Federal Court Favours Apple in Epic Games Antitrust Case; Netflix to Invest USD$2.5bn in South Korea

by Hannah Dillon on 25th Apr 2023 in News

In today's ExchangeWire news digest: a federal court sides with Apple against Epic Games's claims of anticompetitive practices; Netflix commits to a multi-billion dollar investment in South Korea; and Nielsen states it will not join the recently formed JIC due to numerous reservations.

Court sides with Apple over Epic Games’ challenge

A 2021 ruling that supports Apple’s App Store policies against antitrust challenges has been upheld by a federal appeals court. Fortnite maker Epic Games claimed that Apple operates its App Store in an anticompetitive manner and to the detriment of developers. On Monday (24th April), however, a panel of three judges on the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a federal judge’s verdict that Apple does not hold a monopoly over mobile game transactions.

Netflix to invest USD$2.5bn in South Korea

Streaming giant Netflix is turning its attention to South Korea as other media giants look to invest in the country’s entertainment industry. The California-based company is investing USD$2.5bn (~£1.9bn) in the East Asian nation over four years to produce dramas, reality shows, and films, doubling Netflix’s spend on content from South Korea so far.

Nielsen refuses to join JIC over "fundamental legal" issues

Media measurement giant Nielsen has stated it is not ready to join the recently formed Joint Industry Committee’s (JIC) process for validating firms that provide audience measurement. The JIC had contacted measurement companies with a request for information ahead of its pre-upfront meeting this week. While numerous media companies, agencies, and measurement companies are set to attend, Nielsen’s CEO of global audience measurement Karthik Rao advised “fundamental legal, operational and scientific issues” must be resolved before Nielsen agrees to participate.