Sunday, August 30, 2020

Week 35 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

FTTH

  • Vodafone: Vodafone UK expands Gigafast Broadband coverage by 360k premises in 3 cities (Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool) on BT Openreach
  • Liberty Global: UPC PL partners with Operacyjnego Polska Cyfrowa (Digital Poland, led by Fiberhost (= INEA)), extends reach to Wielkopolska, Lublin, Lower Silesia; max 1 Gb/s (80 PLZ/mo)
  • Comcast: Sky Italia expands BB reach to 149 cities, on Open Fiber
  • Sunrise: Salt may sue over UPC Schweiz merger: infringes contractual rights established as part of Swiss Open Fibre joint venture [see 200519] - Sale of majority stake in Swiss Open Fiber on hold due to planned Sunrise/UPC CH merger


5G


M&A

  • Liberty Global: Publishes offer prospectus for Sunrise offer; tender to launch 200911 until 201008 followed by 10 trading days acceptance period (201015-201028)
  • Eurofiber: Reuters (resurfaced): Antin to sell minority stake (or majority if demand high enough), valuation EUR 2b (~20x 2019 EBITDA of EUR 109m), Allianz, Ardian, Macquarie, First State Investments, APG, PGGM interested    
  • MasMovil: Polygon Global Partners (1.02%) to vote against, claims offer (22.50 EUR/share) undervalues by 7-8 EUR/share    
  • Telefonica: ElevenPaths (= Telefonica Tech) acquires Govertis (cybersecurity)
  • TIM: Tiscali to participate in FiberCop
  • Intelsat: Rumor: to acquire the commercial aviation portion of in-flight connectivity specialist Gogo, $500m
  • RealNetworks sells Rhapsody (Napster) to MelodyVR, $26m + $44m in content obligations
  • Bytedance

    • TikTok sues US gvt over Exec Order from 200806 (banning business with Bytedance) suspending the company’s right to due process (under Fifth Amendment), no evidence to support accusations national-security risk - General Atlantic and Sequioa Capital support bid from Oracle - Voting rights groups (Rock the Vote, Voto Latino, Common Cause, Free Press, Maplight) also sue
    • TikTok has 100m MAU, 50m DAU in US
    • WSJ: approached Netflix to buy TikTok US, Netflix declined
    • TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer exits, Vanessa Pappas interim CEO
    • Walmart joins Microsoft in bid for TikTok US/Canada/Australia/NZ, rumored value $20-30b; rumor: originally Walmart partnered with Alphabet & SoftBank
    • Rumor: Oracle to offer $20b (50/50 in cash & stock), profit sharing with TikTok/Bytedance (50/50)
    • Bloomberg: Triller and Centricus to bid $20b for TikTok US/Australia/NZ/India in ccash, stock & shared profits; Triller confirms offer, Bytedance denies, Centricus no comment


EARNINGS


VIDEO/TV

  • Comcast
    • Rumor: to sell X1 platform wholesale to smart TV manufacturers, based on Metrological tech
    • Sky DE distr deal for Sky Ticket (free OTT service; sports, films, series, docus, kids) with Sony for Bravia Android TVs
  • Liberty Global launches 4K Mini TV Box (environmental friendly: 35% recycled plastic, 77% reduced energy consumption), powered by Horizon 4 tech, first All-IP device, first for UPC PL; designed by Liberty, manufactured by Commscope
  • Vectra (MSO, PL) launches IP-based STB (Android TV based, Google certified)
  • Apple: Bloomberg: to add AR content to Apple TV+ 2021, plans 2 AR devices (headset 2022, glasses 2023)
  • Philo: Distr deal with Google Fiber: >60 channels for 20 $/mo (joins YouTube TV and fuboTV)
  • Walt Disney: Distr deal for Disney+ Hotstar with Telkomsel from 200905; 39k IDR/mo or 200k IDR/yr
  • WarnerMedia (AT&T): Crunchyroll Adds tiers (Free, Fan, Mega Fan, Ultimate Fan) and features (downloads for offline)
  • Google: Google Discover tests Short Videos [a la TikTok]


