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Karen Egan, senior telecoms analyst at Enders the research service, said she was a “continuity candidate”, a priority for BT at a time when the company is going through seismic changes. Previous candidates have been external.

“The rationale for foldable phones is clear,” agreed Joseph Teasdale, head of tech at Enders Analysis. “Who wouldn’t want an iPad-quality screen in an iPhone-sized package?”

However, foldable devices currently come with compromises.

“They’re expensive, the screens crease, the hinge is a point of failure, and they have to incorporate multiple displays rather than concentrating on making one display as good as possible at the price,” Teasdale told City A.M..

He estimated it may take around two more years to develop a foldable that doesn’t feel like an expensive prototype.

Kirkby beat Marc Allera, the head of BT’s consumer division, who was tipped as the leading internal candidate, to the top job. But despite being drafted in from Sweden’s Telia, which she has run for the past four years, Kirkby is “very much a continuity candidate”, according to James Barford, an analyst at Enders Analysis.

Kirkby’s job is “all about execution”, said Barford. The 56-year-old Scot is well acquainted with the sector and the need for big changes to combat its multiple challenges.

Karen Egan at Enders Analysis said Kirkby would be ‘more of a continuity candidate’ which ‘made sense as BT is mainly trying to stay the course.’

Analysts at Enders, the media consultancy, said illegal subscription “IPTV” services delivered to TV sets through a dedicated app were in effect being enabled by major internet companies — including search engines, mobile stores and social media platforms — by allowing the discovery of, and access to, pirated content. 

It adds to a gloomy picture for the future of sports rights and Adam Dalrymple, a research analyst who specialises in the field for Enders Analysis, says the Premier League is entering the market at a difficult time.

“The Premier League has its work cut out for it to match the £5.1bn they raised last time,” he told i.

“All its potential bidders are in cost-cutting mode, inflation has hit consumer demand and other flagship football rights auctions in Europe have struggled to reach their revenue targets in recent months.

“However, the Premier League rights remain the most effective engine for driving pay-TV subscriptions in the UK ahead of this upcoming auction.”

“This is a really tough market,” says James Barford, of Enders Analysis. “The broadband market this quarter shrunk as a whole…. it’s a very tough environment.”