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Karen Egan, head of mobile at Enders Analysis, says a refusal to allow consolidation has made investment “very difficult”, particularly for smaller operators.

“It’s a real balancing act between consumer prices and investment and I certainly think that regulators and policymakers in Europe have got that balance wrong of late,” she adds.

“You can have low prices and investment, but not four networks,” says Egan. “You can have four networks that are cheap but not great. Or you can have four networks that are really good quality but not cheap.

“You really can’t have your cake and eat it.”

"When you watch Gladiators, it's exactly the same as it was in the 1990s, in terms of the challenges, the music and the eliminations," Tom Harrington, an analyst at the media research firm Enders Analysis, told the BBC.

Mr Harrington said some other revived shows have failed because they've "been tinkered with" to the point they end up losing what made them good originally.

"With Gladiators, the producers understood what made it great to watch in the first place, and they've not messed with that at all," he added.

Mr Harrington said the Gladiators reboot had achieved a rare feat of getting families to come together on a Saturday night to watch TV.

"It's a declining phenomenon," he said. "Especially when you consider that younger viewers are moving away from TV to short-form video or streaming services.

"But here you have a show that's on at a particular time slot, and people [have tuned] in."

“They are more exposed than anyone to the advertising market,” says Tom Harrington, head of TV at the media consultancy Enders Analysis, with commercials providing about two-thirds of Channel 4’s income. Much of the surplus it boasted of having less than two years ago has been spent – including £17 million on staff retention bonuses. “It was clear the market was going to get more difficult,” Harrington adds. “Ironically, now they are letting a lot of those people go.” Among the highly-regarded commissioners to have departed in recent weeks are head of factual Alf Lawrie, Caroline Hollick, the Leeds-based drama chief who brought I Am Ruth and It’s a Sin to the broadcaster, and head of youth and digital, Karl Warner.

“The proxy battle has become an intensely personal issue for Iger, as well as his proxy supporters, specifically to stop Peltz at all costs from claiming a board seat,” said Gareth Sutcliffe of Enders Analysis.

“Disney in many respects is in a much better position than it was when Iger became CEO again,” said Sutcliffe, “but there are longterm risks, including what happens on linear TV networks and [streaming] costs. So there are still things that need to be done to put Disney on the right track.”

“The valuation at this stage is completely detached from business reality,” according to Niamh Burns, analyst at Enders Analysis. “But it’s not really about business—these investors are just betting on Donald Trump.”

Gill Hind, director of television at Enders Analysis, said that the channel sat outside the media ecosystem. “The UK has a great reputation for being completely impartial and GB News has taken that to the limit and beyond,” she said.