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The line loss numbers from Openreach were “very encouraging” in spite of “aggressive promotions from alt nets,” said Karen Egan, head of telecoms at Enders Analysis. “There has been a lot of shorting of BT in light of the alt net pressure but they seem to be doing very well in the face of that and their all-important free cash flow recovery story remains very much in tact.”
Display advertising is forecast to grow c.7% in 2026 despite lacklustre consumer confidence, out of sync with the gradual economic recovery.
Online advertising has doubled its share of online consumer spend since 2015. Major ad platforms account for over 40% of all UK display advertising spend.
Mature media’s prospects more closely align with the UK economy, with real term growth unlikely this year.
Jamie MacEwan, senior media analyst at Enders Analysis, said that agencies were facing “sentiment volatility that will be tough for ad agencies to shake”.
He added: “Like it or not, their customers continue to spend big on Google and Meta. This leaves agencies increasingly dependent on a handful of platforms where they are outspent by SMEs and exposed to AI tools. That doesn't mean there isn't a lot for agencies to offer their clients in a complex media world, but clearly real-terms growth on a sector level will continue to be a struggle. That is why even Publicis' years of outperformance have not been significantly rewarded.”
According to Enders Analysis, Disney+ engagement in the UK has begun to improve after over 18 months of decline, with the gap to Netflix narrowing for the first time, albeit modestly.
Project Gigabit has made reasonable progress in allocating subsidy contracts covering 1.1 million premises, and the contract holders look on track to complete their build-outs well before the 2032 deadline.
However, this leaves c.1.5 million premises still without the prospect of gigabit broadband, no firm steer as to when contracts covering these might be awarded, and a reduced per-home budget available to cover them.
Openreach looks likely to win most or all of these, and to take over earlier contracts should altnets pull back or fail (an increasingly likely occurrence), increasing its share of subsidised coverage from the current c.30% to around 70% or above.
Disney's Entertainment revenues rose 5% year-on-year to $26.0 billion in Q1, although content and marketing costs pressured operating income down (-9%, $4.6 billion). Management outlined its plan to create a Disney+ home for AI content.
Although a very early development, after 18 months of widening, improvements in Disney+'s UK engagement has seen its gap with Netflix contract.
Disney's global marketing reorganisation—including the development of a brand stewardship function led from the top of the company—is a broadly positive move from an outfit laboured with long-entrenched vertical silos.
The alternative networks — or altnets — have been badly hit by rising interest rates, amassing an aggregate £9 billion in debt, according to the latest figures compiled by Enders Analysis.
Karen Egan at Enders Analysis says: “She definitely did benefit from a timing perspective, coming in after Jansen left.
“But to her credit she told the story much better than he managed to.”
“In this business, they say: sports sell subscriptions, entertainment prevents cancellations,” says François Godard. He is an analyst for the sports rights market and advises companies like DAZN and Sky, as well as the German Football League (DFL). Pay TV without sports rights is difficult, he says. In an industry where everything is now available on demand, a product that still consists primarily of live events is very valuable. Events that no one wants to miss. Sports are the perfect bait for subscribers.