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Meredith has 'capacity' for more deals; SoftBank to seek discount on Uber stake

Top News

* Meredith Corp. CEO Stephen Lacy said the company has the "capacity for additional acquisitions, especially on the broadcast side." Lacy made the comments while announcing the company's deal to buy Time Inc. in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.8 billion, Multichannel News reports.

* Companies including Twitter Inc., IAC/InterActiveCorp's Vimeo Inc. and Reddit urged the FCC to vote against the roll back of the net neutrality rules. In a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, the companies argued that net neutrality rules "encourage entrepreneurship, drive innovation, make our lives easier, and to support a healthy economy."

* A SoftBank Group Corp.-led group of investors is likely to offer to buy a large stake in Uber Technologies Inc. at a 30% discount to its nearly $69 billion valuation in the latest funding round, Bloomberg News reports, citing people familiar with the deal. SoftBank and partners are offering to spend more than $6 billion for at least a 14% stake that would value the ride-hailing company at about $48 billion.

* Senate leaders are planning to hold a floor vote on a tax reform bill as early as Dec. 30, while the Federal Communications Commission is moving forward on updating its net neutrality regulations. The tax reform bill would slash the corporate tax rate to 20% from the existing 35% rate starting in 2019, and it would implement a repatriation rate of 10% for overseas cash and cash equivalents, as well as a 5% rate for noncash.

* A recent visit to Facebook Inc.'s campus in Menlo Park, Calif., illustrated the company's continued focus on immersive video, including augmented reality and virtual reality. Immersive video including augmented reality and virtual reality are the hot products under development at Facebook at present, blogger Bishop Cheen wrote in his post.

Technology

* S&P Global Market Intelligence sat down with Microsoft Corp. Global Business Strategist for Blockchain & Identity Yorke Rhodes III on Nov. 17 at the Blockchain for Social Impact Conference in New York.

* Illinois and the city of Chicago sued Uber over claims of consumer fraud, deceptive business practices, and violations of city code over its failure to disclose a data breach, The Wall Street Journal reports. The suit comes as several U.S. senators asked Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi to answer 11 questions regarding the way the ride-hailing service handled the incident.

* Alphabet Inc.'s self-driving car unit Waymo is seeking a delay of a trade secrets trial against Uber after new evidence was shared by the U.S. Department of Justice with the judge overseeing the case, Reuters reports. With the trial scheduled for Dec. 4, Waymo said in a court filing that it needed more time to go through the new information.

Regulation & Policy

* The Federal Communications Commission named Barbara Esbin deputy chief of the agency's Consumer And Governmental Affairs Bureau. In this role, Esbin will oversee the bureau's Office of Native Affairs and Policy and its Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, the agency said.

Internet & OTT

* Amazon.com Inc. will premiere original drama series "The Last Post" on Dec. 22, Multichannel News reports, citing a company statement. The series, which revolves around the lives of a unit of Royal Military Police officers and their families during the social and political unrest of the mid '60s, will feature six episodes.

* As local content and pricing are key factors for Southeast Asian consumers when selecting a video streaming service, regional players continue to have an edge over global players, analysts have said. Since Netflix Inc. and Amazon Prime Video entered the Southeast Asian market in 2016, when they rolled out in more than 100 countries, consumer choice for online video platforms increased significantly.

TV Networks

* Viacom Inc.'s MTV (US) placed an order for a new installment of the "Jersey Shore" series, Deadline.com reports. Set to premiere in 2018, "Jersey Shore Family Vacation" will feature most of the original cast from the hit series.

* CBS (US) is canceling drama series "Wisdom of the Crowd" amid sexual harassment allegations against series star Jeremy Piven, Broadcasting & Cable reports, citing a source with knowledge of the matter. The CBS Corp.-owned network will broadcast unaired episodes but will not order new episodes.

* Meanwhile, CBS placed full-season orders for sophomore comedies "Man With a Plan" and "Superior Donuts," Broadcasting & Cable reports. Both series are produced by CBS Television Studios.

* 21st Century Fox Inc.'s FOX (US) green-lighted new competition series "The Four: Battle For Stardom" for six episodes, Broadcasting & Cable reports. The singing series, which will premiere Jan. 4, 2018, will be hosted by pop star Fergie.

The day ahead

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

In Asia, the Hang Seng slid 0.02% to 29680.85. The Nikkei 225 lost 0.04% to 22,486.24. In Europe as of midday, the FTSE 100 added 0.62% to 7,429.76, and the Euronext 100 was up 0.71% to 1,044.21.

On the macro front

The International Trade in Good, Redbook, the Federal Housing Finance Agency's House Price Index, the S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index, the consumer confidence report, the Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index, the State Street Investor Confidence Index, and Gallup's Economic Confidence Index are due out today.

Featured news

The Daily Dose Europe: Hulu, StudioCanal ink deal; Google defuses row over Russian website rankings: Hulu LLC agreed to buy foreign-language content from Canal Plus SA affiliate StudioCanal, while Google Inc. gave clarifications over the way it ranks websites following concerns that the search engine might be downranking Russian media.

The Daily Dose Asia-Pacific: Netflix strikes exclusive Bollywood film deal; Vocus launches sale of NZ biz: Netflix struck a deal to bring its first mainstream production from India exclusively to the streaming platform, while Vocus Group Ltd. kicked off the sale process of its New Zealand telecommunications business.

The week in OTT: Netflix's Korean stand-up special; YouTube's ad backlash: Netflix further delayed the "House of Cards" production amid ongoing investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Kevin Spacey, while several advertisers removed their ads from YouTube over comments on videos featuring children.

M&A Replay: Meredith to acquire Time Inc.; Apple buys augmented reality headset maker: S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a wrap-up of U.S. companies' media and communications deal announcements and completions from Nov. 20 to Nov. 26.

Apple removes Skype, VoIP apps in China; Samsung chairman under investigation: Apple Inc. took down Skype and other VoIP apps from its App Store in China, while South Korea is investigating banks and securities companies that opened accounts under borrowed names supposedly for Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee.

M&A Replay: European deals: Russia clears Uber, Yandex deal; WPP agrees Asatsu-DK stake sale: Uber and Yandex N.V. secured conditional approval for a merger of their respective ride-sharing businesses in Russia, while advertising giant WPP Plc agreed on the sale of its 25% stake in Japan's Asatsu-DK Inc. to private equity firm Bain Capital.

Featured research

The Best Of: Kagan research and analysis, editor's picks: Presenting the editor's top picks from Kagan's exclusive research and analysis for the week ended Nov. 24.

Broadcast Investor: Deal market October – A variety of larger, smaller deals: With a total deal volume of $112.6 million, the October deal market followed the pace set in September in registering another total above the $100 million mark.

Technology: Q3'17 smartphone shipments in North America down 1.4% year over year: Sales of new smartphones in North America declined 1.4% year over year in the third quarter of 2017, with total units reaching 47.9 million, according to reported shipments and estimates.

Technology: Smart TV units to North America hit 9.2M in Q3; 21% of units based on Roku OS: The market for new smart TVs in North America grew 13.6% year on year with an estimated 9.2 million units shipped in the third quarter of 2017.

The Daily Dose is updated as of 7 a.m. ET. Some external links may require a subscription.