It has been ten years since Netflix launched in the UK, initially riding the growing wave of internet video, but quickly raising viewer expectations of user experience, overall production quality and long-term availability of content—challenging the rest of the industry to keep up

Netflix’s push into original production transitioned streaming from pure catch-up or repositories of old favourites, to a vibrant entertainment option, driving the formation of an SVOD market and providing other content companies with a larger addressable base now familiar with paying for TV

The streamer has deftly navigated the path from insurgent to joining the same establishment that it radically inverted—through considerate industry participation and self-regulation—however further questions will inevitably be asked about the company’s growing influence upon Britain’s cultural fabric

Apple’s record December quarter closed off a huge year for the company, with little sign that supply chain problems affected the core iPhone business. Services, meanwhile, remain strong, and the company’s status as the world’s biggest subscription provider positions the business for a metaverse future.

Apple’s ability to control platforms like the App Store is under regulatory pressure. Apple is ceding ground where it can, while keeping fees high for the mobile gaming cash cow.

China has returned as a meaningful contributor to growth. US sanctions have toppled China’s Huawei, to the benefit of the American firm.

Although Q4 net additions were on target and on par with past years, Netflix has forecast very low global subscriber growth for Q1 (2.5 million)—this would be the smallest number of additions in that quarter since the company launched a streaming-only plan over a decade ago

New US price rises will once again prove that consumers value the service and its content but, by stealth, SVOD is no longer 'cheap'

January 2022 is a decade since Netflix launched in the UK. The pace of the change in the local sector that it drives and rides is astounding, and while its efforts to embrace industry responsibility are noticeable, more will be continually asked of it

Ongoing supply difficulties for PlayStation and Xbox through 2022 and beyond will result in the install base for the generation being permanently impacted. It raises the question: if you can’t buy a console are they even relevant?

VR will stage a comeback this year, as Quest 2 has its highest sales ever, the category will find new appeal from game (and metaverse) developers. If a rumoured Apple VR/AR headset eventuates, expect white-hot interest

Netflix will make strides in its games service―but mostly behind the scenes to deliver a once in a decade transformation of the industry. Don’t rule out a critical and exclusive mobile hit

When its acquisition of 21st Century Fox closes, Disney will own 60% of Hulu. If it bought Comcast’s 30% stake (and WarnerMedia’s 10%), it could fully leverage the platform for its US direct-to-consumer strategy

Comcast’s Hulu stake has little strategic value to it. We argue it should sell to Disney in exchange for long-term supply deals for ESPN, as well as for the upcoming Disney+ and Hulu, similar to its recent pacts with Amazon Prime and Netflix

This could naturally be extended to Sky in Europe depending on whether Disney decides to launch all direct-to-consumer or sticks with pay-TV in certain markets

There is a belief in some quarters that there is space for a myriad of large SVOD services in the UK. We question whether there is room for more than the current three pacesetters; Netflix, Amazon and NOW TV

Like the UK, the US market is dominated by three services, and there is evidence of an appetite for further offerings. But the US market is conspicuously different to the UK's, with the forces behind cord-cutting in the States less apparent this side of the Atlantic

Potential domestic UK services would struggle to compete with the resources—supported by debt-funded and loss-leading models—that foreign tech giants can marshal

With a carefully priced, strong line-up of iPhones, Apple will consolidate its main revenue line and core user base in the near term

The latter feeds into a services business showing impressive growth, but which is also marked by missed opportunities and mounting negative consequences on the rest of the online ecosystem

For media businesses, Apple’s impact is larger than ever, inevitably leading to new kinds of friction around commercial terms, App store policies and browser features

Despite significant changes in people’s video viewing habits over the last few years, the TV platform landscape has appeared to have reached an equilibrium.

We expect pay-TV to retain its utility status for most existing customers. At the margins, movement from Sky and Virgin Media to free-to-air or pay-lite services will be mitigated by population growth.

The excitable growth phases for Netflix and Amazon are likely to be over, but they have carved out prominent positions in the market. Meanwhile, the uncomplicated allure of free TV remains strong for half the UK.

Yet another annual hype cycle in 2018 can’t hide a tepid consumer appetite for all VR platforms and heavy weather for the industry as a whole

The launch of Oculus GO, a standalone device at an attractive price, is a milestone for VR; nevertheless, even Facebook remains worried about reach and the state of the industry

Mobile AR is still a strategic focus for Google and Apple, producing diverse applications instead of just games, but new headsets from Microsoft and Magic Leap which promise advanced MR experiences have no launch dates

The TV, the main screen in the house, is rapidly becoming connected to the internet, opening a new front in the battle for people's attention

Tech players, pay-TV operators, and manufacturers are all aiming to control the user interface, ad delivery and data collection, leaving incumbent broadcaster interests less well represented

To protect their position, and the principles of public service broadcasting, broadcasters will have to work with each other at home and in Europe to leverage their content and social importance