Verizon bids big to win US bandwidth for 5G network

SAN FRANCISCO - Verizon will spend $1.9 billion to speed up its deployment of superfast 5G telecom service as a top bidder for US bandwidth that balances range and data speed.

The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday released results of bidding for leases to use portions off the 3550-3650 MHz bandwidth.

Dish Network -- bidding as Wetterhorn Wireless -- was in second place with a winning offer of $913 million, according to the FCC.

The remainder of the top five bids were cable companies Comcast, Spectrum and Cox, the agency said.

The US last month announced that 100 megahertz of "contiguous, coast-to-coast mid-band spectrum" long reserved for the military would also be auctioned off to telecommunications firms for use in ultra-speedy 5G networks.

The bandwidth in the range from 3450 and 3550 megahertz was identified for use in 5G networks and can be made available without impairing military or national security capabilities, according to senior administration officials.

The addition will increase to 535 megahertz the amount of mid-band spectrum available for 5G networks in the US, which is behind other countries such as China and South Korea when it comes to deploying the potentially transformative technology.

First generation mobile networks enabled wireless phone calls, and the second generation added texting.

Third-generation mobile networks could handle more data, such as sending pictures and using basic apps, while the current 4G networks can carry bigger loads such as streaming video.

5G networks are touted as promising an exponential leap in the amount and speed of wireless data, enabling advances in self-driving vehicles, virtual reality, connected health and more as sensors and servers communicate instantly. 

Mid-bandwidth made available by the FCC strikes a balance between how far signals reach and how fast data travels, with low-bandwidth sacrificing speed for distance and high-bandwidth quick but short-ranged.

Prior to winning in this auction, Verizon had focused on service at the high-frequency end of the spectrum.

Agence France-Presse

Comcast buys 29.1 pct of Sky stock in market purchases

LONDON - Comcast, the victor in the auction for Sky on Saturday, said on Tuesday it had bought 29.1 percent of the European pay-TV group's shares in the market.

Comcast bid 17.28 pounds ($22.66) a share for Sky, beating a 15.67 pound offer from Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox. Fox holds a 39 percent stake in Sky, which it is selling to Walt Disney as part of a separate deal.

Comcast said it was seeking to make further market purchases of Sky shares at a price of 17.28 per share.

It needs 50 percent of the stock plus one share to complete its takeover.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Comcast drops bid for 21st Century Fox assets, letting Disney win

WASHINGTON - Cable and media giant Comcast said Thursday it is pulling out of the bidding war with Walt Disney Co. for film and television operations of Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox.

Comcast said in a statement it would instead focus on acquiring the European pay TV operator Sky, shifting its stand on how it approaches the latest round of consolidation in the media-entertainment sector.

The move by Comcast effectively ensures that Disney will be able to complete its $71.3 billion tie-up with Fox that creates a new powerhouse in the sector as Murdoch slims down his media empire.

"Comcast does not intend to pursue further the acquisition of the Twenty-First Century Fox assets and, instead, will focus on our recommended offer for Sky," said a statement from group which is the leading US cable operator and also owns NBCUniversal.

Both Comcast and Disney had been coveting the prized assets being sold by Murdoch, which include the Fox studios in Hollywood and important film and television production operations.

At the same time, the two giants have been aiming to take control of Sky, the British-based pay TV operator in which Fox holds a 39 percent stake.

Disney launched its offer for Fox's assets last December at $52.4 billion as Murdoch and his family announced they would reorganize to focus on Fox News, the Fox broadcast network and some sports operations.

Comcast made its bid of $65 billion in June, aiming to capitalize on what was seen as an easier regulatory path after AT&T successfully defended an antitrust challenge to its acquisition of media-entertainment group Time Warner.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Mega merger frenzy evokes 1999 tech boom... and its aftermath?

LONDON -- By some measures, the global merger and acquisition frenzy has never been greater, fueled by "TMT" mega deals that are drawing comparisons with the late 1990s boom and spectacular bust.

This is understandably unnerving many investors, given how mature the economic cycle and equity bull markets are right now. The US economic expansion is the second longest since World War II, and Wall Street is only 3 months away from its longest bull run ever.

