Toby Syfret was quoted in an article on the war for content in broadcasting. Last week, public service broadcaster Channel 4 bought the rights to screen The Great British Bake Off, the UK’s most popular TV show, for a reported £75m over three years. The deal reflects how competitive the market for watchable programming has become. Toby reckons that Channel 4 should make a modest profit on its rumoured outlay if more than 5m viewers regularly watch the show.

Tom Harrington was quoted in an article on the BBC, ITV and other traditional broadcasters who will struggle to attract A-list stars if Netflix and the major streaming giants continue to outspend them on shows. Tom said that the streaming giants are still in their relative infancy and so are splashing out vast sums in a bid to outcompete traditional broadcasters. He added that, as younger viewers turned in increasing numbers to streaming services, terrestrial channels may start to target an older audience with their programming, catering to the ageing demographic of those who prefer traditional scheduled TV.
Further, he said that “what’s happening right now is that it is early days for streaming services and they are rushing to fill their arsenal with programming, you will see a lot of the major talent, the proper movie stars, on the streaming channels, as they are rushing to snap people up. If it’s a head-to-head money-wise [for the biggest names] then the traditional broadcasters will lose.” He added, however, that the current levels of spending from Netflix and Amazon on original series were unsustainable in the long term and that the BBC and ITV could still trade on the “cachet” and prestige of appearing in a flagship prime-time series on terrestrial TV. Tom explained that there is “a lot of life left” in traditional TV schedules, but added: “Watching linear TV is going down, mostly among younger age groups, where streaming is going up... So TV shows may be targeted at an even older demographic.”

Douglas McCabe was quoted in an article which confirms Telegraph Media Group is not for sale rebuffing expressions of interest from potential buyers in the past six months. “The Telegraph is better placed than most. It has a large subscriber base and circulation seems reasonably robust. Newspapers, even great and profitable newspapers, are not quite the prized assets they once were, but the Telegraph is a powerful voice in the British political and cultural landscape.”

Douglas McCabe was quoted in an article on the increase in sales for magazines dealing with current affairs which goes against the trend of decline in print circulation

Douglas McCabe was quoted in an article on Rebekah Brooks and her return to head News Corp’s British newspaper operations. Last week Ms Brooks made the biggest splash since she returned last September, with News Corp’s £220m acquisition of the owners of Talksport radio. The deal followed the group’s £114m purchase of digital advertising start-up, Unruly, last autumn, 10 days after Ms Brooks’ return. Douglas said “Rebekah Brooks is bringing strategic clarity to News UK, and the integration of Talksport and greater Premier League distribution is a clear illustration of that”.

Douglas McCabe was quoted in an article on the fall in newspaper display advertising and the discussions that are under way between media companies to explore ways they can set aside differences and work together to address the alarming drop in advertising revenue. Douglas Said "The implications are clear: while print advertising has been in a state of secular decline for over a decade the structural forces underpinning this decline have moved up several gears."

Douglas McCabe was quoted in an article on the creation of “24: The North’s National” newspaper. The family-owned publisher behind 24 said it would aim to take a northern slant on national news and would be available only in Cumbria, Northumberland and parts of southern Scotland and Lancashire, avoiding big cities where competition is fierce. Douglas said there was a market for northern news. But while CN Group had kept costs to a minimum, there was still a risk. Adding that “they are trying to recapture a market that has switched habits. People no longer go into a newsagent every morning and pick up a newspaper. You are asking people to switch back and that is very hard.”

Douglas McCabe was quoted in an article on Time Out, the magazine company founded in London in 1968, which has raised £90m ahead of a listing on London’s junior stock market. Time Out is also taking steps to boost its online advertising revenue - Liberum has forecast that Time Out’s digital revenues will increase from £11.7m in 2015 to £38.4m in 2018. Douglas warned that investors would need to take a “leap of faith” to bet that the company’s growth rate would increase so rapidly in the years ahead. He said Time Out’s editorial expertise could help it stand out from its many online rivals, but added that “the question is whether Time Out’s content is compelling enough to get to a big enough scale”.

Gill Hind was quoted in an article on the European Commission decision to allow broadcasters to air more ads during prime time TV shows. Gill said broadcasters would be unwise to “pump in 20 minutes of ads an hour” because it would annoy viewers and prove unattractive to advertisers whose slots would be diluted.

Claire Enders was quoted in an article on the BBC White Paper, where the government proposed that six members of the new BBC board, should be public appointees. The BBC’s director-general has opposed a plan for the government to appoint almost half its board, arguing that it would undermine the broadcaster’s independence. Claire said “the government no longer believes that [online streaming] is going to replace public service broadcasting. It does not subscribe to Thatcherite ideas about the absence of the need for a public intervention.”