Instagram is a $100 billion, top-three global ads business that is fast becoming Meta’s leading platform in core ad markets as Facebook faces user tipping points across the UK, US and Western Europe.

Reels capture over half of user time, making Instagram an enormous creator as well as brand platform. Instagram must decide whether to join YouTube, Netflix and Disney on the creator escalator as professional content providers seek greater rewards.

Meta’s ads war chest dwarfs YouTube’s. Unlocking it would mean giving up precious margin, so Instagram will have to make tough choices and innovate. We expect announcements at Meta Connect on how content is surfaced on Instagram, on distribution across devices, and on targeted rewards for longer formats.

Broadcasters deliver significant societal value in Europe, but face challenges, competing for viewers and advertising against global players (streamers/VSPs/social media platforms) with different economic models.

Broadcasters’ advertising revenue is plateauing, with growth in the video ad market driven by the tech giants. Global platforms own vast video inventory and proprietary advertising stacks.

Broadcaster collaboration and consolidation is required. However, content access/prominence on platforms and advertising market definitions must be reviewed with regulatory imbalances redressed.

The government’s latest media green paper proposes prominence for trusted news on online platforms (separately to potential prominence for public service media content). This involves a collision of totally differently regulated parts of the media landscape.

Prominence could take different forms and include different providers. At present, news is a small part of platform viewing, but many types of providers engage in that space, for a range of public service or commercial reasons.

Defining ‘quality news’ is extremely difficult; designating providers is almost as tricky. There is also the matter of deciding who decides what news to promote.

AI assistants are aiming to break the link between aggregation and discovery. Tangible utility is still the best defence for the online marketplace model that derived value from owning discovery within specific verticals (vehicles, properties, jobs, online resale).

For OpenAI, integrating with the marketplace ecosystem is a chance to broaden its commercial relevance to users across sectors without undue risk.

The expansion of programmatic and the rise of chatbot advertising formats further break down the distinctions between display, search, and classified advertising, promoting both competition and opacity.

Streamers are trying to position ‘engagement’ as the new gauge of success, but in a definitionally opaque way. Netflix says "quality, variety, and quantity" matter, while cutting its viewing reports to annual. Disney says it's about fandom, not just subscribers.

Every streamer is now in the black, but the gap with Netflix continues to widen. Netflix runs at 33% margins; the rest are in single digits. Peacock's first-ever profit reflects World Cup seasonality.

All players have launched short-form vertical feeds to solve discovery fatigue and capture daytime mobile usage. YouTube has proved the economics of this, but SVODs will attempt to replicate this within a premium streaming context.

Service revenue trends confounded expectations to improve slightly in spite of an expected drag from changes to in-contract pricing.

VodafoneThree appears to be rethinking its speed-tiered pricing on both main brands, perhaps signalling clearer differentiation between them.

For the new government, planning law reform could make a real difference to the sector's investment profile, and hence, its growth ambitions.

Broadband market revenue for the ‘big four’ dipped to -2.5% in Q2, thanks to short-term seasonal factors and long-term altnet pressure.

The CMA decision on nexfibre-Netomnia is now not due until December, stalling much-needed further altnet consolidation, although CityFibre is looking to shortcut this with a capital raise.

Openreach has been curtailed by Ofcom in its ability to compete with altnets, but not with VMO2, which could lead to interesting dynamics should the deal go ahead.

Disney saw a 7% YoY uptick in Q3 revenues (to $25.2 billion) and a 21% jump in operating income (to $5.6 billion) with the concern over domestic parks admissions abated, while streaming performance masked the persistent waning of linear: both face continuing advertising headwinds

For now, Josh D’Amaro’s leadership appears necessarily understated, immediately concerning itself with retooling operations. At some point it will have to yield to a growth strategy that must accelerate without drawing political heat

Disney+ UK’s reach remains resilient despite sluggish engagement, suggesting subscribers now prioritise baseline price over the usage-based perks of higher tiers

ITV had a good World Cup, with the tournament driving H1 total advertising revenue up 3% YoY (£850 million), while average viewing per game was marginally better than the BBC.

Although the football provided a welcome bump, H1 viewing remained bleak (-8.5%): the broadcaster currently commands its smallest share of the decade and our 2026 forecast of a 6% drop in total engagement may turn out to be optimistic.

As expected, Studios had a steady half and will accelerate towards the end of the year with a particularly high profile pipeline.

VMO2 suffered a dip in revenue growth in Q2, albeit mainly due to price rise phasing issues and the Daisy integration, with EBITDA growth actually improving.

There were some concerning signs however, with mobile net adds remaining stubbornly low. Full year 2026 guidance is still achievable, but a return to growth in 2027 is challenging.

Regulatory developments have been mixed, and VMO2 will have to be careful what it wishes for as regards the future competitive structure of the sector.