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.
Market revenue growth bounced back to 4% in Q2, the first positive growth for the sector since 2019 .
Most of the improvement was however temporary sports channel bounceback, with underlying growth still negative.
Prospects are nonetheless healthy, with price increases now regular, backbook pressure annualising out, and ultrafast boosts growing.
James said "The traditional analogue landline signal is carried over copper - that's what it is. And so if you go to fibre, you have to do something else and [voice over internet protocol (VOIP)] is the obvious thing."
He added that customers should not notice a drop in quality compared with the PSTN system, "They should be at least as good, possibly better."
Douglas said booming ecommerce during the pandemic had spurred digital advertising, while revenue from print newspapers “has fallen dramatically over 10 years, so there’s not so much left to fall off”. “Investors are starting to think maybe there is something there . . . and you could not say that two years ago."
Joseph said the chasing pack had attracted new users during the pandemic, but he did not foresee Facebook “losing significant market share” any time soon. “Other businesses will have an element that is better than Facebook: TikTok has a killer young audience and Twitter’s ads are cheaper, but Facebook is an irresistible force and an immovable object has yet to appear in its path.”
Francois believes those savings are limited. He points out that in Spain, DAZN content is also available via "traditional linear channels".
"Look at the price of satellite channels today, it's no big savings, and online video is expensive because you need servers everywhere," he says.
This is a particular issue for sport because it is live and "everybody's watching at the same time", which increases the demand on the servers that are essential to relaying the live pictures into people's homes.
Francois assures that the Argentine star's departure "will not help" Barça and will help PSG, but believes that "the impact on the popularity of the leagues will be very small." Thus, he added that "marginally it can increase the interest by the Ligue 1, but the number one problem of this one is the lack of interesting competitors for the PSG."
Finally, the French analyst appreciates a positive effect on Messi's departure, "this departure may force LaLiga to analyze its own collective problems, especially the weakness of the 18 youngest."
Sky’s revenue was up 15% in Q2, back to pre-COVID levels despite some lingering pandemic effects such as most pubs and clubs remaining closed. EBITDA fell by a third, driven by higher costs from sports rights, since very few live sports events took place in Q2 2020
The impact of “resetting” football rights is already evident in Germany and Italy, with 248k net customer losses across the group despite growth in the UK. However, Sky will make substantial savings, and we expect this will more than offset lost revenues
Meanwhile, Sky continues to strike deals with other content providers, solidifying its position as the leading household entertainment gatekeeper. In time, apps for NBCU’s Peacock, ViacomCBS’ Paramount+, ITV Hub, and, in Germany, RTL TV Now and DAZN, will all be aggregated within Sky Q
VMO2’s inaugural results reinforced the company’s focus on profitability with EBITDA growth of 6% and record margins. Flat revenues year-on-year benefited from the annualisation of the COVID-19 hit but incorporated little by way of rebound.
Much remains to be seen in terms of strategy but indications thus far are reassuring with B2B a clear focus for revenue growth, and the benefits of direct distribution feeding through to profitability.
The company’s decision to build an overlay full fibre network is a bold, but smart, move—allaying justified obsolescence fears about its network, enhancing strategic flexibility, and reducing its cost base.
