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Abi Watson, at Enders Analysis, said the fall in reserves was part of an underlying depletion of the BBC’s financial cushion that had been “building for years”.

“The BBC hasn’t run out of money, but the fall in public-service cash leaves it with considerably less room to absorb further pressures or fund change,” she said. “And this isn’t a new problem.

“The latest savings requirement predated [Brittin’s] arrival. The BBC has already reduced headcount, rationalised its estate and changed its commissioning mix. Commissioned hours, excluding news and sport, are down 20% since 2016-17. Further savings increasingly mean decisions about output.”

“Brands are rightly advised to give creators breathing space because nobody understands how to engage their audiences better than they do,” said Ben Woods, head of creator economy at Enders Analysis. “But that freedom inevitably comes with some reputational risk when content crosses a line or generates controversy.”

Ben Woods, head of creator economy at Enders Analysis said the size of Perplexity’s planned budget shows the company is serious about creators as a promotional channel. But he said he doesn’t see the move primarily as an attempt to overcome wider concerns about AI safety.

“This is about getting potential users interested in AI’s usefulness and practical benefits,” Woods said. “Especially around why a user should adopt one AI tool over another.

“Most audiences are not afraid to challenge their favourite creators if a partnership feels disingenuous or the messaging becomes too corporate,” Woods said.

“TV can potentially help Vodafone’s broadband appeal to more people and help reduce churn because having a TV product creates a more differentiated experience,” said James Barford, head of telecoms research at Enders Analysis. “Once somebody’s got used to the TV product and enjoys it, they’re less likely to leave purely for price reasons.”

Unlike BT and Virgin Media O2, Vodafone does not own the fixed networks it relies on, instead paying providers including Openreach and CityFibre for access. Average revenue per user also remains low as internet operators compete heavily on price, meaning broadband is “marginally profitable at best, perhaps even slightly lossmaking”, said Barford.

“The TV add-on gives benefits to Vodafone broadband,” said Barford. “But then you may ask, well, what benefit does Vodafone broadband give Vodafone? And maybe strategically, it’s a good defensive move.”

Asked by the session moderator, Enders Analysis' managing director for telecoms, Karen Egan, whether CityFibre can't be considered to have the scale needed, he was unconvinced. While stating CityFibre's network footprint reaches roughly 4.5 million homes, "we would, with that deal, offer three times of that," Schüler said.