This presentation details our assessment of the UK travel market to 2015, covering the package holiday, flight, accommodation and cruise sectors. UK consumer spending on holidays has been hit hard by the recession, but should bounce back as household finances recover, though the macro risk is still on the downside. We project that the internet will account for 60% of bookings by 2015, up from 45% in 2010, with growth fuelled by increased bargain hunting, as well as improving choice and functionality. Suppliers will continue to generate the lion’s share of internet sales, but online travel agents will take share, particularly for accommodation, which remains highly fragmented. New devices such as tablets and smartphones will increasingly be used to book and manage consumer travel, though the potential for incremental sales seems limited.
Whilst UK GDP growth crawls along at a snail’s pace in 2011, (real) private consumption, its principal component, has been in sequential decline since Q4 2010, dragging consumer facing industries down
UK media are not equally affected. The internet continues to grow through search as well as display, but we expect TV NAR to be flat in 2011
Press advertising is worst affected by the downturn due to its exposure to retail advertising on top of the structural shift of classifieds to the internet
The provisional findings of the Competition Commission’s (CC) investigation into pay-TV echoed the conclusions of the Ofcom pay-TV investigation in April 2010, concluding that Sky’s control of pay-TV movie rights was having an adverse effect on competition
The big difference between the CC and Ofcom lies in the choice of remedy, with the CC preferring to explore a range of other options rather than proceed with Wholesale Must Offer, a solution that the CC sees as entrenching Sky’s market power rather than undermining it
The three remedial options that the CC has decided to explore present significant issues and it seems unlikely that a solution will be in place before 2014
In this report we outline the current state and likely development of the war between mobile platforms. We discuss installed bases and activity levels, the key issues facing Apple and Android, including Android fragmentation and Google's acquisition of Motorola, and go on to look at the tablet market and the outlook for RIM, Nokia and Windows Phone.
UK classified advertising in print and digital media fell -9% in 2010 to £2.76 billion, and we expect a further decline of -7% in 2011.
Our annual review and outlook concerns the classified advertising categories of recruitment, property, autos (used) and directories, across all media. We assess the continuing structural shift from print formats to less expensive digital media, in the context of prolonged recessionary pressures on local economies in the UK (bar London), which have reduced annual transaction volumes in 2010 by -28% in recruitment, -45% in property and just -16% in used cars, in relation to the peak in 2007.
A key development in recent quarters has been the rapid adoption of smartphones and tablets as emerging platforms for classified advertising by the industries serving them. Consumers are enjoying the additional benefits of on-the-move data (e.g. in the forecourts of auto dealers) and instantaneous updates (e.g. for property rentals), which advertisers are keen to exploit, providing additional revenue opportunities for classified media. B2B classified platforms also monetise integrated brand and listings solutions, plus marketplace tools. New models are evolving that will have implications for other media and in some cases, industry supply chains.
ITV reported strong year-on-year growth in profits in H1 2011, enabling a substantial reduction of net debt and putting the company in a stronger position to invest in growth as it pursues its five year transformation plan
Important to longer term success, ITV Family share of viewing has held up, and ITV looks well placed to expand its market share of TV NAR (Net Advertising Revenue) over the next two years, albeit in an uncertain and challenging economic environment
Early signs of creative revival at ITV Studios are most encouraging, while online poses the toughest challenges, yet remains important because of the fundamental interactive synergies between online and broadcast television
Fiscal 2011 was a vintage year for Sky, which reported a 23% growth in operating profit and 51% increase in free cash flow as it started to reap the full benefits of its investment in multi-product growth
Q4 2011 showed signs that tougher economic conditions are starting to bite, although the sharp fall in TV product additions was balanced by a fourth consecutive bumper quarter in home communications, in which Sky outperformed the rest of the market
Strong focus on operating efficiencies and product innovation combined with big investment in UK originated content should position the company well as competitive pressures build in the medium- to long-term, at the same time as allowing continuing strong profit growth
This presentation details our assessment of the UK prospects for video-on-demand advertising through to 2015, covering through-the-middle and over-the-top services
While video-on-demand consumption is set to grow strongly, particularly to the TV, linear broadcast services, supported by PVR timeshift, will continue to account for over 90% of viewing to the TV and PC/ tablet over the next five years. As a result, we forecast that VOD advertising will equate to 7% of TV NAR by 2015, with current high prices for in-stream video ads falling as it becomes more integrated with TV airtime sales
VMed’s Q2 results were respectable, but quirky, with resilient underlying revenue and strong cash flow, but exceptionally weak cable volumes
Virgin Mobile is performing better than ever, but steam continues to seep from the cable cash flow boiler
A TiVo push and further progress at Virgin Media Business are still to come, but we expect a trend of gradual decline in fundamental cash flow growth
Trinity Mirror, Northern & Shell and DMGT helped the market more or less offset the absence of the News of the World, though impressive volumes have come at a price
More generally, newspaper circulations have a temporary reprieve, as strong newsflow but also discounts and marketing techniques have been deployed to attract readers
What happens next at News International, and also competitor responses, could soon change market dynamics again