In an interview with Le Monde, independent British researcher and expert Claire Enders, who is a reference in the analysis of media strategies beyond the United Kingdom, believes that, without assigned and independent resources, a merger of France Télévisions , Radio France, France Médias Monde and the INA would be dangerous. She is often presented as the high priestess of the media in the United Kingdom. Very influential, even beyond the borders of her country, Claire Enders founded, with her twin sister, Enders Analysis, the main British research and consulting company on media and telecoms.

Guardian Media Group chief executive Anna Bateson has said the publisher “would do a deal” with an AI company “but only on the right terms”. Bateson made the comments on Tuesday while appearing alongside four other news executives at the Deloitte and Enders Media and Telecoms conference in London.

Mr Caccappolo, who was appointed chief executive of DMG Media in 2021, told a conference hosted by Deloitte and Enders Analysis that the rise of “generative AI answering questions in search” would result in the “taking of traffic” from news publications.

Davie was speaking at the Deloitte and Enders Analysis Media & Telecoms 2024 and Beyond Conference in London on Tuesday morning alongside Channel 4 boss Alex Mahon, managing director of ITV Studios Julian Bellamy and Sarah Rose, president of Channel 5 and regional lead for Paramount on a panel headed “U.K. television’s digital age.” The panel was moderated by Deloitte partner Rupert Derbyshire.

“All of that is starting to open up,” Strong acknowledged while in conversation at the Deloitte and Enders Analysis Media & Telecoms 2024 and Beyond Conference. “Regardless, in every scenario, Sky customers will have Warner content on Sky platforms.”

The Disney EMEA boss was speaking at the Deloitte and Enders Analysis Media & Telecoms 2024 and Beyond Conference in London on Tuesday morning, where he touched on the breadth of Disney’s business, from theatrical to linear.

Gill Hind, the chief operating officer and director of TV at Enders Analysis, said: “These equity investments that the broadcasters are taking are quite small, so there is less concern about potential risk. For ITV or Channel 4, taking stakes can help them fulfil their societal remit to back creative companies. Also, TV advertising can now target a particular postcode or demographic and it helps if, in a sales pitch, broadcasters can tell other small businesses that this has worked.”

Abi Watson, senior research analyst at Enders Analysis, said the announcement was an “inevitability” as the Evening Standard was among the most exposed newspapers post-pandemic “given the fact that mobility, especially in London, has remained depressed thanks to work from home”. She noted that it was following other free titles that had reduced their frequency or stopped print editions such as Stylist and Time Out London.

Karen Egan, head of telecoms at Enders Analysis, says Vodafone bought this business “at the peak of its operational performance” and the deal “left them in a precarious position from a leverage perspective, and that became a huge distraction for management when Nick Read took over”.

The company has also sought to “diversify” its business over several years. François Godard, a senior media and telecoms analyst at the research firm Enders, estimates that Sky Mobile had 3.5 million customers at the end of 2023, up 11 per cent, and that Sky Broadband had 6.7 million, up 2 per cent. Comcast said its “international connectivity” revenues, from Sky in the UK and Italy, totalled $4.2 billion last year, an increase of 23 per cent.