Telecoms Fall After Verizon Earnings -- Telecoms Roundup

Shares of telecommunications companies ticked down after a disappointing earnings report from Verizon Communications showed how competition in the U.S. had intensified.

Verizon's wireless telephone arm registered a net loss in subscribers for the first time and saw revenue decline 5% to $20.9 billion as budget rivals such as T-Mobile US eat into its market share.

Commentator Bill O'Reilly will exit Fox News with a severance package valued at about $25 million, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Walt Disney's ESPN channel could soon go from "drag to driver," said analysts at brokerage Morgan Stanley. As subscriber erosion abates, the Morgan Stanley analysts anticipate most cable providers renewing distribution deals with Disney at higher prices than they are currently paying. "ESPN's fixed sports liabilities imply operating leverage, with incremental affiliate revenues flowing through to operating income," said the Morgan Stanley analysts in a note to clients.

Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 20, 2017 17:13 ET (21:13 GMT)