Monday, August 30, 2021

Week 34 in Telecoms, Internet, Media

CORPORATE

  • KPN: Starts EUR 200m SBB [see 210727], to end 211130, first progress report 210830
  • Orange: Orange ES to phase out Amena brand Sep 2021, retains 3 brands: Orange, Jazztel, Simyo
  • SK Telecom: Launches T Universe: offering of 3rd-party subscription services (Google One, Starbucks, Xbox)
  • Vodafone: plans Vodafone Digital Services & Experiences Briefing 210929    
  • Salt: 21Q2    
  • Bouygues: 21Q2, confirms 2021 targets: organic rev growth 5%, EBITDA AL growth 7%, capex (excl spectrum) EUR 1.3b; maintains targets 2026: SR >EUR 7b, EBITDA AL EUR 2.5b (margin 35%), FCF EUR 600m
  • Iliad: Iliad board recommends offer to shareholders, based on BM&A Advisory & Support report (DCF and per comparison) [see 210730]
  • Altice: Altice PT establishes Infratower (223 macro sites, 464 small cells), sells to Cellnex, EUR 209m
  • CityFibre: Rumor: to sell minority stake to Mubadala Investment Co (Abu Dhabi) at $2.7b valuation - Rumor: to raise GBP 1b from debt (GBP 500m) & equity (GBP 500m stake to Mubadala at >GBP 2b valuation)
  • Google:
    • Bernstein: pays Apple $15b in 2021 to remain default search engine ($10b in 2020)
    • Court filing (in case brought by US AGs [see 210707]): Google App Store 2019 (sales of apps, in-app purchase, app store ads): rev $11.2b, gross profit $8.5b, oper income $7b (margin 62%); trial expected 2022
  • Forbes: Plans IPO through SPAC merger with Magnum Opus, ticker FRBS
  • Axel Springer: Acquires Politico (political news; 700 employees in N America, 200 in Europe) from Robert Albritton, rumored price >$1b
  • Comcast: Comcast Business acquires Masergy (SDN, cloud platforms for enterprises; 1400 customers in 100 countries), enables SD-WAN, UCaaS, etc

VIDEO

  • Netflix:
    • Plans global fan event TUDUM 210925 around stars from 70 original films & series
    • Tests 2 mobile games based on Stranger Things (Stranger Things: 1984 and Stranger Things 3) in PL in Android app, free for subs, no ads, no in-game purchases
  • Amazon: Rumor (MLex): FTC asks for additional info on MGM deal [see 210709], closing not expected before 2022
  • NENT Group:
    • Acquires exclusive rights to female Serie A (Italy) for Nordics, Baltics, PL, NL up to 2022/23
    • NENT Group: Capital Markets Day 210922
  • WarnerMedia:
    • CNN: To end linear distribution in UK on Virgin, BT, Freesat to focus on CNN Live (launched June 2021; 2 GBP/mo ro 20 GBP/yr) at CNN.com and Sky
    • HBO Max to end distr via Amazon Channels [see 210108], to cost 5m subs, to focus on owning customer relationship
  • YouTube: Partner program reaches 2m creators
  • Parks for Everise US survey report 21Q1 The Evolving Digital Media Landscape
  • Freewheel (Comcast) US Video Marketplace Report (VMR) 21H1
  • DirecTV (AT&T 70%, TPG Capital 30%): DirecTV Stream launches 210826, drops 2-yr contract option    
  • Report: movie piracy increases due to day-and date releases

CRYPTO, NFT

HARDWARE

  • Facebook: Plans to launch AR glasses Gemini (Project Aria) [see 200916]: collects (not displays) data, with companion app Ariane, 4 cameras (photo & video), Oculus OS (based on Android), Qualcomm chipset
  • Ziggo launches SmartWifi Pods (connect over powerline): create WiFi mesh with ConnectBox (software updated, >2m users), tech from Plume, EUR 60 (2 for 100, 3 for 160, 5 for 260)
  • Telenet trials VR robot + VR glasses over 5G (VRiendje) at Universitair Ziekenhuis Antwerpen (UZA): transport patient virtually to different location (home); developed by Horus VR

SECURITY

REGULATORY

  • Apple: Settles US CALS (Cameron et al, 67k developers) with developers over App Store: developers can share purchase options with users outside of their iOS app; expands the price points developers can offer for subscriptions, in-app purchases, paid apps to >500; establishes a new fund (Small Developers Assistance Fund, $100m; >50% receive $250, 6% receive $2000, 1% receive $30k) to assist qualifying US developers; to publish annual transparency report about the App Store; launches Apple News Partner Program, takes 15% commission rate - Spotify opposes: "Apple's recent changes do not address any of the core concerns Spotify and many others have with Apple"
  • China passes Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL) into effect 211101 for personal information handlers
  • European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) advises against using search & browsing history and health data for credit scores


at 12:29 am

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