Francois said “There are now two parallel attempts in Europe to reinvent free television: that of Mediaset of international concentration with the merger of its assets in Italy, Spain and Germany, and this merger project between TF1 and M6 that is to say -to say the creation of a powerful national actor that Bertelsmann is testing in France but would like to achieve in Germany. Because he strongly believes in this strategic approach."

Francois said “Will they become more willing to launch HBO Max in Sky countries [U.K., Italy, Germany]? So far, they have said they’ll do it eventually, but it’s unclear because they make money with Sky and it would cost them a lot to establish HBO Max.”

He added that the launch of HBO Max in territories where WarnerMedia and Sky have deals “could become more likely."

Tom said viewers’ passion counts. “Succession on Sky doesn’t rate very highly — around 200,000 viewers — but they are passionate enough to renew their subscriptions to see the next season, which makes it valuable enough for Sky to pay to fly [its star] Brian Cox over for the programme launch."

He added “As TV shows get more expensive, with more broadcasters collaborating and with more at stake, you probably will find data being used like this. Shows like Amazon’s Lord of the Rings cost the same as a big-budget picture, so you would think they could get audience feedback before putting it out. As things get more expensive, people want more certainty.”

Enders Analysis senior media analyst Jamie MacEwan said: "The timing makes sense.

"Apple probably anticipates increased demand for exposure on the App Store. That's because Apple's iOS privacy changes have made other options less attractive."

Ad campaigns on other sites had less reliable measurements of success, he said.

And app developers ran ads only if they were sure the cost of winning new customers was lower than the amount they would spend on the app.

"As its ads business grows, Apple will have to make sure its execution on consent and privacy is impeccable" to avoid accusations of putting itself first, Mr MacEwan added.