Your digest of the week’s top media, entertainment and technology news.

Digital digest index

Trump ends Qualcomm & Broadcom deal
Broadcom withdrew its $117 billion bid to acquire Qualcomm Inc on Wednesday after US President Trump blocked the attempt citing concerns over national security, Reuters reported. Broadcom plans to relocate to the US incurring a cost of $500 million annually. The move should make it easier for Broadcom to make US acquisitions without falling fears of being blocked.  

RT ban proposed across the UK
The Russian government-funded TV station RT has fired back at the UK after MPs called for Ofcom to revoke the broadcaster’s licence in the wake of the nerve agent attack on former Russian spy. According to Press Gazette, the RT press office called the proposition a “regrettable” decision to be used as a “political pawn”. 

BBC iPlayer record-breaking month 
January 2018 saw the BBC’s iPlayer reach a record-high with 328 million requests for the VoD and catch-up service, which was a 10% increase for the same month in 2017. Rapid TV News reported the aggressive marketing campaign and continued investment in drama including McMafia, BBC’s new crime drama was streamed 3.4 million times from the broadcaster helped to drive user requests.  

Google, Facebook and Apple to pay EU digital tax
The European Commission will unveil a three-pronged digital tax targetting tech giants including Google, Facebook and Apple for an estimated turnover to raise €5 billion. The Financial Times reported the levy is likely to be set at a rate of 3% targetting revenues rather than profits. 

Twitter to rival Snap
The social media giant is working on a camera-first feature in a move to rival SnapChat’s advertising opportunities. According to CNBC, the feature would shift focus from text to video and images with Twitter Moments with sponsorship opportunities placed between real-time photos and videos.  

YouTube to tackle fake news with Wikipedia
In an attempt to counter fake news YouTube will add snippets of information from Wikipedia beneath videos to push viewers to alternative points of view and further information. The Telegraph reported the latest attempt to stop the flow of disinformation on the video-sharing website, however, Wikipedia claims it was not a formalised partnership raising concerns around the credibility of the links. 

Govt spends £41m to boost UK 5G 
Next-generation wireless projects in the UK are receiving a boost to help support developing 5G projects. Six organisations have been awarded between £2 and 5 million for ground-breaking projects looking into ways of using the high-frequency spectrum for delivery purposes across the media, tourism and healthcare sectors according to Silicon UK.

Disney creates video streaming enterprise 
The Walt Disney Company is aligning its business with the future growth opportunities around video streaming. Launching a new unit to “capitalise on today’s changing media landscape” its streaming unit will launch a family-oriented channel in 2019 as well as the ESPN+ digital offering, reported by Advanced Television.  

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