On Dec. 13, 2017, The Walt Disney Company entered into an agreement to acquire certain assets and businesses from Twenty-First Century Fox, including Fox’s 22 regional sports networks (RSNs).  After an investigation, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division filed a civil antitrust lawsuit on June 27, 2018, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to block the proposed transaction.  At the same time, the Department filed a proposed settlement that, if approved by the court, would resolve the Department’s competitive concerns.

The proposed settlement requires Disney to divest Fox’s RSNs.  On May 3, 2019, Disney and Sinclair Broadcasting entered into an agreement (the Divestiture Transaction), under which Sinclair proposes to acquire the RSNs, except the New York Yankees-affiliated YES Network, from Disney.  The Department, after an investigation, approved Sinclair’s acquisition of the 21 RSNs.  Under the terms of the proposed Final Judgment filed with the court, the Department has the sole discretion to approve the divestiture of the Fox RSNs to one or more acquirers. Based upon its investigation, the Department did not find that the Divestiture Transaction would lead to competitive harm, and found that Sinclair has the incentive to use the RSNs to compete in all affected markets and that Sinclair has sufficient business experience and financial capabilities to compete effectively in the affected markets over the long term.

Nearly all U.S. teens (95%) say they have access to a smartphone – and 45% say they are “almost constantly” on the internet. So, what exactly are teens doing with their cellphones? The vast majority (90%) of cellphone-using teens say their phone is a way to just pass time. Similarly, large shares of teen cellphone users say they at least sometimes use their phone to connect with other people (84%) or learn new things (83%). But while phones are a way for teens to connect with other people, they can also be a way to avoid face-to-face interactions. Roughly four-in-ten teen cellphone users (43%) say they often or sometimes use their phone to avoid interacting with people. This is truer for teen girls than teen boys. Roughly half of teen girls who have access to a cellphone (54%) say they often or sometimes use their mobile device to avoid social interaction, while 31% of teen boys report doing the same. For many teens, phones have become a vital part of their daily routine, and their relationship with their device can be complicated.

President Donald Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon has produced a new film called “Claws of the Red Dragon” attacking Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications company President Trump has forbidden US companies from doing business with over concerns about its ties to the Chinese government. Bannon’s goal is to steel Trump’s resolve to confront China — a resolve that seemed to weaken when markets plunged in early Aug and the administration granted Huawei a 90-day reprieve. Bannon hopes “Claws of the Red Dragon” is sufficiently alarmist that President Trump puts off worries about a recession and presses ahead with tariffs. “The central issue in the 2020 presidential campaign is going to be the economic war with China: manufacturing jobs, currency, capital markets and technology,” Bannon said. “Huawei is a key part of that, and this film will highlight why it must be shut down." “One of my objectives is to get a screening for President Trump at the White House,” he said.