Future for online news: regulation?

9 April 2013

The phone hacking scandal showed the necessary ingredients for journalistic abuses to occur. In a world of online news, greater commercial pressures mean that, if anything, they will increase

The internet will also diminish plurality among major news providers and make abuses harder to correct, increasing the need to prevent them in the first place

It is often argued that attempts to regulate the internet will either fail or be actively harmful. We argue that regulation focused on major online news providers could be a limited success

Recent reports

AI, press and licensing: Deals for the chosen few

22 April 2024

Big news publishers are pursuing licensing deals with AI companies, chiefly OpenAI. Not all publishers will see a substantial return; while some news may be important for training AI models, not all publisher content will be.

Litigation is a threat point when negotiations stall (see the New York Times), but the copyright status of Large Language Models (LLMs) is uncertain. In the UK, there has been no government intervention (on copyright or otherwise) that could facilitate licensing.

Publishers’ bargaining position is strongest when it comes to up-to-date material that could be important in powering some AI consumer products. They should seek deals to support their journalism, while bearing in mind the risk that new products may get between them and their readers.

Access report

Netflix Q1 2024: Revenues grow as reporting contracts

19 April 2024

Netflix's Q1 revenue was up 15% YoY (to $9.4 billion) bolstered by firm global subscriber growth and the continued momentum of 'paid sharing'. Operating margin is forecast to be 25% across this year (up from 21% in 2023)—approaching the realms of legacy linear media—but transparency will be diluted as the company stops reporting subscribers and ARPU

UK subscriptions and overall engagement are mostly flat; growth by older viewers is masking declines by the young

Even with the strikes driving viewing towards UK content, licensed programming remains a relatively minor factor in Netflix’s library

Access report

Football's broadcast models: Deeper partnerships will create value

18 April 2024

Football leagues must think innovatively about maintaining broad exposure, but relying on advertising revenues from free-to-air TV makes no economic sense.

Creating league-operated direct-to-consumer platforms would undermine the very competition between broadcasters that has propelled rights.

The only realistic option for sustainable growth is deeper, longer-term partnerships with broadcasters.

Access report