia Inc. struck a deal with ITV to acquire UTV Ireland, whileCellnex Telecom is acquiring 230 towers from Bouygues Telecom for €80 million.

LINE offeringa sign of messaging apps' arrival, analysts say: Thebillion-dollar-plus IPO of Japan-based LINECorp. catapults messaging apps into the spotlight and could signala turnaround for a slumping IPO market, analysts and industry observers said.

The week inOTT: AT&T launches programming slot for DIRECTV, U-verse subs; Netflixworking on new drama series: AT&T Inc. launched a programming slot on AUDIENCENetwork for its DIRECTV and U-verse TV subscribers, while Netflix Inc. is working on new drama series, called"Ozark."

M&AReplay: US deals through July 8: S&P Global Market Intelligenceprovides a wrap-up of media and communications deal announcements andcompletions from July 4 to July 8.

M&AReplay: European deals through July 10: Alphabet, Vodafone,Hutchison: S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a wrap-up ofEuropean media and communications deal announcements, completions and updatesfrom July 4 to July 10.

Featured research

Economics of Internet: Internet radio listenership growing assubscription model gains prominence: Internet music and radioservices continue to see increases in listenership as streaming services marketand promote their platforms to users migrating away from physical and downloadservices.

Best of SNL:SNL Kagan research and analysis, editor's picks: Presenting theeditor's top picks from SNL Kagan's exclusive research and analysis for theweek ended July 8.

GlobalMultichannel: Global connected device report: Indonesia: As the mostpopulous country in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is the region's largest market interms of consumer connected device ownership.