OTHER

  • MUSIC
    • Spotify
    • Tidal: Acquires tokens (SENSO Tokens: in-world currency of Sensorium Galaxy: VR social metaspace in which users can attend alternate-world concerts, nightclubs, festivals; public launch planned early 2021) from Sensorium Corp, $7m
  • TEXT/PRINT: Amazon: Audible launches Audible Plus, 8 $/mo for unlimited access (68k hr from 11k items (originals, audiobooks, podcasts))
  • GAMING: DT: Launches MagentaGaming, 7 EUR/mo: cloud gaming platform, 100 games at launch, no downloads
  • INSURANCE:
  • E-HEALTH: Amazon: Launches
    • Amazon Halo: service to improve health & wellness (AI-powered health features, Amazon Halo app; focus on Activity, Sleep, Body (3D model based om smartphone camera picture, calculates body fat), Tone (voice analysis te determine mood), Labs; Halo profile separate from Amazon account), 4 $/mo
    • Amazon Halo Band (accelerometer, temperature sensor, heart rate monitor, 2 microphones, LED indicator, button to turn the microphones on or off; no display; communicates with smartphone over Bluetooth) in US, $100 (separate band $16 or $20); promo: $65 incl 6 mo service, auto-renews at 4 $/mo + tax on early access basis; partnerships with WW, John Hancock Vitality, Cerner, Mayo Clinic, Exhale, Aaptiv, Lifesum, Headspace etc


    REGULATORY

    • Spectrum
    • Platforms
      • Google
        • YouTube Increased removals in 20Q2
        • Bloomberg: US DoJ antitrust ivestigation focuses on bundling services (Google Network, Google Search, Google Ads) in such a way to block out competition (tying); making the sale of one product conditional on purchasing another isn't illegal per se - but it can be when combined with market power
      • Amazon: CALS by All India Online Vendors Assocition (>2000 sellers in India) over unfair business practices (Amazon discounts drive indie vendors out of business; Amazon buys wholesale, sells at a loss to 3rd-party sellers)
      • Apple
        • Facebook prepares advertisers for Apple iOS 14 (brings changes to Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) user tracking feature: becomes opt-in): will disproportionately affect Facebook's Audience Network of publishers (could reduce rev 50%); expects less impact on its own advertising revenue than on the ad-supported businesses that rely on its audience network to promote their apps; may shift demand toward Facebook’s own targeting system    
        • Microsoft supports Epic Games; Epic files response to Apple threatening to cut developers off
      • Facebook: Sues MobiBurn (UK, ad tools for developers) over malicious code that illegally collected personal data of Facebook users


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    Tuesday, August 25, 2020

    Netflix: all content and originals news since August 17


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    Saturday, August 22, 2020

    Week 34 in Telecoms, Internet & Media

    CORPORATE


    VIDEO

    • Netflix
    • Apple: Launches promo for Apple TV+ subs (5 $/mo) in US: CBS All Access (stand-alone 11 $/mo) + Showtime (stand-alone 10 $/mo) for 10 $/mo; compatible with Family Sharing (max 6)
    • Google: Rumor: to add Kaleidoscope (streaming video hub) to Chrome browser
    • MultiChoice
      • Showmax Pro (450 ZAR/mo; 2 streams, HD) & Showmax Pro Mobile (225 ZAR/mo; 1 stream, SD) launch in ZA: additional content (music channels, news, live sports)
      • Plans to offer DStv streaming service stand-alone, bundled with BB from ISP partners



    OTHER SERVICES


    NETWORKS

    Fixed
    5G


    REGULATORY

    Spectrum
    • Subtel (Chile) plans 5G auction: 700 MHz (2x10 MHz), AWS = 1800 & 2100 MHz (2x15 MHz), 3.5 GHz (150 MHz), 26 GHz (400 MHz), valid 30 yr, consultation until 200928, application until 201019, auction to start 201020
    • BNA (DE) publishes Frequency Compass for spectrum available from 260101 (extension of 800, 1800, 2600 licenses) & 340101 (additional 700, 800, 1800, 1500 spectrum)
    • Telia Lithuania plans 3G-2100 switch-off from Aug 2020, to also close 4G-900 by YE 2022
    Platforms
    Platforms general


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    Wednesday, August 19, 2020

    Innovations in streaming video

    Distribution

    It's basically a simple game of optimising and maximising the distribution power.

