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James said that having non-executives with telecoms experience helps, in areas such as tackling scepticism about industry “fads”, but that “a good mix of industry experience is ideal in a board and the benefit of this experience would be gradual and long term."
Douglas said there has been a resurgence of simple and satisfying word puzzles, long the bread-and-butter of print newspapers. "On the one hand, all the talk and hype around the internet generally is around Web 3.0 and the metaverse, really immersive digital experiences," he said. "But simultaneously there is a kind of nostalgic love of quite simple products and interactions" like Wordle.
Alice said “Recorded music catalogs, generally not placed by a musician in the same group as copyright catalogs, must be worked on more with other interlocutors: Spotify or Apple Music."
Apple’s record December quarter closed off a huge year for the company, with little sign that supply chain problems affected the core iPhone business. Services, meanwhile, remain strong, and the company’s status as the world’s biggest subscription provider positions the business for a metaverse future.
Apple’s ability to control platforms like the App Store is under regulatory pressure. Apple is ceding ground where it can, while keeping fees high for the mobile gaming cash cow.
China has returned as a meaningful contributor to growth. US sanctions have toppled China’s Huawei, to the benefit of the American firm.
Karen Egan, a senior telecoms analyst at Enders Analysis, said that Vodafone’s high debt levels had been a “huge distraction” and that the Liberty Global acquisition has “in no way, shape or form lived up to its promise”.
But Egan said “it’s not at all obvious to me that Vodafone is doing the wrong things” and noted that it has faced regulatory obstacles to consolidation.
Karen said a merger with Three would be “by some margin the most value-enhancing move they could make in the UK"
She added “Certainly the signals that the CMA have been giving on other things recently does not make you optimistic.”
Gill said “It is difficult to regain all the audience that the BBC once had, but they will make some inroads into attracting 16 to 34s again, and then the hope is that those viewers might move over to watch something on BBC1 or BBC2.”
Yet surely the young are all on streaming platforms? Gill warns: “There is a common media assumption that all young people are like the university-educated, London young — and it’s not the case. TV is still viewed.” Programmes such as ITV’s I’m a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here! still perform strongly with young audiences.
Alice said this dynamic is undoubtedly at play in the case of Rogan, who signed a $100m (£75m) exclusivity deal with Spotify back in 2020. “He’s their baby and Spotify doesn’t really have a choice between Young or Rogan."
“Like a Netflix model, Spotify commissioned him, gave him a platform, and he therefore drives a lot of usage for the service. The choice is clear.”
She added “To be honest, Joe Rogan himself is the issue here and the use of his podcast as a political platform. I would imagine that Spotify is currently having a serious conversation with him about hijacking the opportunity it has given him.”
Karen said the joint venture would have to offer a better price than BT Openreach to ensure it attracted enough customers. “BT Openreach will become a competitor in a short timeframe,” she said. “It’s difficult to see how the financials stack up.”