Two mega deals in the US tech, media and telecom space this month worth a combined $150 billion have brought back memories of investors partying like it's 1999. AT&T completed its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, and Comcast has offered to buy Twenty-First Century Fox's entertainment and international assets for $65 billion.

AT&T and Comcast are taking on $350 billion of debt between them to finance their deals, making them the two most indebted non-financial, private-sector companies in the world. Just as the U.S. interest rate hiking cycle is in full swing.

The records for economic expansion and market bull run are the 10-year periods ending March 2000, when the Nasdaq bubble started to deflate, and March 2001, the onset of the subsequent recession. There are signs we may be entering similar territory now.

Reuters data show that M&A mega deals this year, up to and including June 15, totaled $1.22 trillion, up 64 percent on the same period last year. They comprised a record 76 deals.

More significantly, that's 52.7 percent of $2.32 trillion total M&A, a new record share for the year to date, and on course to beat the previous calendar year record of 49.5 percent at the height of the tech boom in 1999.

It's a similar picture in the tech, media and telecom (TMT) sector, where mega deals so far this year stand at $401 billion, or nearly two-thirds of the TMT total. That's on track to beat the previous record of 59.2 percent in 1999.

Mega deals are defined as a deal valued at $5 billion or more.

One the one hand, a surge of mega M&A at the tail end of the cycle is to be expected. Companies can't sustain the growth rates of previous years, so executives look to grow by acquisition to keep shareholders happy.

But therein lie the pitfalls, as companies take on greater debt and risk. And some executives simply get sucked in by the whole boom: bigger is better, the good times will go on forever, and this time really is different.

The RBS-led $98 billion takeover of ABN Amro in 2007, Mannesmann's $202 billion takeover of Vodafone in 1999 and Time Warner's $181 billion tie-up with America Online in 2000 are all classic examples of executive hubris, chutzpah and ultimately, folly.

That does not apply to all mega deals, of course, far less the thousands of smaller transactions that are carried out on a more routine basis. But investors looking for warning signs and comparisons with the late '90s don't have far to look.

The Nasdaq continues to boom while the rest of Wall Street is showing signs of burnout. The tech-heavy benchmark is up 12 percent this year, the S&P 500 is up 3 percent and the Dow is flat. The S&P 500 and Dow have failed to revisit their January peaks, but the Nasdaq has made nine record highs since, the last of which was last week.

According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch's monthly survey of global fund managers, the most crowded trade in June was "long FAANG + BAT" for the fifth month in a row. It's the most crowded of any trade since December 2015, BAML said.

The acronyms 'FAANG + BAT' refer to the US tech giants Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google, plus the Chinese firms Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent.

The market cap of the five FAANG stocks currently stands at $3.915 trillion. That's more than the valuation of the entire UK stock market, which today stands at $3.38 trillion.

The US tech sector now has a market cap of $6.6 trillion, according to BAML. That's big enough on its own, but even more staggering in a global context: China's tech sector market cap is $738 billion, Europe's is $533 billion and Japan's is $452 billion.

Parallels with 1999? Maybe. But as some analysts note, total returns on Wall Street today are much lower than they were 20 years ago, valuations still aren't as high, and speculation isn't as intense. The tech industry today is much more mature than it was back then, too.

The mega deal frenzy underway now, however, is more than enough reason for caution.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Comcast outbids Disney with $65 billion offer for Fox assets

NEW YORK -- Comcast on Wednesday offered $65 billion for key film and television assets of Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox, topping an offer from Walt Disney Co. for a deal that could create a dominant media-entertainment power.

The move by Comcast, which is the largest US cable provider and also owns the NBCUniversal media group, opens up a new round of competition for the prized assets being shed by the Murdoch family empire.

The deal, if approved, would merge Comcast-owned Universal Studios and the NBC television network with Hollywood rival 20th Century Fox, Fox's cable entertainment networks and international TV businesses.

"These are highly strategic and complementary businesses and we are in our minds the right buyer," said Comcast chairman and chief executive Brian Roberts in a conference call.

