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DMW Daily, September 17, 2008

Top Stories
o EU Approves Sony's $1.2B Takeover of Sony BMG Label
o Vote Clears Way for Discovery Communications to Go Public
o Report: Google Pondering Acquisition of Game Developer Valve
o Danish ISPs Reject IFPI Request for 3 Strikes P2P Policy
o MySpace Launches Interactive Tools for Presidential Debates
o Music Publisher Bug Music Secures $200 Million
o Collaborate Writing Site WEbook Lands $5 Million
o Web Radio Program Guide RadioTime Acquires RadioSherpa
o TruMedia Networks Buys Boston Sports Social Media Sites
Briefly Noted
o Social Music Service iLike Launches Developer Platform
o Dailymotion In Revenue-Sharing Deals With French Media Unions
o RoyaltyShare Expands Service to Mobile Content Distributors
 Top Stories
o EU Approves Sony's $1.2B Takeover of Sony BMG Label 
Brussels - The European Commission has cleared Sony's proposed $1.2 billion acquisition of Bertelsmann's 50% stake in their joint record label venture, Sony BMG, concluding that "the transaction would not significantly impede effective competition." [more..]
o Vote Clears Way for Discovery Communications to Go Public 
Silver Spring, Md. - Shareholders of Discovery Holding Company (DHC) have cleared the way for Discovery Communications to go public, approving a measure to combine their stake in the cable broadcaster with those owned by Advance/Newhouse.
[more..]
o Report: Google Pondering Acquisition of Game Developer Valve 
Los Angeles - Google is reportedly considering an acquisition of Valve Software, the developer of multiplayer hits including "Half Life" and "Counter-Strike," and a digital distribution system called Steam, according to The Inquirer, which cited well-placed sources. [more..]
o Danish ISPs Reject IFPI Request for 3 Strikes P2P Policy 
Los Angeles - A group of Internet service providers in Denmark has rejected proposals from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) trade group, which demanded they institute a "three strikes" policy toward file-swappers on their networks, TorrentFreak reported.
[more..]
o MySpace Launches Interactive Tools for Presidential Debates 
Los Angeles - News Corp.'s MySpace on Wednesday launched a set of interactive tools for MyDebates.org, a partnership between MySpace and the Commission on Presidential Debates that will provide live video webcasts of the upcoming presidential debates. [more..]
o Music Publisher Bug Music Secures $200 Million 
Los Angeles - Independent music publisher Bug Music announced on Wednesday that it has secured a new $200 million credit facility, led by JP Morgan. [more..]
o Collaborate Writing Site WEbook Lands $5 Million 
Bethesda, Md. - WEbook, a site that lets users collaborate on the writing of books, has raised $5 million in new venture capital funding, from new investor Vertex Venture Capital, previous backer Greylock Partners Israel and eight angel investors, VentureBeat reported. [more..]
o Web Radio Program Guide RadioTime Acquires RadioSherpa 
Dallas - RadioTime, a provider of Web radio station listings, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired RadioSherpa, the provider of a real-time program guide for all HD radio stations in New York City, Boston and San Francisco. [more..]
o TruMedia Networks Buys Boston Sports Social Media Sites 
Boston - TruMedia Networks, a developer of sports-related social media tools, announced on Wednesday that it has acquired a number of online sports communities from Boxcar Media, including Sawxheads.com, Celtsheads.com, Patsheads.com and Blackandgoldheads.com. [more..]
 Briefly Noted
o Social Music Service iLike Launches Developer Platform 
San Francisco - Social music discovery service iLike on Wednesday announced the launch of a developer platform, which will allow third parties to integrate iLike interactive music features into their applications and websites. [more..]
o Dailymotion In Revenue-Sharing Deals With French Media Unions 
Paris - France-based video-hosting site Dailymotion has signed deals with three French media unions, which will allow creators to take an undisclosed percentage of advertising revenue from content they upload to the site, Variety reports. [more..]
o RoyaltyShare Expands Service to Mobile Content Distributors 
San Diego - RoyaltyShare, a provider of a Web-based royalty processing and reporting service for the entertainment industry, said on Wednesday that it has signed deals with mobile service providers LiveWire Mobile, Moderati, SendMe Mobile, Thumbplay and Zed. [more..]