Claire noted Mr Davie was one of the most commercially experienced people to ever lead the BBC, a skillset that would be essential when dealing with the financial issues facing the broadcaster. “The actual management challenge of the BBC is not in the editorial space but in the survival of its financial fabric,” she added. 

James said that the figure was “right at the top end” of what could be reasonably achieved. He said that the deal was still worth exploring given “the challenging fundamentals of the sector—in a very mature market, even tangential synergies are worth pursuing”.

Joseph said “The crisis is locking in the advantages of the largest players in the market.”

He added “Advertiser budgets are retreating from any kind of long-term investment in their brands. The only campaigns that are surviving are those that contribute to cash flow today. That is where Google and Facebook are best in class.”

Claire estimated that betting companies spent roughly £200m on TV advertising in 2019. This compares with roughly £1bn spent online, an arena largely untouched by regulators.

“This shows how advertising spend drifts towards less regulated media." She warned that stopping traditional media advertising would naturally push companies to increase marketing online.

Francois argued that broadcasters face a “massive loss of subscribers” due to the weeks-long sports blackout. This has created huge losses that may make television companies reluctant to pay big sums in future media rights deals. 

Douglas predicts that, without subsidies, as many as one in three journalists working for print titles could lose their jobs — 5,000 across the country. “It is a terrifying picture,” he said.

Gill said that thanks to the lockdown, consumers — especially younger viewers who had cut the cord of “normal” television in favour of Netflix and other streamers — were “reconnecting with ‘the box’. They are realising TV is more than just drama and comedy. It’s about national culture. The challenge for terrestrial broadcasters now is to exploit this shift.”

Tom said that while the pandemic had driven an upsurge in daytime TV viewing in the UK, especially around news, families are watching primarily on the big-screen TV, while Quibi is available only on mobile. “I don’t see the evidence for [demand for] this gap” between YouTube-style short clips and traditional TV shows.

He added “People have done short-form services before, but not at this level or quality. Quibi is trying to do something quite different. They won’t know whether it works for some time . . . and by then they’ve already thrown away hundreds of millions of dollars worth of investment in content.”