Roberts said Murdoch had built "one of the world's great media and entertainment companies," and that its history was similar to that of Comcast's.

With the deal, Roberts said Comcast would stay on track "to build the entertainment company of the future."

Roberts said the all-cash bid was nearly 20 percent richer than the $52 billion stock offer from Disney, and said Comcast would match the Disney offer of a $2.5 billion fee if the deal failed to win regulatory approval.

"We are highly confident in our ability to finance the transaction, and our offer includes no financing-related conditions," Comcast said in a letter to Rupert Murdoch and his sons Lachlan and James.

The statement pointed out that Comcast and Fox had been in talks before the Murdochs reached the deal with Disney, which is being submitted for a shareholder vote July 10.

The new offer is likely to prompt a response from Disney, and force the Murdochs to review their position on the tie-up with Disney, which owns the ABC television networks ESPN and is a major Hollywood player.

THE NEW LANDSCAPE

The news comes a day after a federal judge approved a massive $85 billion takeover by telecom-broadband giant AT&T or media-entertainment conglomerate Time Warner that could reshape the media and communications landscape.

The court approval ended a heated antitrust battle, and suggested Comcast would be able to clear any regulatory hurdles to a deal with Fox.

Comcast said any antitrust concerns should be eased by Tuesday's court ruling on AT&T and that its offer "should be as or more likely to receive international approvals, given our relatively small presence outside the US."

"We believe yesterday's decision in the AT&T case supports our confidence," Comcast chief financial officer Mike Cavanagh said on the conference call.

The deal became possible when Rupert Murdoch, 87, and his sons decided to slim down the media empire, leaving them with a "New Fox" that includes the Fox News Channel, the Fox broadcast network and sports cable operations.

Comcast if successful would be able to expand beyond US borders to new markets in Europe and India.

Included in the sale is Fox's 39 percent stake in the British pay TV operator Sky. Murdoch has sought full control of Sky but has faced opposition from regulators in Britain.

Comcast earlier this year made an offer of $30.7 billion in cash for Sky, in a move welcomed by the British firm.

The dealmaking comes with traditional media pressured by new business models from Netflix, Amazon and others. During the AT&T antitrust trial, executives maintained they need more scale and better data to compete with online services.

Whoever wins the battle for Fox assets would also get its 30 percent stake in Hulu, the online platform created by media groups to challenge Netflix and Amazon.

Comcast and Disney each own a 30 percent stake in Hulu and Time Warner holds 10 percent.

John Bergmayer of the consumer group Public Knowledge said any Comcast deal should face scrutiny, especially in light of the expiration of provisions from its 2011 takeover of NBCU.

"Without the protections of the consent decree, Comcast will already have the ability to harm its rivals, raising prices for consumers," Bergmayer said.

Bergmayer said the deal raises "significant antitrust and regulatory concerns" and added that "further consolidation is the last thing consumers need."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Wall Street ends little changed as media stocks slump, healthcare gains

Wall Street ended little changed on Thursday after a moderate late-day rally as media stocks, which slumped on negative business updates from Walt Disney and Comcast, were offset by gains in healthcare shares.

Comcast dropped 6.2 percent after the cable operator warned of subscriber losses, while Disney shares fell 4.4 percent after the company cautioned about its profit growth. The S&P 500 media index ended down 3.6 percent.

Gains in healthcare stocks such as AbbVie and Bristol-Myers Squibb buoyed indexes, while strength in Microsoft and Amazon helped keep the tech-heavy Nasdaq in positive territory.


Investors were tracking Hurricane Irma, which was bearing down on Florida on the heels of devastation in Texas caused by Hurricane Harvey. Irma plowed past the Dominican Republic toward Haiti after devastating a string of Caribbean islands.

With Irma looming, shares of insurers were weaker, with the Dow Jones US Insurance index off 1.9 percent.

“There’s further uncertainty because of Hurricane Irma that is supposed to be hitting Florida. You don’t know what kind of damage it is going to do," said John Praveen, managing director at Prudential International Investments Advisers in Newark, New Jersey.

