The Breakfast Meeting: Universal-EMI Deal Passes in Europe, and Relief at News Corp.

September 21, 2012, 9:35 am

By NOAM COHEN

Universal Music Group won Europe's approval on Friday for its $1.9 billion acquisition of the British-based EMI Music, Ben Sisario and James Kanter report. The approval came after Universal agreed to a series of concessions meant to foster competition even as the sale itself will reduce the number of major music labels to three from four. The concessions include the selling off about a third of EMI's assets including most of Parlophone, its flagship label in Europe, with acts like Coldplay, Pink Floyd and Kylie Minogue. A consolation for the newly enlarged Universal is that it will keep the Beatles.

• The deal has already been cleared in Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand. It is being reviewed in the United States by the Federal Trade Commission, with a decision expected in the coming days.

The ruling on Thursday that BSkyB, whose largest shareholder is Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, was “fit and proper” to hold a broadcasting license, gave a palpable sense of relief to News Corporation headquarters, Amy Chozick and Ravi Somaiya reported. The ruling, which comes a year into investigations of the phone-hacking scandal in Britain, helps allay concerns of further scrutiny in the United States by the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission.

• While the report was stinging toward Rupert's son James Murdoch, it nonetheless made the company less restrained about giving him an expanded role; a Financial Times report that James Murdoch could oversee the Fox Networks Group, a Los Angeles-based unit that includes Fox Broadcasting and Fox's regional sports channels, was confirmed by a person close to News Corporation.

Wal-Mart on Thursday said it would stop carrying Amazon's Kindle e-book reader and tablet, in what was widely interpreted as a sign of how seriously Wal-Mart - the nation's largest retailer - takes Amazon as a competitor, Stephanie Clifford and Julie Bosman reported. Earlier black-and-white Kindles were good only for reading digital books, but the newer Kindle Fire, introduced in 2011, is a tablet that lets a user potentially access anything Amazon sells. “Every time you pick up your Kindle, they're trying to get you to buy patio furniture,” said Colin Gillis, a technology analyst for BGC Financial. “If I were Wal-Mart, I certainly would not be encouraging my customers to go down the path of owning a Kindle and buying things from Amazon.”

• Target took the same step in May, though other retail chains, including Staples and Best Buy would continue selling the Kindles. And Wal-Mart will continue to sell tablets from companies like Apple, Google, Barnes & Nobl e and Samsung.

While PBS has always done well at the Emmy Awards, this year could be special, Brian Stelter writes, because it has a chance of winning in arguably the most competitive category: best drama. Its British import, “Downton Abbey,” is nominated for that award, which will be handed out on Sunday in Los Angeles. The other nominees are “Mad Men” and “Breaking Bad” on AMC; “Boardwalk Empire” and “Game of Thrones” on HBO; “Homeland” on Showtime. The last time public broadcasting won for best drama was in 1977, for another British import - “Upstairs, Downstairs.”