ITV and Channel 4 have asked the regulatory authorities to review the case for legislation that would for the first time allow the commercial PSBs to charge carriage fees for their main free-to-air channels on the pay-TV platforms

To this end, ITV has presented a detailed analysis showing the great contribution to the US creative economy due to the introduction of Retransmission Consent Compensation for free-to-air broadcasters in the US, but without setting this against the very different market structure in the UK, where the commercial PSBs enjoy significant privileges

Any change to UK rules will require primary legislation and is not expected until after the May 2015 General Election. Should action be taken, the choice appears to lie between regulation (adding “must carry” rules) and deregulation of commercial PSB privileges, where the end result might not be what the PSBs wished

The period between 2010 and 2013 was one of technological change in video consumption as connected devices achieved mass market adoption and online video players grew in popularity

Amongst the young, TV set viewing fell across this period, particularly in the UK, but this shift in behaviour has yet to impact older demographics in the same way. An ageing population, and associated longer viewing time among older audiences, helped maintain the total number of TV minutes viewed in the three key markets of the UK, US and Germany

Video industry revenues also look resilient; internet advertising has not impacted TV advertising to the same extent it has print, while we are yet to see any meaningful evidence of cord-cutting as a result of increased penetration of SVOD services

EE has launched a new TV service featuring an advanced set-top box with a snazzy interface offered for free to its broadband/mobile customers

The lack of premium content means that the service is of little threat to the established pay TV operators Sky and Virgin Media, and the lack of integration with mobile or steep quad play discount makes it non-threatening to the mobile market

It does however reposition EE Broadband as a differentiated service, making it more competitive without lowering its headline price, with triple play the focus of this move in our view

Virgin Media’s request for Ofcom to open a formal investigation into the auction mechanism of live televised Premier League rights is a timely reminder of the need to consider the consumer as the auction draws ever closer with all eyes focused on the battle of BT versus Sky

When the EC last intervened before the 2006 auction, its remedy focused on the need for more than one winner for the sake of a more competitive downstream market, but without considering other variables affecting the outcome, to which Virgin Media has drawn attention

As the European country with much the highest rights fees per game, much the fewest televised top league games, highest package prices and by far the biggest outlay on player wages, the current PL auction mechanism gives the UK consumer little cause for cheer

UK consumers have embraced data-hungry services like Facebook and Google, but many also have concerns about privacy online; young people have a more positive view of the trade-off and know how to avoid targeted advertising

Businesses that are conscientious about consumers’ data gain their trust, and the gap between trusted brands and the market as a whole may grow substantially in the future

Despite Edward Snowden’s revelations on ‘Big brother snooping’, the UK Government has secured vast access to communications data without serious challenge to date

In a huge victory for the Union, 55% of Scotland’s voters said ‘No thanks’ to independence

The follow-up to the cross-party pledge on devolution shifts to London and will be dictated by the winner of the General Election on 7 May 2015; the Conservatives are aiming for a wider constitutional settlement for England to resolve the West Lothian question, while Labour will stick with a minimalist approach to preserve Scottish MPs

The 1.6 million votes for independence demonstrate the strength of the separatist movement; we expect the SNP to continue its mission, actively supported by the Scottish Government, and to renew its mandate for independence by winning the May 2016 election with a solid majority

Apple has fulfilled its promise to roll out innovative new products this year, launching Apple Watch into the nascent wearables market and Apple Pay, a new mobile payments service, as well as moving the iPhone into ‘phablet’ territory.

The larger-screened 6 and 6 Plus should revive growth in iPhone sales and ASP, as well as providing another variable to compete in the mid-tier handset segment; Apple Pay further enhances Apple’s lock on its customer base.

Apple Watch’s likely impact is harder to discern; to date sales of smartwatches have been lacklustre but although Apple’s offering is the most commercially viable yet, it still feels like a solution in need of a problem.

The continuing value of linear television is underlined by the fact that television is still comfortably the biggest display advertising medium, and we expect to see strong growth in 2014 and 2015 in spite of the growing impact of online to TV viewing.

Viewing among the 35+s has held up well, and the subset of 45-64s, who control most of the UK’s disposable income and are heavy TV viewers while embracing new technology and modern attitudes, will become increasingly important for broadcasters as the age profile of the UK gets older.

We do not see an overall dramatic shift away from television to other forms of entertainment, though this cannot be taken for granted.

Amazon’s acquisition of Twitch, a platform for watching and broadcasting live streams of video gameplay, provides the ecommerce giant access to a large, fast growing and highly engaged gaming audience.

Like other media, retailing of games is in a state of transition away from physical media, where Amazon is more dominant, to digital, where Amazon is one player among many; this acquisition echoes those Amazon has made in other media.

Twitch looks set to be a successful business in its own right, arguably reason enough to buy it; more importantly it offers valuable consumer behaviour data, as well as technology and platform benefits, and enhances Amazon’s increasingly ambitious customer proposition.

UKTV has posted annual figures showing record revenues of £278 million in 2013, with the promise of more to come after an H1 2014 that has seen it overtake Channel 4 main channel in adult 16+ Share of Commercial Impact (SOCI) delivery and now closing in on Sky and Channel 5.

The rise in adult 16+ SOCI every year since the Freeview launch in 2002 reflects not only UKTV’s preparedness to invest more in content over time, but also management focus on EPG prominence on the free-to-air and pay platforms and unceasing willingness to try new channel ideas.

The challenge now facing the UKTV group is how to maintain growth in an increasingly connected TV landscape. Innovative UKTV Play notwithstanding, the big question comes down to content strategy and the scale of future investment.