Combined with Harvey, in the short term, Praveen said, "maybe it will have a negative impact upon US GDP growth and it might hurt US earnings, and that’s probably why the markets are reacting negatively."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 22.86 points, or 0.1 percent, to 21,784.78, the S&P 500 lost 0.44 points, or 0.02 percent, to 2,465.1 and the Nasdaq Composite added 4.56 points, or 0.07 percent, to 6,397.87.

Irma is the latest macro event to keep pressure on US equities following concerns earlier this week about geopolitical tensions involving North Korea, which sparked the biggest one-day drop for the S&P 500 in about 3 weeks. Adding to concerns, September historically has been the worst month for stocks, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.

Still, the benchmark S&P remains near all-time highs, with market watchers pointing to strong earnings growth and solid economic data as helping to support stocks.

“For being in such a nervous world right now, the market has done exceptionally well,” said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Investors were also digesting comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who said the euro's strength was already weighing on inflation and will be a key factor for the ECB next month when it decides how to proceed with its massive stimulus program.

General Electric shares sank 3.6 percent, dragging on the S&P and the Dow, after a bearish analyst note.

Apple shares also weighed on major indexes, falling 0.4 percent after a report that the company's new iPhone was hit with production glitches.

Financial shares slid 1.7 percent amid a drop in US Treasury yields.

Healthcare was the best-performing sector, rising 1.1 percent. AbbVie shares surged 6.1 percent and Bristol-Myers Squibb gained 5.0 percent after the drugmakers separately reported positive developments for their respective medicines.

Eli Lilly shares rose 1.3 percent after it said it would lay off about 8 percent of its employees.

Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.07-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.06-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

About 6.4 billion shares changed hands on US exchanges, above the 5.8 billion daily average over the last 20 sessions.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBC latest to dump Trump over Mexican immigrant comments

NEW YORK, United States - NBC severed business ties Monday with Donald Trump, joining a chorus of protests over the mogul turned US presidential hopeful's remarks about Mexican immigrants.

This means the Miss USA and Miss Universe beauty pageants -- Trump owns the broadcast rights -- will not be aired on NBC, which is a unit of Comcast.

And Trump will no longer appear in the NBC reality show "The Apprentice," where he had been a star attraction.

The NBC television network's announcement came four days after Univision, the leading broadcaster in the US Spanish-language TV market, also broke with the Miss Universe Organization.

Trump has angered many in America with comments he made in announcing his run for the Republican presidential nomination last week. Hispanics are the country's fastest growing minority, and the majority of US Hispanics are of Mexican descent and origin.

In a rambling 45-minute speech, Trump said: "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best."

He added: "They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems with us. They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists."

Billionaire Trump's comments triggered criticism both in the United States and Mexico.

Mexican Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong called them "prejudiced and absurd."

Hispanic and migrant advocacy groups slammed Trump, while Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton called his remarks inflammatory.

But Trump will not back down. Over the weekend he said Mexico should pay for a wall along the border between it and the United States.

"I would do something very severe unless they contributed or gave us the money to build the wall," Trump said on CNN's State of the Union.

Trump insisted "you have people coming through the border that are from all over. And they're bad. They're really bad."

"I'm not just saying Mexicans, I'm talking about people that are from all over, that are killers, and rapists," he said.

On the wall, he said: "Mexico has not treated us well. Mexico treats us as though we are stupid people. Which, of course, our leaders are."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Who won in high-stakes Super Bowl ad battle?

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK - Budweiser capitalized on cuteness with the return of a puppy and Coca-Cola stood out with an anti-bullying message as many brands stirred emotions rather than going for laughs during the annual high-stakes battle of Super Bowl commercials.

Companies paid up to a record $4.5 million for 30 seconds during the championship game on Comcast Corp's NBC network seen by an estimated 100 million-plus viewers, the year's biggest television audience. The New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks.

Brands employed uplifting themes including the celebration of dads and tackled somber social issues in their bids to grab attention among more than 70 commercials.

