BT had a solid-but-mixed Q3, with revenue growth slightly weaker than expected, EBITDA growth slightly stronger, and subscriber net adds a touch weak across broadband, mobile and Openreach 

The outlook is buoyed by a likely altnet slowdown at some point in FY26, with this set to help subscriber numbers at Consumer/Openreach and pricing at Consumer

The main cloud is the potential effect of a merged Vodafone-Three challenging BT/EE for best network and boosting MVNOs, a challenge we feel is real but manageable for BT

Global streamers have expanded their US premium sports coverage, but this will be difficult to replicate in Europe.

The main obstacle is much lower advertising revenues in European sport.

The concentration of European football rights and small pools of buyers mean that premium sports must be retailed on an opt-in basis.

Very strong subscription additions in all regions (+16% YoY, to 302 million) drove Netflix's quarterly revenue over $10 billion for the first time (+16% YoY). The advertising push appears to be continuing to dampen ARPU growth, ushering in more price rises

Netflix now has a defined advertising audience that does not watch commercial television—however, for this incremental audience to materially grow, longer-term users must be manoeuvred from the ad-free tiers

Netflix's original content slate has plateaued in major countries. If budgets have to absorb the growth of live content, there will be ramifications on the output of other genres, along with levels of market demand and production costs

Sky UK and Warner Bros. Discovery have reached a deal for the pay-TV platform to carry WBD's Max, non-exclusively, when it launches in early 2026. The ad-supported version will be bundled at no extra charge for Sky and Now subscribers

The non-exclusive nature of the deal appears to have invigorated Sky into a restructuring of its packages, essentially unbundling Sky Atlantic for the first time

Under financial stress, most streaming platforms are increasingly focusing on third-party distribution. Thanks to bundling, top streamers like Netflix can increase the lifetime value of subscribers, while smaller streamers widen their reach.

Bundles of streamers may have some potential in the US, but in Europe—with Netflix not interested—they do not have the necessary scale.

This trend towards bundling favours incumbent pay-TV aggregators like Sky and Canal+, but in the longer run they face competition from tech video marketplaces.

Vodafone’s Q2 performance was in line with the company’s guidance on almost every metric and was always going to be a tough one given the hit from TV losses in Germany and the annualisation of price increases there

The share price reaction (-6%) is likely a reflection of fears around Vodafone’s ability to improve underlying operational performance in Germany. Whilst this remains a valid concern, there is nothing in these results to amplify our worries on the issue

Escalating competitive pressure in German mobile is, however, a threat to the company’s growth outlook, and Vodafone’s promise to be “disciplined” in its approach to it may turn out to be too conservative a strategy

Disney believes it has turned a corner, laying out positive forecasts for the next two years, featuring annual, double-digit EPS growth. Streaming is now reliably profitable, although its low and generally inert ARPU will inevitably have to be stoked by more price rises

In the UK, Disney+ continues to trail Netflix in a number of core metrics—reach, engagement and habituality—but Rivals signals the potential of a positive trajectory

Similarly, although Disney's relatively patchy theatrical release schedule has had an effect on Disney+, a strong next six months should flow through to service growth

The Creative Industries (CI) are part of the UK’s emerging Industrial Strategy to power up output growth instead of relying mainly on consumer spend. Film & TV production is a prime example of a longstanding and successful industrial strategy that could be widely emulated.

Media’s contribution to economic growth is mainly in the form of a broad regional spread of skilled jobs created by a mixed ecosystem of commercial and not-for-profit entities, such as the BBC PSB Group and Channel 4, alongside 25,000 charities devoted to culture and recreation.

Media adds more than economic value to the UK by uniquely creating (unmeasurable) societal values through cultural products and services, anchoring a common language and identity at home, and conveying a vibrant and inspiring Britain to the world.
 

ITV's total external revenue is down 8% (to £2,321 million) so far in 2024 with Q3 total advertising revenue flat and Studios continuing to battle tough phasing comparators. Although Q4 advertising is expected to see a YoY decline, Studios will improve with a strong slate of deliveries and greater efficiencies

Advertising has fluctuated significantly across 2024, with 2025 remaining unclear. Digital ad revenue continues to see double digit growth, in line with the overall advancement in streaming hours

ITV is consolidating its disparate strands of streaming viewing on ITVX—where it can be better monetised—but overall growth is being well-outpaced by linear decline

As Netflix transitions towards a reporting cadence that omits quarterly subscriber numbers, the focus is on revenue (+15% YoY, to $9.8 billion) and margin (+8ppts YoY, to 30%), which remain buoyant. The company has guided that 2025 revenues will be $43 to $44 billion (+$4 billion YoY), mostly due to subscriber growth

Netflix's advertising-supported tier is dragging its ARPU—however, given its important future growth role, we would expect it to start influencing the direction of the streamer's content slate

Despite its expansion into new genres, Netflix's UK viewing has further narrowed around drama and films: however, live sport, British formats and soaps could move the needle in the future