    • Apps portfolio. Involves revenue sharing deals with operators, hardware maunifacturers. STB integration, commercial integration. Latest example: Verizon to offer The Disney Bundle (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+) free with certain subscriptions.
    • Join Amazon Channels or comparable platforms
    • Bundling
      • With own services, such as Amazon Prime (incl. free delivery) or Apple One (incl. storage). Google could potentially do the same.
      • With third-party streaming services, such as Apple TV+ with CBS All Access and Showtime.
      • With third-party TV services, such as Netflix with Mediapro's Téléfoot
    • Shorten windows. Universal Pictures agreed with AMC Theaters a shortened theatrical window of 17 days (3 weekends) for selected movies. Thereafter, AMC will share in revenues from a TVOD window.
    • Global expansion. Disney+, Starzplay (Lionsgate), MGM and others are in the midst of a global expansion program, as are HBO Max, Peacock and others.
    • In-game streaming. Warner Bros with Epic Games for screenings within Fortnite. NBA with Facebook for watching live games in Oculus Venues.
    • Theatrical release for selected films
    • Expand TVE as a stand-alone OTT app, for non-subscribers. Examples: TV Vlaanderen/Telesat, MultiChoice (ZA), Telia Play, ComHem Play+ (Tele2).
    • Forward/vertical integration: Netflix buying stakes in prodcos (Broke and Bones) and movie theaters.
    • Free viewing on YouTube. Example: certain Netflix documentaries.
    Advertising

    Netflix has no intention to add an AVOD tier, for lacking afdvertising capabilities. This leaves a lot of money on the table for services that do include advertising.
    • Peacock apparently focuses on its AVOD tier.
    • Videoland (RTL NL) added an AVOD tier, from which it may upsell to higher tiers. Same as Hulu. Quibi launched an AVOD service in Australia/NZ.
    • There have been several AVOD acquisitions:
      • Fox Corp: Tubi
      • Comcast: XUMO and (through Fandango) Vudu (also does TVOD)
      • ViacomCBS: Pluto TV
    • Other AVOD services: Plex.
    Features

    Again, maximising the possibilities is simply best.
    • Generally available features:
      • HD
      • Profiles, recommendations
      • Number of simultaneous screens
      • Downloads for offline viewing
      • Parental controls
      • Localisation: pay in local currency, subtitles or dubbing (also: content and pricing)
    • Netflix recently added several features
      • Playback speed control (between 0.5x and 1.5x)
      • Shuffle feature
      • Top 10's by country
      • Watch Now (auto play from personal list) and Play Something Else
    Content offering

    This is not necessarily about maximisation, but about focus and clarity or transparency as well: is it clear what the service has to offer? Also: breadth (volume) versus depth (quality).
    • Originals, also localised from selected countries.
    • Library, especially important for the studio majors (Disney+, HBO Max, Peacock, Paramount+). With a limited library, cooperations or mergers can be expected.
    • Licensed content:
      • No: Disney, Star (Disney)
      • Yes: Hulu (Disney)
    • For further differentiation:
      • Add some live programming (sports, news): Amazon Prime, Peacock, Tennis Channel (Sinclair), PGA Tour, fuboTV (Disney 17%).
      • Add live linear TV: Videoland (the broadcast RTL NL channels), Peacock (NBC Road To Tokyo channel, NBC Sports on Peacock)
      • Factual: Discovery, CNN (WarnerMedia), Fox News International (Fox Corp). Discovery sees itself as a companion to the big streaming services.
      • Genres: AMC Networks' Shudder (horror), WarnerMedia's Crunchyroll (anime)
      • Localised content: Netflix
    Pricing

    Probably the hardest part. What is feasible? How to position the service (relative to other services)? How to balance price and volume?

