BT FY 2005-06 Q4 results

The UK broadcasting sector is undecided on how much to engage with a technology that could simultaneously threaten industry jobs, intellectual property, and competitive advantages. Some do not see themselves as in a position to take risks with AI, but the sector must consider the longer-term risks to inaction.

There is clear value to be unlocked along the production pipeline with AI, and unrealised opportunities for content owners to apply AI to their libraries and enhance discovery.

None in the industry can ignore how AI changes the wider competitive landscape: new AI services will provide audiences with alternative products, and disrupt distribution.

The expected service revenue boost from in-contract price increases failed to materialize this quarter, nullifying the upside surprise last quarter.

Traffic growth picked up again to 17%, lending further weight to the view that at least some of the recent sharp slowdown was somewhat one-off in nature.

Government statistics imply steep mobile price inflation while the opposite is true—which may help to diffuse the current furore over in-contract price increases.

The centre of gravity for kids’ media has shifted. YouTube now captures around 44% of UK children’s viewing, with broadcasters adapting to stay relevant in an environment built around algorithmic discovery and constant replay.

Alongside the BBC, YouTube is one of the few spaces where education and entertainment intersect. Around a third of our sample of 5–8s YouTube Kids videos were educational, while older cohorts gravitate toward faster, creator-driven formats.

There remains a distinction between YouTube and broadcaster kids’ programmes: we found YouTube-native content twice as fast, and brighter, although the broadcast content that also runs on YouTube shows less disparity. Broadly, on YouTube, US-originated formats dominate.