“This momentum with creators is something Snap can build on to make advertisers excited about the platform again,” said Jamie MacEwan, senior research analyst at Enders Analysis. “Getting noticed above the noise is key as Snap relies on a relatively small number of advertisers, so even a handful deciding to divert that spend elsewhere is a problem, but that also means Snap has an opportunity to swing back into a strong position.”

François Godard, an analyst at the British consulting firm Enders Analysis, believes the takeover is advantageous for the German company because management can now focus on its operational business again: "The takeover provides Pro Sieben Sat 1 with a more solid financial basis and better prepares it for crises."

A larger group like MFE can offset regional economic weaknesses. This is already an advantage, because the advertising market in Italy and Spain is growing while Germany is in recession. Furthermore, Godard says, more resources are available for investments in technology.

Analyst Godard sees the greatest risk in management: "Will the Italians find the right balance between strategic orientation and local autonomy?" In Spain, he says, this has been achieved.

The takeover is part of the latter’s strategy to create a pan-European operator - using its Mediaset outfits in Italy and Spain – to rival US-based streamers such as Netflix. It is set to claim total revenues of €6.8bn (£5.89bn), according to Enders Analysis.

Furthermore, while it is difficult for Canal+ to compete with these giants on global blockbusters, "with this investment, the group is strengthening its differentiation in French cinema where competition is weaker," underlines François Godard, analyst at Ender Analysis.

And in a context where the film offering is very large, theater managers are increasingly tempted to quickly remove a film if it doesn't prove itself in the first week. "As a producer, distributor, and ultimately an exhibitor, Canal+ will be able to refine its strategy by maintaining a film it believes in," adds the expert.

The now-listed company is making a real strategic move. "It's strengthening its position in the film industry, which differentiates it from the competition of streaming giants. It's a great vertical integration move—on the face of it—," notes François Godard, an analyst at Enders. Vivendi, the former parent company of Canal+, was already a shareholder in Banijay, the audiovisual production giant.

According to Enders Analysis’s recent report, Where will AI land? Platform wars, advertising reset and B2B game changers, the combined capex (capital expenditure) of Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta and Apple is an aggregate total of around $340 billion in 2025 for building AI infrastructure. 

To understand just how significant that investment is, Enders’ report noted that it’s already roughly more than the annual economic output (GDP) of entire countries like Morocco and Portugal, and it’s already on the path to match Belgium’s annual GDP in the future.

Karen Egan, head of telecoms at the research specialist Enders Analysis, said that it would be difficult to make “any real margin” through wholesaling from Openreach at altnet pricing.

“But expanding in this way will be very helpful to metrics that are important and visible to prospective investors such as churn and revenue growth,” she said. “It’s a huge challenge across the altnet sector to raise financing, just to keep going. Given Netomnia’s build plans, the challenge looms even larger for them.”

Since the 2012/13 season, the Premier League’s global revenues have grown nearly fourfold to €2.1 billion, according to Enders Analysis’ Francois Godard. That emphatically exceeds the combined €1.4 billion made by Spanish, German, Italian and French leagues. Most of it comes from broadcast deals.

"In a landscape increasingly shaped by consolidation pressures and the challenges of digital transformation, ProSieben failed to present a credible alternative," said François Godard, analyst at research firm Enders Analysis.

"MFE’s strategy may be challenging to implement, but it marks a step forward," said Godard, adding that developing a unified streaming platform will be crucial to capturing audiences shifting away from linear TV.

Karen Egan, head of telecoms at Enders Analysis, said writedowns in this sector had been “inevitable for some time”. Enders calculates altnets are collectively carrying more than £7bn of net debt. 

“The interest bill [for these companies] . . . is even higher than their revenue bases in many instances,” Egan added. Lloyds, NatWest, ING, ABN Amro and HSBC declined to comment.