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%)


at 4:56 pm
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