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Douglas said “There’s a ‘Game of Thrones’ drama taking place. But the key story behind it is this profound strategic rethinking of the company.”
Claire said “There’s a lot of overlap. The impetus to put together MailOnline with the main titles is driven by costs. It has to be done.”
She added “These types of assets have been systemically condemned by the City, which is never going to get this story again. It’s better off being privately managed. He’s doing what’s necessary now, which is to put these titles on a sensible footing as cash flow machines for his family.”
Gareth said “The economics of the game are fantastic”. But he added there were only so many battles that EA could pick with football bodies. “You don’t want to be in a position where all of a sudden you’re beginning to unpick [naming] arrangements."
Francois said “This, and a couple of other notable licenses, including NENT in Scandinavia, Poland and Netherlands, and Telekom Srbija, more than make up for the drop in China."
Julian said “I don’t think sports makes sense for a lot of the online digital platforms." He added that he “wouldn’t read too much” into the discovery of SportsKit as an indication that Apple is preparing such a move. This software could be used to deliver things like the latest scores to fans instead of live streamed matches.
Claire said said the allegations were a severe blow to Afiniti’s stated ambitions for a US listing. “It would certainly compromise, fatally, plans for an initial public offering."
Market revenue growth remained positive in Q3 despite much of the lockdown bounceback dropping out, and is at a significantly higher level than pre-pandemic.
The backbook pricing pressure that has plagued the operators over the last 18 months appears to be finally starting to drop away, allowing strong demand and firm pricing to feed through.
The prospects for next year are also very positive, with firm price increases expected from April, ultrafast upgrades growing in significance, and continued annualisation of backbook issues.
Karen said "I think Nick Read sounds too confident with regard to the UK. There is a bit more acknowledgement to balance investment and returns, but I think that the appetite for consolidation is still quite weak.
"It is hard to think how Three UK is going to thrive or even survive without such a deal, but I don't think it is there for the taking in any stretch of the imagination."
Karen believes Vodafone's heavy debts are a key reason that it is eyeing merger opportunities for Vantage Towers, the mobile masts operator that was carved out of the business in a move that could pave the way for Vodafone to sell down its 82pc stake.
The UK print media sector is facing escalating input cost inflation. Newsprint prices are 50% higher year on year in Q4 2021, noting that prices in 2020 were exceptionally low on soft demand. Based on 2019 rates, prices could be 25% higher in H1 2022. The squeeze on margins for print could destabilise the economics of supply overall.
Newsprint inflation is being caused by soaring costs of recycled feedstock, exacerbated by the monopoly of a single supplying mill in the UK after years of attrition. Imports remain substantial, but impaired by the EU-wide crisis in the supply of paper products, alongside bottlenecks at points of entry to the UK.
Although less significant a factor than paper in the cost of printing the news, electricity cost inflation is another worry for printers, noting that these costs were again also exceptionally low in 2020. Wholesale electricity prices surged by 80% in 2021 (Ofgem), due to pressure on gas supplies from Russia, and the global energy crisis, which will persist into 2022.