“Building up more direct response spend is a sensible approach to address more sources of demand, increase the number of advertisers, and be more resilient during the next period of ads slowdown,” suggested Jamie MacEwan, senior research analyst at Enders Analysis. Analysts like MacEwan will be eagerly listening to hear what Snapchat is doing to combat this issue and keep revenue growing during this tumultuous time.

“We’ll be looking at what product changes like Simple Snapchat mean for ad load, which has historically been low compared to Meta or TikTok,” MacEwan said.

It’s been about monetizing it. Unless that changes, MacEwan said “Snap will continue to fall far short of market-leading ARPU at Meta and Google.”

Tortoise brings experience in audio and events, as well as youth (more than half its staff are aged 25-34); the Observer brings a centuries-old brand and loyal following among analogue folk. It is a “complex yet elegant” fit, argues Enders Analysis, a media-research firm.

Karen Egan, head of telecoms at research firm Enders Analysis, said the hands of MVNOs had been strengthened over recent years due to the shift to sim-only services, struggling network operators “very keen to give them favourable terms”, and the cost of living crisis.

 “Companies with existing strong retail distribution systems are particularly well positioned to perform strongly in the MVNO market,” she added.

Research from Enders showed that 2024 was the first year in history when the UK network operators lost contract subscribers, while by contrast MVNOs added 1.6mn.

“Much of this success can, of course, be attributed to the accessibility of the English language, which is a unifying force as a second language in much of the world and in most of the intense subscriber-growth areas,” wrote Enders Analysis head of television Tom Harrington.

However, he added that, given an estimated 40% of Netflix’s user base would likely view UK programming with local-language dubbing or subtitles, there is “something innate in the shows that makes them comparatively more attractive to the global Netflix view than content from other countries.

“Perhaps British exceptionalism in terms of the quality of its television product is not as over-egged as it has usually appeared.”

Karen Egan, head of telecoms at Enders Analysis, said that the Italian business had been “quite a thorn in the side of BT over the years” and that Kirkby “will be very pleased to have done a deal to sell it”. 

“The Italian accounting scandal was particularly bruising for the company, denting confidence in the entire non-UK business,” Egan added.

“Other direct-from-China platforms will be impacted more than Amazon from the dual impact of tariffs and the end of the de minimis exemption,” said Claire Holubowskyj, senior research analyst at Enders Analysis. “This advantages Amazon by leveling out the other platforms’ price advantage, and shifting the momentum back towards Amazon’s USPs of fast delivery and enormously sticky Prime membership.”

Still, the key factor isn’t so much that Amazon can sell ads through their DSP, but rather that they have designed their platform to make advertising a necessary cost of doing business, added Holubowskyj. 

“The commodified nature of goods on the platform make advertising essential for visibility: pulling back on spend due to broader uncertainty simply isn’t an option for sellers that want to continue selling on Amazon,” she explained. “And selling elsewhere is a difficult proposition as most sellers have optimised for the platform and lack brand recognition.”

“The App Store aside, Apple’s other big services like Music, TV+ and Arcade are all smaller players in their sectors so you wouldn’t expect them to support a huge ads business even if ads were switched on,” said Jamie MacEwan, senior research analyst at Enders Analysis. “There have been reports of Apple considering an ads tier on Apple TV+, one benefit might be to extend the reach of the product and maintain its market relevance while plugging some of the content spend deficit, but this would still be a tiny player in the context of the US or UK TV advertising markets.”

"Being a broadcaster is a profession," insists François Godard, an analyst at Enders Analysis. "You have to set up a studio, recruit animators, create an efficient 4K broadcasting system, create a payment solution, find advertisers..."

"It is actually very difficult to build up a direct subscriber base and it would take the LFP several years," emphasizes François Godard.

"The League would then have to enter into contracts with telecom operators who have the leverage to sell subscriptions, but this would be done under conditions that would surely be unfavorable to the LFP, which is starting from scratch with this project," adds the expert, who is relatively pessimistic about the viability of this solution.

François Godard, an analyst with Enders Analysis, added that starting a channel from scratch was risky.

“If the league wanted to launch their own channel, I think it’s a dead end. You’ll end up doing contracts with Canal+ and DAZN to distribute it, so it’s back to square one,” he said. “And it’s not a business you’re good at as a league.”

Niamh Burns, senior research analyst at Enders Analysis, told The Media Leader that the latest Bellwether’s main media splits “encapsulate the theme that has characterised the last decade: online is growing (though modestly here) while everyone else is under pressure”.

She added: “This is a well-worn path for business as budgets are squeezed: a flight to direct-response channels, which offer more certainty in the short term.”