Telecoms Up Amid Deal Talk -- Telecoms Roundup

Shares of telecommunications companies rose after magazine publisher Meredith said it has lined up financing commitments from several banks and the billionaire Koch brothers in pursuit of a takeover of rival Time, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In another sign of rapid changes in the media industry, digital publisher BuzzFeed is on track to miss its revenue target for this year by a significant amount as even fast-growing online companies struggle to keep up with news consumption and advertising trends.

Viacom said ratings gains at its core TV networks helped it halt the ongoing slide in domestic advertising revenue in the most recent quarter. The Justice Department's new antitrust chief made clear Thursday he doesn't favor approving mergers based on corporate commitments to refrain from particular conduct, another ominous sign for AT&T's planned merger with Time Warner. Both sides have hinted that they are prepared for a court battle should the Justice Department decide to block the deal.

The Federal Communications Commission reversed longstanding limits on local ownership of TV stations as well as radio stations and newspapers, opening the door to a new wave of consolidation, as Chairman Ajit Pai cast the ownership rules as a relic of the pre-Internet age.

T-Mobile US shares rose after Reuters reported that the carrier will roll out its fifth-generation network across the U.S. by 2020 and propose a "significant" share buyback.

-Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjonens.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 16, 2017 16:47 ET (21:47 GMT)