    • Discount for existing customers: broadband (Peacock), devices (Apple TV+), deliveries (Amazon Prime). An instrument fo lock-in, possibly even a loss leader.
    • Family account (Apple), partner account (Spotify), number of simultaneous screens.
    • Mobile-only tariff (Netflix).
    • Long term subscription (Netflix trial in India: 3, 6 or 9 months). Hulu added a 1 year subscription.
    • Bundling with other video services:
      • The Disney Bundle (Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+)
      • ViacomCBS's upcoming Paramount+ (2021)
      • Discovery bundling all brands (2021)
    • Tiering
      • With or without ads
      • Additional functionality
      • Add a high-end tier, such as Showmax Pro (ZA) with additional content
      • Add TVOD (Premium VOD or Premier Access): Disney+ (for the new Mulan live-action film, $30).
    • Localised pricing


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    Tuesday, August 18, 2020

    Netflix: all originals announcements since July 29


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    Sunday, August 16, 2020

    Week 33 in Telecoms, Internet & Media

    5G



    VIDEO
    • AT&T
      • Rumor: to sell Crunchyroll to Sony but price ($1.5b) too high
      • Rumor: CNN plans global streaming service
    • Apple: Bloomberg: plans bundling Apple TV+ with CBS All Access (stand-alone 10), Showtime (stand-alone 11) for 10 $/mo (on top of 5 for Apple TV+)
    • Locast: Launches in Minneapolis-St Paul, total pops coverage US 42%
    • ViacomCBS
      • Bloomberg: plans SVOD bundle (CBS All Access, Showtime) with Apple TV+ for 15 $/mo
      • Rumor: to rebrand CBS All Access in 2021, possibly to Paramount+
    • Fox Corp: Fox News Media to launch Fox News International (SVOD, based on Fox News Channel & Fox Business) 200820, 7 $/mo first in Mexico, 200917 in ES, DE, UK, total 20 countries YE 2020; apps for iOS, Android, Apple TV, Android TV, later Amazon Fire TV, Roku
    • Telenet: EC approves streaming JV of Telenet & DPG Media: Streamz, to be established 200901, Peter Vindevogel (Telenet) CEO, Kris Vervaet (DPG) Chair; to focus on Flemish & int content
    • Tricolor (DSB, Russia) adds TVOD to streaming service


    MEDIA & SERVICES

    Internet
    • Amazon
      • To add podcasts to Amazon Music (both free and paid tiers), Audible (combined 55m users)
    • Apple
      • To direct users to Apple News+ for reading articles (instead of publisher websites) from autumn 2020; also for links appearing in social media & search results
      • Bloomberg: Plans Apple One subscription bundle Oct 2020, with Family Sharing (max 6): Music, TV+ (video), News+ (news), Arcade (gaming), iCloud (storage) (not Apple Care or monthly paid hardware); 3 tiers: 1. Music + TV+, 2. Music + TV+ + Gaming, 3. Music + TV+ + Gaming + iCloud; could be limited by music majors agreements not allowing Apple Music bundling with other services; plans app for virtual fitness classes (subscription-based, codename Seymour)
    Media
    Telecoms
    • Sunrise launches Back to School promos until 200831: 100 CHF/mo in 24 mo contract for BB, TV (neo max), Macbook Air (retail price CHF 1130), Apple TV (retail price CHF 200); free iPhone SE & Apple Airpods for new Freedom swiss unlimited subs (65 CHF/mo in 24 mo contract); fgree MacBook Air for new Freedom europe & US subs (100 CHF/mo in 24 mo contract)
    • Ludwigsburg (DE) launches V2X tech from Cohda Wireless, with Swarco (traffic tech): all traffic lights & intersections fitted with Cohda MK5 road-side units, which correspond with MK5 on-board units in fire trucks & rescue vehicles to grant them green-light passage when on the way to emergencies


