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Enders Analysis provides a subscription research service covering the media, entertainment, mobile and fixed telecommunications industries in Europe, with a special focus on new technologies and media.

Our research is independent and evidence-based, covering all sides of the market: consumers, leading companies, industry trends, forecasts and public policy & regulation. A complete list of our research can be found here.

 

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“Broadcaster decline is slowing down, that is clear,” says Tom Harrington, the head of television at the research service Enders. “It is not as bad as it was, but broadcasters’ video-on-demand services are not balancing the decline in linear TV. Streaming is not keeping up with the viewing decline, the amount leaving broadcasters is still more than material.”

“Outside of the top few the others are kind of bundled in a way that makes them almost like they are free,” says Harrington. “They are just not as valued by customers, usage levels are low, and they have no leverage to put prices up. Netflix is smart. They have now anchored the low cost end of the market with its ad-supported package. Others can’t put prices up without looking expensive, but they are all having to foot the same content costs without Netflix’s scale.”

As Jamie MacEwan, senior research analyst at Enders Analysis, explained: “The benefits like badges, icons, early access and customisation options are more akin to features we see on social apps in China or Japan than the paid tiers being rolled out by Western social platforms.”

“Given that subscriptions doubled in the last year, they could actually be responsible for about half of incremental revenue last quarter — that’s a great story, but one that will get harder to sustain over time,” added MacEwan.

“If you want to challenge Sky, you must put a lot of money on the table,” says Francois Godard, senior media and telecoms analyst at Enders Analysis.

“For the money Amazon spent, they will have been very happy,” says Godard. “If the same thing had been available, I’m sure they would’ve been interested again, but that package was not there.

“They came into the Premier League with a retailer’s mentality, wanting people there on the platform right at the time they would shop most, and then moved towards a broadcasters’ mentality, where you need to people to come back to your service.

“For that, weekly sport is ideal. Amazon were so happy with the Champions League in Italy and Germany that they switched to the UK. I never saw this as a vote against the Premier League, but it is so expensive.”

The UK government is exploring an exception to copyright law for text and data mining (TDM) for AI training, preserving opt-out for creative media.

Licensing needs a proper technical and regulatory infrastructure. Beyond AI training, how this will apply for up-to-date access, as in AI search enhancements, is still uncertain.

The EU has put in place some helpful standards but shortfalls in its practical effectiveness are a warning to the UK.

“It’s been a mess for years,” said Alice Enders, director of research at Enders Analysis, a media and entertainment consultancy, noting that for all the problems, the Telegraph remains a profitable business. “But without an owner, the management cannot implement a strategy. For the staff, whose salaries and promotions are frozen, it’s an ongoing challenge.”

“The only reason he is the preferred bidder is because he offered so much more money than anyone else,” said Enders, noting that the reserve price was £500 million.

Service revenue growth dropped further to -1.7% this quarter as pricing remains under pressure and in-contract price increases no longer benefit


Competition is heating up in Germany and France, and Digi is taking an aggressive stance as it enters the Portuguese and Belgian markets


While there is increasing awareness that investment levels in Europe are compromised by the current market structure, support for in-market consolidation remains lukewarm at best at the EU level

From the depths of 2023, advertising expenditure on legacy media rose moderately in 2024, on the back of an uptick in real private consumer expenditure thanks to lower inflation and reduced costs of credit—the outlook for legacy media is about the same for 2025.

Online stands apart from legacy media due to the growth of ecommerce—driven by both goods (over 26% of retail sales) and services such as travel, as well as intense competition among platforms (Amazon, Shein, Temu)—with double-digit growth in 2024 set to continue in 2025.

Television remains the most effective medium for brand advertisers—despite the decline in viewing—with broadcasters’ digital innovation and SVOD ad tiers providing greater targeting alongside the mass broadcast reach.