Telecoms Up As Star Wars Boosts Disney Box Office -- Telecoms Roundup

Shares of telecommunications companies rose as a strong showing in one of the final weekends of the year quelled worries about a weak year for Hollywood studios' box office.

Walt Disney's "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" opened to North American box office tally of $220 million, the second biggest opening weekend for any movie, surpassed only by the previous installment in the third trilogy of the franchise.

Separately, John Skipper, president of Walt Disney's ESPN sports network, resigned, citing substance-abuse issues.

BT Group and Sky PLC struck a deal to distribute one another's sports channels, as the two pay-television companies reconsider their rivalry on premiership-football rights in light of competition from streaming services.

--Rob Curran, rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 18, 2017 17:07 ET (22:07 GMT)