    REGULATORY

    Platforms

    Platforms general
    • Indonesia extends 10% VAT on Amazon, Google, Netflix, Spotify [see 200710] to Facebook, Disney, Apple, TikTok; to be collected from 200901
    • EU and US talk over replacing Privacy Shield
    • Social networks (Google, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn & Microsoft, Reddit, Verizon Media, Wikimedia) cooperate on scenario planning during run-up to US Presidential Election 201103
    • Epic Games sues Apple & Google for banning Fortnite from app stores as Fortnite bypassed in-app payment systems from Apple & Google, claims monopolistic behavior (violates Sherman Act & California’s Cartwright Act), claims that Google blocked OnePlus & LG from pre-installing Fortnite launchers on new smartphones - Spotify and Match Group support Epic; [Apple has monopoly on iOS access for apps through App STore; Google allows sideloading app (not through Play Store) and 3rd party app stores such as Epic's, but erected contractual & technological barriers on distributing apps not through Play Store] - Apple refused Facebook's request to waive 30% App Store fee for small businesses hosting live events (Facebook Pay instead applies zero fee)
    • The Privacy Collective sues Oracle & Salesforce (CALS) over personal data collection, bundling & trading
    Spectrum
    • RTR (AT) plans multiband (6 blocks of 2x10 in 700, 12 blocks of 2x5 in 2100, 9 blocks of 1x5 1500) auction Aug-Sep 2020; coverage obligation: 900 towns (of 2100) with little or no mobile to be connected to 5G, bonus (price discount) for connecting any of the 1200 other
    • CTU (CZ) launches multiband auction tender, applcations due 200930: 700 band (2x10 MHz reserved for newcomer), 3400-3600 band - MNOs oppose newcomer
    • FCC (US) to reallocate military spectrum (100 MHz in 3.5 GHz band: 3.45-3.55) for 5G by 2021
    • ACMA (Australia) plans 26 GHz auction March 2021, cap 1 GHz
    • MoC Israel ends 5G auction, 3 winners with identical spectrum (2x5 in 700 band valid 15 yr; 2x10 in 2600 band valid 10 yr; 100 in 3500 band valid 10 yr): Cellcom/Golan Telecom/Marathon Telecom (owns 018 Xfone; pay ILS 115m = $34m), Pelephone (= Bezeq; pays ILS 88m), Partner Comms/HOT Mobile (ILS 62m); to be paid Sep 2022
    Telecoms


    CORPORATE

    • BT: Daily Telegraph: pension deficit (GBP 11.3b) could be reduced by shifting part of Openreach (estimated value GBP 20b) to the fund
    • CK Hutchison: 3 DK plans infra (1275 towers) spin-off as HI3G Networks, open for others
    • Equinix: Acquires 2 datacenters (carrier neutral) from GPX India, $161m
    • PPF: Rumor: considers selling MNOs acquired from Telenor (Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Hungary)
    • Liberty Global: Offer for Sunrise (CH)
      • Sunrise board & shareholder Freenet (24%) support
      • 110 CHF/share cash (premium 28% to 200811, 32% over last 60 days average), valuation CHF 5.0b, EV CHF 6.8b
      • valuation 7.5x adj EBITDA or 10.3x adj OpFCF after synergies, 10.0x adj EBITDA or 17,6x adj OpFCF before synergies
      • to be financed from cash (CHF 3.5b) & new debt (CHF 3.2b o/w 1.6b for refinancing Sunrise debt)
      • synergies NPV after costs CHF 3.1b (o/w CHF 2.6b from low-risk cost & capex), annual run rate from rev, costs, capex CHF 275m (46m from rev, 187m from opex, 42m from capex)
      • tender to start end Aug 2020 for 40 business days, unconditional on reaching two-thirds, to squeeze out minorities & delist, expects approval end 2020
      • break-up fee CHF 50m for Sunrise
      • pro forma combination: >3500 employees, rev CHF 3.1b, 2.1m postpaid subs, 1.2m BB subs, 1.3m TV subs, market share in each ~30%
      • target gigabit BB coverage 90% of HH by 2021 (UPC 75%, Sunrise 30%), to upgrade to 10 Gb/s over time
      • "attractive opportunity to deploy existing cash to unlock substantial synergies and sustainable free cash flow growth. (...) “This transaction is another significant step on our path to create fixed-mobile champions in all of our core markets. (...)  after this deal, and assuming completion of our recently announced UK transaction, we will continue to have approximately $7 billion of liquidity8 to drive value-creation for shareholders."
      • UPC/Sunrise to become part of UPC credit pool, target leverage 5.0x
      • May consider IPO fo the merged business in the future
    • Vivendi Proposes talks with Mediaset to settle differences - Mediaset rejects, demands compensation
    • ViacomCBS Speculation on future after Sumner Redstone died 200811
    • Warner Music Group Acquires IMGN Media (creates shareable social media content including memes & short videos for Instagram & TikTok)
    • FuboTV: Files for IPO; Walt Disney acquired 6.6m shares = 17%
    • Alphabet
    • Facebook: Bloomberg: establishes F2 (Facebook Financial) arouind payments (Facebook Pay, Novi (formerly Calibra), WhatsApp Pay), led by David Marcus

