CBS and Viacom undoubtedly will combine this year, probably after Viacom and DirecTV ink a new distribution agreement, MoffettNathanson wrote investors Thursday. It said key details such as who would run CBS/Viacom are likely still being worked out, but a deal would improve the structural weaknesses of both by giving scale and bringing cost savings. It said those savings could translate into more money for CBS original content spending and for NFL rights fees. CBS and Viacom didn't comment.

GameStop completed the sale of Spring Mobile to Prime Communications for $700 million, excluding fees and adjustments, it said Wednesday. The company, which owns 5,800 stores in 14 countries, reports holiday quarter earnings Friday.

Cable and telecom companies will focus more on debt reduction than mergers and acquisitions this year -- especially the largest operators dealing with record high levels of debt, S&P Global Ratings said Wednesday. Others also predicted a slower year in pay-TV and programmer M&A (see 1901040029). S&P expects continued video subscriber and wireline voice subscriber losses. It said efforts to pay down debt could run up against "mature and competitive industry conditions" and spectrum license purchases. S&P said service revenue and subscriber trends for wireless companies were buoyed in 2018 by Sprint and T-Mobile cutting back on their aggressive promotional activity, and their combining (see 1901160037) could alleviate competitive intensity in that sector.

That Fox isn't bidding on the regional sports networks Disney is selling as part of its buy of Fox's nonbroadcast assets (see 1901110004) is damning evidence of poor prospects of RSNs overall, BTIG Research analyst Rich Greenfield wrote investors Monday. He said Sinclair appears to be the only bidder for all the RSNs -- minus the YES Network, which the New York Yankees likely are pursuing -- with others pursuing specific networks. He said it seems unlikely any company that could ensure wide distribution of the Fox RSNs is in the bidding, and an independent RSN could have trouble maintaining that distribution through the next round of carriage negotiations. Sinclair would likely try to combine its existing retransmission negotiation leverage with the network of RSNs, but that there's not much market overlap between Sinclair stations and the Fox RSNs would weaken its negotiating leverage, he said. In a separate note, BTIG analyst Brandon Ross said YES isn't a likely buyer for MSG Networks, which may be for sale, since the Yankees are interested in YES only to protect their own brand and haven't shown interest in a broader RSN portfolio.

Fox won't bid on any of the regional sports networks Disney might sell as required in the DOJ consent decree (see 1806270016), the 21st Century Fox subsidiary said Friday in a SEC filing. Fox live news and sports assets are being spun off into a separate company as part of Disney's purchase of Fox's entertainment assets (see 1712140038).

FTC deal reviews aren’t as effective with shutdown-mandated “skeleton crews,” Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter tweeted Monday, calling it a “bad situation.” She responded to a thread from Public Knowledge Policy Counsel-Competition Charlotte Slaiman suggesting transactions can be approved by default if enforcers don’t take action. The FTC and DOJ have an initial 30 days to respond to review applications, Slaiman noted. “It’s not that folks aren’t reviewing, it’s the excellent point that this work can’t be done as effectively with a skeleton crew,” Slaughter wrote.

Windstream sold what it called the legacy EarthLink consumer internet business for $330 million cash to the Trive Capital private equity firm. The telco's Monday announcement noted it bought EarthLink in February 2017. That deal was valued at about $1.1 billion. This divests "a non-core segment" to "focus exclusively on our two largest business units," said Windstream CEO Tony Thomas. The consumer business is "a fraction of EarthLink," said a Windstream spokesperson Wednesday. "Most of EarthLink resides in our Enterprise segment."

The government shutdown is forcing the FTC’s Premerger Notification Office (PNO) to operate with limited staff and it won't answer email or telephone inquiries on Hart-Scott-Rodino rules or filing procedures, the agency said in a plan that was set to go into effect midnight Friday (see 1812270042). The PNO and DOJ’s Premerger Office will operate during regular hours to receive HSR filings, FTC said, but early termination of waiting periods won't be granted during the closure. Online FTC services listed as inoperable during the work stoppage are the National Do Not Call Registry for consumers, the National Do Not Call Registry for telemarketers, the Consumer Sentinel Network for law enforcement, Complaint Assistant for filing consumer complaints, Identitytheft.gov for consumers reporting ID theft and Econsumer.gov for consumers reporting international complaints. Social media won't be updated, and all agency events are postponed until further notice, the FTC said.

Telecom blockchain financial tech software company Surge Holdings is buying 40 percent of Centercom Global, said Surge Thursday. The agreement calls for a cashless share exchange of Centercom equity stock and SURG restricted class stock, with final details to be released when the deal closes in January, it said.

Pandora CEO Roger Lynch would qualify for $12.7 million in “golden parachute” payments if he’s terminated within 18 months after the SiriusXM/Pandora transaction is completed (see 1809240030), said a SiriusXM proxy statement and prospectus filed Dec. 20 at the SEC. A Pandora shareholder vote on the acquisition is set for Jan. 29 at Pandora’s Oakland headquarters. Shareholders would vote separately on the actual deal proposal and the executive compensation packages, said the proxy. The transaction is expected to close in 2019's first quarter, it said. The FTC cleared SiriusXM/Pandora Friday, ending the transaction’s Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period, said the companies Monday. The Pandora and SiriusXM boards ratified the deal unanimously, they said. SiriusXM shareholder approval was not required, they said. The Jan. 29 vote brings SiriusXM “one step closer to sealing the deal,” said Macquarie Research Monday. “Next up, a transformation of its digital/mobile presence.” As SiriusXM management “prepares to welcome Pandora, we expect a better articulation of strategy and top/bottom line synergies,” it said.