The Dolan family is suing Altice USA for allegedly reneging on terms of Altice's buy of Cablevision, via ongoing layoffs at News 12 Networks. In a complaint filed Wednesday in Delaware Chancery Court, Cablevision founder Charles Dolan and other family members allege Altice agreed in the 2016 takeover to maintain News 12 employment level for at least five years and incur up to $60 million in losses doing so. Plaintiffs allege it cut 70 positions in 2017 and notified them last week of plans to lay off dozens more this week and to cut 10 percent of News 12 staff each successive year. Those downsizings have "no basis in economic reality" given News 12 profitability, according to the suit. Also suing is News 12 anchor Colleen McVey, who is to be laid off this week. The suit asks for a permanent injunction and a court order that Altice operate News 12 in compliance with its business plan at least through 2020. The plaintiffs also filed an accompanying motion for a temporary restraining order. Altice emailed that the suit is meritless and it plans to defend itself "vigorously." It said "our News 12 team is comprised of the most talented journalists and staff in the news business and Altice USA remains committed to offering meaningful news coverage, enhancing our news product for our local communities, and growing our audience."

The FTC cleared the way for Movado to buy MVMT Watches, the agency announced Wednesday, ending the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period. Movado expects to close the $100 million deal around Oct. 1, says Movado CEO Efraim Grinberg (see 1808300034 or 1705260033).

21st Century Fox is investing $100 million in social broadcasting platform Caffeine, Fox announced. The deal includes creating Caffeine Studios, which is jointly owned by Caffeine and Fox Sports. “The new studio will leverage FOX Sports’ expertise in live events and programming to create exclusive esports, video game, sports, and live entertainment content” for Caffeine's platform, Wednesday's release said. 21st Century Fox Executive Chairman Lachlan Murdoch will join Caffeine’s board.

The relatively few petitions asking the FCC to deny T-Mobile’s buy of Sprint (see 1808280038) probably bode well, Macquarie’s Amy Yong told investors Thursday. “Odds of deal approval are rising and attention is now shifting to potential conditions/remedies,” Yong forecast. “The backdrop doesn’t seem to support spectrum or subscriber divestments.” She said AT&T and Verizon, “as expected,” were silent, as were new wireless entrants Comcast and Charter Communications. The cable companies' stance “likely reflects their commitment to their Verizon MVNOs, rather than looking to access New T-Mobile’s network or spectrum assets,” she said. However, Altice had MVNO worries. The deal's harms are "especially potent today as cable operators entering the wireless market using MVNOs are only beginning to offer consumers wireless choice," the operator said.

Satellite and terrestrial network operator Speedcast International will buy Globecomm Systems for an estimated $135 million, Speedcast said Monday. It said the Globecomm deal will beef up its portfolio of offerings of remote communications and multi-network infrastructure to government, maritime and enterprise sectors. It also said the deal complements the recent acquisition of UltiSat (see 1707280010), with more scale and capabilities in the government sector. Speedcast said the deal is expected to close in Q4.

Analog Devices will continue taking a “very disciplined” approach to future acquisitions, said CEO Vincent Roche on a Wednesday earnings call. “At a very high level, our strategy is really focused on acquiring assets that improve our competitive boat.” The company’s goal “is to acquire technologies and engineering capabilities that will enhance us, make our portfolio more complete, to meet the demands of the markets and customers in the future,” he said. “That's the path we'll continue to be on.” He declined to discuss “specific targets,” other than to say “we're always looking, but our standards are very, very high.” That was “the case” when Analog Devices completed its $14.8 billion Linear Technology buy in March 2017, said Roche. “I'm very pleased with where we are now in terms of our overall portfolio, but we're always on the look.”

Comcast is extending until Sept. 12 its deadline for Sky shareholders to weigh in on its bid for takeover, it said Wednesday. The original deadline was Wednesday, and it said that as of then it received acceptances representing 0.21 percent of ordinary shares. The Diffusion Group analyst Rob Silvershein blogged that Comcast is likely to win in the bidding war with Disney but "whoever ends up with Sky will ultimately pay a hefty premium." He said the formal bid from Fox -- which Disney is buying -- earlier this month triggered a waiting period ending Sept. 22 in which either party can raise its price, and if by then there's not a clear winner, the next step is a five-day auction process to determine whose offer will be recommended to shareholders. He said Disney/Fox will likely raise its bid, and Comcast will "aggressively counter" and ultimately win because it needs Sky more than Disney does, and the premium Disney is paying for Fox limits Disney's ability to counter it.

Groups asked the FCC to halt its 180-day review "clock" on T-Mobile's planned buy of Sprint, until applicants "supplement their public interest statement to adequately describe the extensive spectrum aggregation that will result." The agency "should establish a new pleading cycle, with Petitions to Deny due four weeks following the Applicant’s submission of and the agency’s publication of sufficient information for the Commission and the public to sufficiently review the spectrum concentration," said a motion Friday, in docket 18-197, of the Communications Workers of America, Rural Wireless Association, NTCA, Public Knowledge, Consumers Union, The Greenlining Institute, Common Cause, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Writers Guild of America West, Free Press and Benton Foundation. Alternatively, they requested, at least extend the deadline for filing petitions to deny to Sept. 17, which is "warranted in light of the importance and complexity of this proceeding, conflicts with the major Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and the glut of overlapping major proceedings" open for public comment. The FCC, Sprint and T-Mobile didn't comment. GCI Communication supports the transaction "because it will create a stronger mobile broadband operator with sufficient scale and financial resources to bring much-needed wholesale and retail wireless competition." The cable operator/telco said a T-Mobile roaming deal helps it provide "competitive wireless broadband service" to customers traveling outside Alaska.

AT&T closed its buy of digital advertising company AppNexus (see 1806250036), which it's folding into AT&T Advertising and Analytics led by CEO Brian Lesser, the buyer said. “AT&T will continue to invest in and build on AppNexus’ technology globally as it integrates with AT&T’s first-party data, premium video content and distribution."

The administrative law judge proceeding on Sinclair buying Tribune “must go forward” despite the deal’s dissolution, ex-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler blogged Tuesday. The hearing should continue to allow Sinclair to present evidence on its behalf and demonstrate FCC independence in the face of President Donald Trump’s tweet condemning the hearing designation order, Wheeler said. Tribune announced the collapse of the deal and a related lawsuit against Sinclair last week (see 1808090042). Trump's use of “such pejorative and judgmental terms” means the agency “has a responsibility to uphold the honor and integrity of its processes and not to allow a shadow to hang over its proceedings,” Wheeler said. “President Trump has hung a cloud over the FCC.” Attorneys for Sinclair wrote a letter to the general counsel of the Brookings Institution arguing the company didn’t deceive the FCC in response to a previous blog of Wheeler’s, he said (see 1807250057). Deciding whether to continue with the hearing is a “legacy defining decision,” for current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, Wheeler said. Pai's choosing “a backroom consent decree deal” over a hearing would leave “serious unanswered questions,” Wheeler said. “How will the Commission treat Sinclair’s future transactions, its petitions to renew existing licenses when they expire, its future retransmission consent negotiations with cable operators that rely on good faith, or the new ATSC 3.0 television standard that it sponsors?” After taking “a victory lap for being tough on oversight,” Pai has to choose between giving “a pardon to the friend of the president” or continuing the hearing, Wheeler said. Sinclair didn’t comment.