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Streaming shows can't be included in the profit calculation as subscribers don't specifically pay to watch each one but instead are billed a flat fee which gives them access to all of the content. As Tom Harrington of media consultants Enders Analysis explains, "given the structure of the streaming model it is almost impossible to robustly attribute profitability to any single piece of content." Therein lies the problem.

If confirmed, the amount put on the table would be "significant for a channel that has never been profitable," notes François Godard, from the Enders Analysis firm. But the free service could still "pull up advertising revenue," which DAZN relies on to make money.

The deal will increase pressure on other mobile operators in the UK, according to Karen Egan, senior telecoms analyst at Enders.

BT Group Plc’s mobile network EE will face the “greatest challenges in adapting to the new market structure,” with everyone under pressure to invest more in their networks, she added.

Analyst Karen Egan at Enders Analysis said the approval was the right outcome, with the alternative a slow painful retreat by Hutchison.

"Three high quality networks instead of four inferior ones will serve consumers and businesses better, and the industry can move away from the low returns, low investment cycle that has dogged it," Egan said.

Karen Egan, head of telecoms at Enders Analysis, said the CMA’s decision was “a sensible way of giving the companies what they need to survive whilst ensuring that consumers are protected from a pricing perspective and getting the uplift in network quality that the merger promises”.

Hamish Low, a research analyst at Enders Analysis, said Intel had issues during Gelsinger's tenure getting operations ready for the AI boom while dealing with the internal challenges of separating its foundry division from its design business.

"This long, drawn-out corporate process of trying to get your own house in order, when that's your focus, clearly generative AI just skipped right by," Low told Business Insider.

He added that Intel was long known as "the x86 CPU company," referring to its architecture for more general computer chips. The AI world runs on chips known as GPUs loaded into servers, so trying to shift focus while restructuring the business proved tough.

"When it suddenly is GPUs and accelerated computers, it was always going to be a tough challenge to pivot into doing those kinds of server GPU chips," he said.