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“[Podcasting] was meant to be like Netflix Originals,” said Alice Enders, head of research at the firm. “It was supposed to drive notoriety and traction.” But the big names either did not produce the volumes of shows anticipated — as in the case of Harry and Meghan — or, like the Obamas, they used the platforms to amplify other voices, not their own.

Even when the podcasts did produce a newsworthy note, it would get picked up and plastered all over other media within minutes. Enders said: “You didn’t even have to listen to it on Spotify; you already knew what was going on. It was very hard for them to keep the exclusivity to the platform itself.”

Enders concluded: “I really don’t think the shareholders are so pleased by this.”

Karen said "I see a place for both of the main brands – Vodafone and Three. All mobile operators need a variety of brands to address the full range of customer types. They are likely to use Vodafone as a more high-end one and Three as the value proposition, in keeping with their history.

I could even see a role for both brands in the B2B market where Three is having quite a bit of success with its simple and cost-effective business propositions, while Vodafone has a long-established reputation, particularly with corporate customers.

 

What may need to be rationalised is their sub-brands, which target the lower end and pre-paid markets – Voxi (Vodafone) and Smarty (Three). Although both have been doing really quite well of late (particularly thanks to bargain-hunting consumers), they certainly won't both survive the merger."

For companies like Amazon auto-enrolment is a no brainer, according to research analyst Claire Holubowskyj at Enders Analysis.

She says companies can grow their customer base either by investing continuously to improve their products or by subscription which is an "easier route."

"The customer tries the product once and then is locked in, giving the company a relatively easy revenue stream at no extra cost".

Ms Holubowskyj says that there's been a shift in the consumer mindset in recent years which means we are now used to paying for products and services on a monthly basis, "It's just the done thing now and actually for customers there is a lot of benefit particularly with technology software where updates are just bedded in with the price now."

“Spotify just hasn’t succeeded in leveraging the consumption of podcasts,” says Alice Enders at Enders Analysis. “It hasn’t had a meaningful impact – in fact, it’s had a highly detrimental impact on their bottom line.”

Spotify insists podcasts have helped to sustain revenues on its ad-supported tier. Yet advertising made up just 11pc of the company’s overall revenue in the first quarter. Losses at the start of the year narrowed from the previous three months, but still stood at a hefty €156m.



As Enders puts it, the podcast push has “spectacularly failed to deliver the anticipated financial rewards to shareholders”.

“Podcasts don’t really travel that well, ” says Enders. “It’s a cultural product. Joe Rogan is not a big star here, but he’s a big star in the US. He had Elon Musk on and they were smoking dope… it’s the kind of thing that wouldn’t really land a lot of punches here.”

Media analyst Claire Enders said talks were “very complicated at present”, adding that, as each organisation takes its own approach, a single commercial arrangement for media groups was unlikely and could be counter productive. 

Enders added: “Chatbots won’t be credible tools if they are literally trained primarily on the sewers of misogyny and racism that make up most of open, accessible text.”

For companies with progressive values, the context of where their advertisements appear matters greatly, and this context includes other advertisers in the space, according to Jamie MacEwan, the senior media analyst at Enders Analysis.

“I could see this being a sell to advertisers with high standards for context who prioritize publications that walk the walk and build a strong connection with their readers based on shared values,” MacEwan said.