    EARNINGS

    • Deutsche Telekom: 20Q2
      • T-Mobile NL: Tele2 integration & synergies on track, corona virus reduced roaming income (VR, OoB outgoing), 5G-700 reached 85% coverage (nationwide end 2020)
    • TDC: 20Q2
    • Swisscom: 20Q2
    • Turkcell: 20Q2
    • Go Malta: 20Q2
    • Freenet: 20Q2
    • United Internet: Raises outlook 2020: rev growth 2020 4% (formerly: flat)
    • 1&1 Drillisch: Raises outlook 2020: rev growth 4%
    • QSC: 20Q2
    • RTL: 20Q2
      • TV ad rev -40%
      • streaming subs (TV Now, Videoland) 1.77m (+45%), TV Now subs +50%, viewing time +36%, Videoland subs +41%, viewing time +31%
      • outlook 20Q3: tv ad rev -10%
      • outlook 2020: rev & adj EBITA significantly below 2019
      • 3 priorities: 1. Strengthen core (TV ads), 2. Boost growth business (streaming & content (Fremantle)), 3. Foster alliances & partnerships (Smartclip, Atresmedia)
      • LT streaming targets 2025 maintained: 5-7m subs, rev >EUR 500m, content spend 350m EUR/yr, EBITA break-even
    • Meredith: 20Q2
    • Dentsu: 20Q2
    • FuboTV: 20Q2: 286k paying subs,  rev $44m (+53%), net loss $100m


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    Wednesday, August 12, 2020

    Liberty Global offer for Sunrise

    Offer

    • Sunrise board & shareholder Freenet (24%) support
    • 110 CHF/share cash (premium 28% to 200811, 32% over last 60 days average)
    • Tender to start end Aug 2020 for 40 business days
    • Unconditional on reaching two-thirds, to squeeze out minorities & delist, expects approval end 2020
    • To be financed from cash (CHF 3.5b) & new debt (CHF 3.2b o/w 1.6b for refinancing Sunrise debt)
    • Break-up fee CHF 50m for Sunrise

    Valuation

    • Equity CHF 5.0b, EV CHF 6.8b
    • 7.5x adj EBITDA or 10.3x adj OpFCF after synergies
    • 10.0x adj EBITDA or 17.6x adj OpFCF before synergies

    Synergies

    • NPV after costs CHF 3.1b (o/w CHF 2.6b from low-risk cost & capex)
    • Annual run rate from rev, costs, capex CHF 275m (46m from rev, 187m from opex, 42m from capex)

    Pro forma combination

    • >3500 employees
    • Rev CHF 3.1b
    • 2.1m postpaid subs, 1.2m BB subs, 1.3m TV subs, market share in each ~30%
    • Target gigabit BB coverage 90% of HH by 2021 (UPC 75%, Sunrise 30%)
    • To upgrade to 10 Gb/s over time
    • UPC/Sunrise to become part of UPC credit pool, target leverage 5.0x
    • May consider IPO of the merged business in the future

    Quotes

    • "attractive opportunity to deploy existing cash to unlock substantial synergies and sustainable free cash flow growth."
    • “This transaction is another significant step on our path to create fixed-mobile champions in all of our core markets"
    • " ... after this deal, and assuming completion of our recently announced UK transaction, we will continue to have approximately $7 billion of liquidity to drive value-creation for shareholders."