"There has been an awful lot of stuff tugging at the heart strings," said John Maxham, chief creative officer of DDB Chicago. "I'm struck at how many brands have gone with a serious almost socially minded tone to their advertising."
Budweiser had a hit even before kickoff. The beer maker owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev reprised last year's winning formula with another appearance by a puppy and his Clydesdale friends. This time, the horses help the lost puppy find his way home.


That ad was watched nearly 42 million times ahead of the game and topped rankings by iSpot, which tracks online views and social media chatter.

Coke won cheers from advertising experts for addressing digital hate speech, showing mean messages sent through texts or social media that were changed to positive missives once a bottle of Coke spilled into the wiring of servers.

The NFL ran a public service announcement that urged an end to domestic violence, a problem that tarnished the league's image during the season. The spot featured a woman calling the police but pretending to order a pizza so she wouldn't tip off her abuser.


Taking on serious issues during the Super Bowl can be tricky with viewers used to a celebratory atmosphere. Nationwide Insurance sparked a social media backlash with an ad that many called jarring.

The ad spotlighted a boy who could never grow up and ride a bike or get married because he died in an accident in a commercial meant to highlight preventable child injuries.

"Many people felt it was just the wrong time for a message like that," said Tim Calkins, marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, which runs an annual review of Super Bowl ads. "It was a very disturbing piece of advertising."

Adam Tucker, president of Ogilvy & Mather, the agency that created the commercial, said the ad was "intended to spark a conversation and create awareness around an important issue".

Web services company GoDaddy's commercial focused on a guy missing the game because he was working, the type of business owner GoDaddy serves. The company scrapped an earlier spot following an outcry from animal lovers who said it seemed to advocate puppy mills.

"They ended up running an ad that just didn't break through the clutter," Calkins said.

Going with comedy, Snickers scored with its spot featuring Marcia Brady of "The Brady Bunch" TV series transformed into angry action movie star Danny Trejo, part of the company's "You're Not You When You're Hungry" campaign.


"It stood out," said Jay Russell, chief creative officer at advertising agency GSD&M. "It's simple and quick."

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian mocked her own celebrity in a T-Mobile ad, dead panning about the "tragic" practice by some wireless carriers that take back unused data that could have been used to view more photos of her.

Unilever's Dove Men+Care was one of at least three companies to celebrate fatherhood, showing doting dads rushing to help an upset child or dancing at a daughter's wedding.

McDonald's - which ran a crowd-pleasing TV ad in which people paid for their orders by showing love to others - told people to follow its Twitter feed during each commercial break. The fast food restaurant chain set up a team of people in a war room to comment on every commercial, encouraging people to re-tweet to win a related promotion.

"Lovin' Clydesdales & puppies & wolves, oh my, @Budweiser. RT to try & win a trip with your best bud, up to 500 miles," McDonald's wrote.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Verizon FiOS TV launching with 26 channels for Xbox Live

Verizon's live television offering for Xbox Live is coming next month, the company announced today.

Starting in December, Xbox Live Gold members will be able to download a Verizon FiOS TV application to their consoles. Upon doing so, and as long as they're both Verizon TV and Internet subscribers, they'll be able to watch live programming on 26 channels through Verizon's service. Verizon didn't say which channels will be offered, but it did acknowledge that the selection will depend "on the customer's TV package."

Microsoft announced a wide-ranging television agreement last month with a host of service and content providers. At the the time, the software giant said that it had inked deals with approximately 50 companies around the world, including Bravo, Comcast, HBO Go, and others, to provide their content through the Xbox. The move is part of a broader strategy on Microsoft's part to make the Xbox a key component in the living room, outside of gaming.

To help it achieve that goal, Microsoft is relying heavily upon its Kinect motion-gaming device. In fact, Verizon said today that Kinect owners will be able to control its FiOS TV service with "voice and gesture commands" through the peripheral.

To sweeten the pot a bit for Xbox owners, Verizon is offering a special deal that includes FiOS TV and Internet and phone service, starting at $89.99 per month. Customers who sign up between now and January 21 will also receive 12 free months of Xbox Live Gold service and a copy of the upcoming Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary game.


source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-57332844-17/verizon-fios-tv-launching-with-26-channels-for-xbox-live/?tag=mncol