Strong growth in the UK economy has created a very positive short term outlook for display advertising, with TV Net Advertising Revenues (NAR) expected to increase by 5% in 2014.

That bright prospect is nonetheless overshadowed by online video advertising, where 2014 is expected to add almost £200 million to the estimated £300 million spent in 2013. YouTube is leading the way, but the TV broadcasters also stand to benefit.

All the indicators point to yet more rapid growth in online video advertising over the next three to five years. So far it has had little apparent impact on TV NAR, but this should change from 2015 as TV and online video become more closely meshed.

The latest vision of Sky Europe under discussion between 21st Century Fox and BSkyB has 21st Century Fox maintaining its share in BSkyB at 39%, while BSkyB buys out 21st Century Fox’s interests in Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia

Agreeing the right price will be complicated by the contrasting fortunes of Sky Deutschland, which is enjoying a sustainable boom, and Sky Italia, which, although well run, is holding on to marginal profits in Europe’s most inflated football rights market and in a structurally stagnant and weak economic climate

Today, there appear only modest operating efficiencies to be gained from bonding the three Skys into Sky Europe; however, centralised content and service strategies may become much more important in coming years in an increasingly scale-driven European marketplace

Vodafone Europe’s service revenue growth improved by 1.1ppts to -8.5% in the March quarter, but this was all driven by a waning regulatory impact, with underlying growth nudging down slightly

The company’s service revenue growth improved a fraction more than its competitors, but it has barely narrowed the substantial gap, and contract net adds share fell after three consecutive quarters of improvement

Hopes for a recovery in underlying growth still centre on M&A, with EC decisions due in June, and on the Project Spring investment paying off, but this is unlikely to result in improved financial metrics for a year at least

In Q1 2014 Sky has reaped the rewards of its marketing strategy focused on high quality longer term subscribers with churn hitting a record low, sustaining net adds, while ARPU growth remains healthy However we perceive no change in the underlying trend: Sky’s profitability should rise smoothly towards an EBITDA margin approaching 20% in fiscal 2017 – the last year of the current Bundesliga contract In a market slow to adopt digital innovations Sky is comfortably ahead of the competition – even if trailing international peers. Its long term success will depend on its ability to build on its distinctiveness through its innovative user interface, on demand offering and original as well as exclusive content

TalkTalk achieved solid broadband net adds, accelerating TV net adds and 5% revenue growth in the March quarter, and a significant price rise in April/May should support this level going forward

EBITDA is still suffering from set-top box subsidies, but the company is confident in significant expansion going forwards

Mass market adoption of fibre remains the biggest risk to TalkTalk as a discount brand, but for the moment this is not happening within its base, and TV could help it escape this niche

We have estimated the breakdown of the media day for UK adults (16+) using standard industry sources. The charts in the attached PDF present a picture of overall time spent with different media in the UK

Over the last 10-15 years the digitisation of content, coupled with internet connectivity and device proliferation, particularly recently with smartphones (now at 63% penetration) and tablets (35%), have given individuals far more ways and means to consume media and communicate with each other

However we also note that 'traditional' media has held steady and still accounts for 6 hours and 50 minutes of daily media time. We have not yet arrived in a post-print, post-TV world, rather a multi-layered one where consumers access media from a wide variety of sources and devices.

BT had a solid Q4, with a continuing improvement in BT Consumer metrics and revenue growth the highlight, mitigated by weaknesses at BT Business and Wholesale

Overall Group revenue growth was positive again at 1%, and EBITDA growth of 2% would have been much higher had it not been for the impact of BT Sport

Despite revenue growth now being firmly positive, BT has only nudged up its guidance for 2014/15 and 2015/16, with the costs of BT Sport broadly counteracting progress with cost cutting

NYTNow, a new iPhone-only app offering a selection of New York Times journalism at a lower price, is the latest, pretty well executed manifestation of the company’s gradual change into a digital news business

A year after its unveiling, we review the progress of the company’s digital growth strategy, and point to some areas of concern, especially around video advertising

The biggest challenge the Times faces is to reengineer its journalism to appeal to a much broader digital audience, and to do so before others seize the opportunity its caution to date has opened up

Improving volume trends and ARPU drove Virgin Media’s cable revenue growth to improve from 3.0% to 3.6%, helped by a firm price increase implemented during the quarter

Underlying OCF growth improved more dramatically, from -1% to +6%, with synergy benefits, lower marketing costs and lower premium channel cost growth some of the main drivers

While volume growth is still modest, solid ARPU growth and cost control should allow continued strong OCF growth through the rest of the year

The referendum on Scotland’s independence from the UK, which will take place on 18 September 2014, has seismic implications for businesses trading there, especially financial service providers, but little impact for businesses in rUK

Although the No vote remains ahead, the Yes vote has gained significant ground and the likely outcome is now too close to call. If the Yes vote prevails, Scotland will constitute a new and separate market of 5.3 million individuals, compared to the UK’s single market of 63 million today

As for the economy, Scotland’s Future, the White Paper issued by the Scottish Government on behalf of the SNP, details key assumptions such as currency union, expedited EU membership on UK terms and resilient fiscal revenues from oil and gas, which look to be under pressure, while key policies on individual, company and product taxation and regulation are in the hands of the next Scottish Parliament elected in May 2016