Week 31 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

CORPORATE

• Swisscom: 21Q2; raises outlook 2021: rev CHF 11.3b (unchanged), EBITDA 4.5b (from 4.4b), capex 2.2-2.3b (unchanged)
• United Internet: 21Q2; raises guidance 2021: rev EUR 5.6b (from 5.5), EBITDA 1.25b (from 1.22); plans max EUR 160m (10%) SBB until 220430
• 1&1: 21Q2; raises otlook 2021: rev EUR 3.10b (unchanged), EBITDA 670m (from 650m)
• AT&T: Closes transaction with TPG Capital; DIRECTV to own & operate DIRECTV, AT&T TV & U-verse video services (now called DirecTV Stream); AT&T has 70% of combination (receives $7.1b cash, transfers $195m debt; HBO Max and Regional Sports Networks excluded), TPG 30% (contributes $1.8b cash) [see 210517]
• CK Hutchison: 21Q2; impairment HKD 15.5b on Wind Tre
• RTL: 21Q2, streaming (NL, DE) >3m subs (+72%) o/w 2.029m for TVNOW (RTL+) and 1.016m for Videoland (RTL NL), rev EUR 107m (+34%), plans Fremantle expansion via M&A (rationale: high-end factual, scale to become preferred partner for streamers, acquisitions for talent & content; target rev 2025E EUR 3.0b from 1.5b in 2020), raises 2021 outlook: rev EUR 6.5b (from 6.2), adj EBITDA 1050m (from 975), adj EBITDA before streamer start-up losses 1200m (from 1125); plans RTL+ int expansion from 2022; RTL DE to acquire German publishing assets & brands (Stern, Brigitte, Geo, Capital, Schöner Wohnen, Eltern, Art) from Gruner + Jahr, EUR 230m, joint editorial team 1500 journalists, synergies 100m EUR/yr from 2025, pro forma 2020 rev EUR 2.63b, adj EBITDA 496m, rationale: scale & resources, boost RTL+, journalistic powerhouse; cross-country competencies in ad tech (smartclip, YOSP CE), streaming tech (BR Bedrock), int ad sales (RTL AdConnect), other (ENEX, FC Group, bce)
• Square: Offer for Afterpay, $29b ion stock, premium 30%
• Superhuman raises $75m: email productivity app, 30 $/mo
• Rakuten acquires OpenRAN partner Altiostar Networks, valuation >$1b

NETWORKS

• Delta Fiber (EQT) raises EUR 1.45b (to be extended by EUR 600m) debt underwritten by ABN Amro, ING, SEB, Santander, DB to expand FTTP to 2m premises YE 2025 using XGS-PON (from Sep 2021; later 25G-PON), to focus on small towns; claims current total construction capacity 800k premises/yr; to avoid towns where others have announced plans; 'We zijn op weg de derde infrastructuur van Nederland te worden voor vast internet'; currently 900k premises, adding 20k premises/mo
• Rakuten establishes Symphony
• 1&1 orders virtualised Open RAN and Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP; stack of access, core, cloud, operations solutions) from Rakuten; core of 4 datacenters, decentralized datacenters to be connected via 1&1 Versatel

SOFTWARE & SERVICES

• Netflix: Companion VR experience (30 min) to movie Army of the Dead launches at Westfield Century City parking garage
• NENT Group: Partners with wiip (studio US) to produce originals for Viaplay; first climate change anthology series The Uninhabitable Earth (premiere 2022)
• YouTube: Launches Shorts Fund, $100 over 2021-22 (100-10k $/creator)
• Spotify: Rumor: tests paid-with-ads tier Spotify Plus, 1 $/mo
• Microsoft launches Windows 365 (Cloud PC service), from 20 (single virtual core, 2 GB of RAM, 64 GB of storage) to 162 (eight virtual cores, 32 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage) $/mo/user
• Miami launches CityCoin (cryptocurrency): programmable city-based tokens (unlock new community-driven revenue stream for local governments, engage & incentivise citizens); mining started, based on Stacks protocol
• Google: Plans to launch Pixel 6 (6.4 inch, 90 Hz) & Pixel 6 Pro (6.7 inch, 120 Hz) autumn 2021, based on own Tensor SoC, Titan M2 security chip

REGULATORY

• Facebook: EC deepens investigation of Kustomer acquisition [see 201130] after finding concerns over misuse consumer data from Kustomer to give it an unfair advantage in personalised advertising
• Twitter: Curation team partners with AP & Reuters to add more context to news & trends, aid with use of public service announcements during high-visibility events, misinformation labels etc