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    Sunday, August 09, 2020

    Week 32 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

    CORPORATE

    Earnings
    • VodafoneZiggo: 20Q2 prelim (final: Aug 2020)
      • stopped using OCF, replaced by Adj EBITDA
      • 95% of targeted cost synergies (210m) realised, on track to deliver 1 yr early
      • spectrum costs (EUR 416m) to be paid 50/50 in 2020 & 2021, to be funded by new shareholder loans
      • maintains guidance 2020 (despite expected economic slowdown): adj EBITDA stable to modest growth, TSR 400-500m
    • Liberty Global 20Q2
    • TIM: 20Q2
    • Intred: 20Q2
    • Magyar Telekom: 20Q2
    • CK Hutchison/3 Group Europe: 20Q2
    • Rostelecom: 20Q2
    • SES: 20Q2
    • Intelsat: 20Q2
    • Viasat: 20/21Q1
    • Warner Music: 20Q2
    • Sony: 20/21Q1
    • Walt Disney: 19/20Q3
    • ViacomCBS: 20Q2
      • Pluto reached 26.5m MAU in US (target 30m YE 2020), global 33m MAU
      • CBS All Access & Showtime 16.2m subs in US
    • Discovery: 20Q2
    • AMC Networks: 20Q2
    • AMC Entertainment: 20Q2
    • Fox Corp: 20/21Q4     
    • ITV: 20Q2 
    • Activision Blizzard: 20Q2
    • Nielsen: 20Q2
      • to spin off Global Connect unit 21Q1

    M&A

    Funding
    Expansion
    • Amazon
    • UGC
      • Facebook: Instagram launches Reels in >50 countries [see 20070716]: create 15-sec edited videos
      • Snap: Snapchat launches feature to add music to Snaps (trial in Australia & NZ) [a la TikTok], licensing deals with Warner Music, Warner Chappell, Universal Music Publishing, NMPA, Merlin


    NETWORKS

    Fixed

    5G

    4G


    CONTENT

    Video

    • SKO (NL): living room TV set usage down for live linear TV, up double digit for delayed and VOD viewing
    • US District Judge approves DoJ termination of Paramount Consent Decrees (barred studios from owning movie theaters (applied to Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, Paramount)
    • Walt Disney
      • Disney+ reaches 60.5m subs; Mulan to premiere on Disney+ 200904 for $30 (one-off TVOD offering); Disney+ to expand to Indonesia 200905
      • plans new int OTT service Star 2021 [instead of expanding Hulu internationally], content from content from ABC, FX, Freeform, Searchlight, 20th Century Studios, no licensed content, focus on adults
      • Disney+, Hulu (35.5m) & ESPN+ (8.5m) have combined >100m subs
      • Hulu adds annual subscription tier, 60 $/yr (first for existing subs)
    • ViacomCBS
      • No plans to bundle CBS All Access, Showtime, BET+. Noggin as single service in US
      • Plans global SVOD service early 2021 in Australia, Nordics, Latam, with originals from Showtime, CBS All Access, content from CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, some first-run moviers from Paramount; to continue from existing services in some countries: Australia (CBS All Access), Nordics, E-Europe, Latam (Paramount+)
    • Discovery plans streaming service (as companion to services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+)
    • Eleven Sports rebrands to Eleven; strategy update (2.0): to expand in Europe from 2021, adds 3 vertical: Elevenwomen, Elevennext (local), Eleven Esports
    • Quibi launches free+ads AVOD tier in Australia/NZ, reduces SVOD tier from 13 to 7 AUD/mo

    Music

    Gaming

    • Microsoft: to launch xCloud (streaming) 200915 for Android (ended iOS test) in 22 countries (AT, BE, Canada, CZ, DK, FI, FR, DE, HU, IE, IT, NL, NO, PL, PT, Slovakia, ES, SK, SE, CH, UK, US) with >100 games, as part of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (15 $/mo); with Xbox & 3rd-party controllers (Sony, Razer, PowerA, 8BitDo); distr deal in SK with SKT

