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Enders Analysis provides a subscription research service covering the media, entertainment, mobile and fixed telecommunications industries in Europe, with a special focus on new technologies and media.

Our research is independent and evidence-based, covering all sides of the market: consumers, leading companies, industry trends, forecasts and public policy & regulation. A complete list of our research can be found here.

 

Rigorous Fearless Independent

The wolves start to circle: Mobile eSIMs in prospect

17 March 2022

The UK mobile operators are increasingly vocal about their concerns regarding the tech giants, namely Apple and Google, encroaching on the mobile connectivity market.

eSIMs enhance the case for the tech giants launching their own MVNOs (such as Google Fi in the US) or, perhaps more realistically and concerningly, becoming gatekeepers to mobile airtime subscriptions.

Many things would need to line up for the tech giants to effect this and the MNOs need to stand as one to ensure that they are not successful. Policy makers should be equally reticent.

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Tom Standen-Jewell was quoted in CITY A.M on "EU regulators set to give Amazon’s £6.4bn MGM snap up the green light"

10 March 2022

Tom praised Amazon’s move in what he called an “extremely competitive” market.

“Differentiation within your library is now an overriding necessity, and what makes some content distinctive, and therefore valuable, is global brand recognition."

He added “Intellectual property like James Bond, Rocky and The Handmaid’s tale provide both long-term library value and the possibility of spin offs with a guaranteed audience.  This is why Amazon’s acquisition of MGM might be worth its weight in subscriptions."

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ITV FY 2021 results: Here comes ITVX

9 March 2022

ITV is combining its three domestic digital services—ITV Hub, Hub+ and BritBox—into a single product, ITVX, which will have a free and paid tier and see the addition of FAST channels. It will launch in Q4

The Hub and BritBox UK have underwhelmed in their respective markets, hampered by the broadcaster favouring linear revenues and the competitiveness posed by the surfeit of free British content. ITV is looking to change this direction, with shifts in content windowing and some additional content spend

Total external revenues were up 24% YoY in 2021 (and up 4% on 2019) to £3,450 million, driven by the highest advertising revenue on record, however Studios has not yet returned to pre-COVID levels, with both revenues (£1,760 million) and margin (12%) still down on 2019 (£1,830 million and 15%, respectively)

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Jamie MacEwan was quoted in The Guardian on "Telegram: the app at the heart of Ukraine’s propaganda battle"

7 March 2022

Jamie said “This is another example of Telegram being linked to resistance movements. It has very much been part of its reputation over the past couple of years as it has boomed. It is associated with being a safe haven.”

He added “The timing of the emergence of talk of an IPO is quite telling, coming almost immediately after the early 2021 boom when its user potential started to explode. I think the momentum they now have, the sheer weight of users, and the fact they are experimenting with ‘privacy safe’ advertising make them an attractive flotation candidate.”

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Alice Enders was quoted in City A.M on "Are charities losing our trust and donations?"

4 March 2022

Alice said “The reality is that it is beneficial for people to set up a charity with top heavy management structures, even if by doing so is not directly helping to address the problem it is trying to solve in society."

She added “The Charity Commission is more reactive than it is proactive. The Commission isn’t investigating issues, but waits for them to be flagged when there is a specific complaint.”

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Shopify gains on Amazon: Threat from the open internet

4 March 2022

Amazon has capitalised on the pandemic’s boost to ecommerce, reporting 67% global revenue growth from 2019 to 2021. While Shopify’s impressive trebling of B2B revenues was from a lower base, at 44% of Amazon’s Marketplace it is closing the (still huge) gap

Shopify appeals to brands around the world, leveraging the open internet to establish a direct-to-consumer (D2C) business, undermining Amazon’s position as the B2B ecommerce one-stop-shop in 17 markets

Shopify is not a direct platform competitor to Amazon, which boasts a captive audience of Prime members and fulfilment. Shopify’s expansion to fulfilment in North America is the first threat to Amazon’s grip

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Karen Egan was quoted in the Financial Times on "UK watchdog approves Cellnex purchase of 6,000 British mobile towers"

4 March 2022

Karen said “If they are to have any chance of surviving as a standalone mobile network operator in the UK then they need to stop the downward spiral of poor network perception, fewer customers, lower returns [and] lower investment.”

Three’s capital expenditure was just half that of its peers for the years leading up to 2020, Egan added, and even though it doubled its spending subsequently, it has not been able to catch up with the likes of Vodafone, O2 and EE.

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Positive growth prospects: UK broadband, telephony and pay TV trends Q4 2021

3 March 2022

Market revenue growth accelerated to just under 2% in Q4, with broadband growth holding up despite the ending of most pandemic restrictions.

Backbook pricing pressure should continue to retreat in 2022, and ultrafast speed premia should also bolster ARPU as FTTP roll-outs accelerate.

The price increases due in April will further support growth, with BT in particular to benefit, and all will have to be wary of customer backlash.

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