Europe's Creative Hubs 2016

Vodafone’s financials have begun what should be a steady improvement as this year progresses, leaving behind the TV regulatory hit and benefiting from the onboarding of 1&1.

Looking beyond one-offs, the core operational metrics are mixed but skewed to the positive. Vodafone has some tricky balancing to enact to deliver a return to sustainable growth.

EBITDA growth was solid in this quarter and is likely to remain so in the medium term, thanks in particular to VodafoneThree. More evidence of fundamental commercial delivery would strengthen hope of an enduring positive trajectory.

BT started its FY26 with robust financials. Revenue was slightly weak due to handsets and international, but EBITDA was slightly ahead of expectations, and operating metrics were strong.

The highlight was Openreach posting its lowest broadband line losses for over a year despite ongoing altnet pressure, and keeping revenue growth positive despite reduced inflationary price increases.

The altnet threat is still far from over, but it is encouraging that there are signs that it is beginning to wane as the sub-sector moves to a more rational wholesale model.

With no major men’s football tournament, ITV’s advertising revenue fell well short of a tough YoY comparison (-7%, £824 million) while Studios appears to be settling after a demanding last couple of years (+3%, £893 million)

ITVX is showing encouraging momentum—especially in terms of its usage profile—however, as a whole, ITV saw viewing share again decline, while losing another 600k regular-viewing households

This market demands proactivity—hence the announcement of collaboration between the three major sale houses, and further measures by ITV to target small to medium-sized businesses