    SERVICES

    Telekom DE expands MagentaEINS-Beta-Tarif (service ends 210930) to 2000 more subs, 20 EUR/mo in 12 mo contract: fixed (VDSL max 50 Mb/s + mobile (LTE; unlimited in DE for voice, text, data; 15 GB EU data) 
    KT launches smart building services, with KT Estate: Smart Building Sensing (monitors boilers, water tanks, motors & other operational facilities), Smart Building BEMS (building energy management system) 
    Lycamobile BE (MVNO on Base = Telenet) launches unlimited (voice, text, data with FUP of 35 GB/mo, thereafter throttling to 512 kb/s, EU roaming 19 GB/mo) prepaid, 40 EUR/mo


    HARDWARE

    Samsung Galaxy Unpacked: launches Galaxy Note20 & Galaxy Note20 Ultra (notebook with new S Pen, with 5G), Tab S7 & S7+ (tablets with 5G), Galaxy Watch3 (smartwatch with health features), Galaxy Buds Live (earbuds), Galaxy Z Fold2 (foldable smartphone)
    Google launches Pixel 4A smartphone in US, $350 (ships from 200820); to launch Pixel 4A with 5G (from $500) & Pixel 5 with 5G autumn 2020 - Discontinues Pixel 4 & 4XL - Rumor: plans foldable smartphone (Project Passport) 21Q4
    Amazon launched 2nd version of Ring Video Doorbell, $100


    REGULATORY, CSR

    Spectrum

    • AKOM (Slovenia) plans 5G auction (700, 1500, 2.1, 2.3, 3.6, 26) 20H2, with caps per bidder: 2x35 MHz in low bands (700, 800, 900), 190 MHz in midbands (2.3, 3.6), 1x800 in 26 GHz, 425 MHz in low/mid (700, 2100, 2300, 3600 incl current holdings in 800, 900, 1800, 2600)
    • Ofcom (UK) plans auction (simultaneous multiple round ascending, SMRA) Jan 2021
      • to add 18% to total spectrum; 80 MHz in 700 band (6 lots of 2x5, reserve price GBP 100m each; 4 lots of 1x5 for down only, reserve price GBP 1m each), 120 MHz in 3.6-3.8 band (24 lots of 1x5, reserve price GBP 20m each)
      • no coverage obligations
      • 37% cap on total spectrum, restricts MNOs to acquire max 120 MHz (BT/EE), 185 MHz (3), 190 MHz (Vodafone), unrestricted (O2)
      • combined reserve prices GBP 1.084b
      • to facilitate defragmentation of 3.6-3.8 band by allowing negotiations during assignment stage, enabling the winning of adjacent spectrum
      • Vodafone and 3 propose to cancel auction (award spectrum at reserve prices) because of cost to remove Huawei equipment
    • FCC (US) PAL (3550-3650 MHz) auction (CBRS, auction 105) reaches $2.2b after 28 rounds    
    • FCC (US) plans C-band (280 MHz in 3.7-4.0 GHz range) auction to start 201208

    Telecoms

    Platforms

    • Alphabet
      • YouTube: Banned 1000s of Chinese accounts (2596 in 20Q2) over coordinated influence operations on political issues
      • Alphabet: The Markup: Alphabet made certain words taboo (market, barriers to entry, network effects) when training new employees
    • Amazon:
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
      • FTC could fine $150-250m for misusing emails & phone numbers (for targeted ads), based on 2011 agreement
      • To exclude tweets from state-controlled media organisations (except those with editorial independence, such as BBC, NPR) from its recommendation systems (for search, notifications, timelines)
    • Apple: removes 27k games & apps from App Store in China to comply with Chinese law

    Platforms general:


    STOCK MARKET PERFORMANCE

    European telecoms
    • Week 32:
      • Benchmark EuroStoxx 50: +2.5%
      • Winner TalkTalk (+10%), loser VEON (-7.7%)
    • YTD:
      • Benchmark EuroStoxx 50: -13%
      • Winner Intred (+75%), loser Intelsat (-95%)
    Global media
    • Week 32:
      • Benchmark S&P 500: +2.5%
      • Winner AMC Entertainment +18%, loser Salem Media -9.0%
    • YTD
      • Benchmark S&P 500: +3.7%
      • Winner Bilibili (+123%), loser Gannett (-76%)


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