In today's ExchangeWire news digest: the Competition and Markets Authority acknowledges there are grounds to clear Microsoft's planned acquisition of Activision; TikTok Shop faces regulatory headwinds in Indonesia; and Amazon appears set to take adverts to Prime.

CMA says there are "reasonable grounds" for Microsoft-Activision

The UK’s competition watchdog has said there are grounds to clear Microsoft’s planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In a document published by the British government, The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it believes “there are reasonable grounds” for the USD$69bn (~£56bn) deal to be approved. The CMA added that it was “considering the offer”.

TikTok Shop meets regulatory resistance in Indonesia

TikTok's ecommerce expansion in Indonesia may be hampered by a potential regulatory crackdown on TikTok Shop. The Ministry of Trade recently proposed separating TikTok shop from its core social media platform, a move which would be “a huge blow” to the ByteDance-owned app.

Amazon to bring adverts to Prime

Amazon Prime viewers will reportedly see regular commercial breaks while streaming content on the platform from early next year. The platform has said it plans to run fewer ads than on broadcast TV and that viewers will be able to retain ad-free subscriptions for a slightly higher fee.

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Fact of the Day

~200m – the number of Amazon Prime members worldwide.

Source: Statista

Last Week's Tech Teasers

Inspired by WARC Media’s report, last week’s teasers were all about MENA. How well did you do? Find out below!

• USD$88m (~£71m) – Jordan’s advertising spend in 2022 🇯🇴
• USD$2.3bn (~£1.8bn) – the forecast revenue for online video advertising by 2027 💻
• 16.41% – the forecast CAGR of MENA’s DOOH market from 2023 - 2028 🌱
• USD$12m (~£9.6m) – the amount ad spend in the region is set to exceed in 2024 💰
• Shahid VIP – the most subscribed-to streaming service in MENA 📺

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