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.
“Even without any explicit pressure, the political and moral reasons to avoid X have been lifted by key executives,” said Jamie MacEwan, senior research analyst at Enders Analysis. “X could claw back some of the enormous amount of ground it has lost.”
Broadcaster reach and viewing fell in 2024, but the decline slowed as BVOD growth increasingly makes up for linear decline and the BBC’s viewing grew year-on-year.
SVOD penetration and engagement returned to (slight) growth in 2024 and video-sharing platforms are increasing their share of TV set viewing.
Broadcasters still offer a wider array of programming than SVODs, but they are expanding their offering, as is YouTube.
BT had a solid-but-mixed Q3, with revenue growth slightly weaker than expected, EBITDA growth slightly stronger, and subscriber net adds a touch weak across broadband, mobile and Openreach
The outlook is buoyed by a likely altnet slowdown at some point in FY26, with this set to help subscriber numbers at Consumer/Openreach and pricing at Consumer
The main cloud is the potential effect of a merged Vodafone-Three challenging BT/EE for best network and boosting MVNOs, a challenge we feel is real but manageable for BT
Douglas McCabe, the chief executive of Enders Analysis, says print media – including magazines, books and newspapers – will be hit hardest if WH Smith does not survive or is radically changed under a new owner.
“It’s easy to forget that for a lot of people, WH Smith is the place where they are going to pick up the one or two books they buy a year. Handing it over to the supermarkets is not ideal. What we see with newspapers and magazines, they are not disappearing entirely [from supermarket shelves] but they are retreating to smaller spaces in not the highest footfall areas.”
McCabe from Enders adds that a revamped WH Smith could play to greater interest in physical media among the younger generations, from books and magazine to CDs and vinyl records. “It is cool, partly as it is not the internet. It is not going to send you alerts, it is a separate space,” he says.
Levy, who has spent over two decades at Sky News in roles across production and journalism, is adamant that the traditional breaking and live product will – to the outside observer at least – remain at the forefront of Sky News’ offering. But, according to Bella Monckon, a research analyst at Enders Analysis, that doesn’t stop the overhaul from being one of the the most ambitious – and progressive – of any major news broadcaster in the UK in recent years.
“It’s really quite an active – as opposed to reactive – move from Sky,” she tells City AM. “There are other companies that have done it [abroad] – CNN in the US for example – but as a UK broadcaster they’re on the front foot.”
Bella Monkcom, at Enders Analysis, says: “People will pay for trusted news sources – they already do for many other organisations – especially if you target it as a premium product, as with much of Sky’s offering. You can really get people on board with that.”
YouTube is now the UK's fifth most-used venue for finding news, and a key focus for UK broadcasters and publishers. They made up a quarter of UK trending news videos in 2023, competing with native YouTubers and US broadcasters
We find that YouTube’s algorithms tend to funnel users from news content towards non-news within a few videos. The reverse trend, of non-news to news content, is almost non-existent
We do not find evidence of widespread brand safety concerns impacting advertising on news videos, though publishers still note YouTube is better for exposure and consumption than it is for generating revenue. The ad load is largely in line with other genres
Tom Harrington, of Enders, says that the company’s speed is also a crucial factor. Show trailers start playing in seconds and lags are rare.
“The user experience is probably undervalued in its contribution to Netflix’s success,” Harrington says. “For a lean-back medium like TV, any added aggravation raises the bar of how good your content has to be to make the journey worthwhile.
“There’s an alchemy of a number of things that Netflix does better than anyone else.”
Vodafone has announced that it is looking to launch a satellite direct-to-device service with AST Space Mobile in Europe "later in 2025 and 2026", while also demonstrating the first satellite video call in the UK.
The key challenge for AST Space Mobile is scaling up its constellation, with significant uncertainty remaining around their ability to both manufacture satellites on time and the rockets available to deliver them.
Potential for a full mobile broadband service is a key differentiator versus Starlink's text-only service, and if AST can deliver then Vodafone could be first to market in the UK with a direct-to-device service.