As we predicted in our last report on the music business, the end of 2003 saw the beginning of the corporate activity that the industry has been itching to carry out for a decade. In this note, we look at the major record companies’ current position in the world music industry and consider how it is likely to evolve in 2004 and beyond.

Vodafone's strategic direction appears little altered since its change of CEO earlier this year. In this report we look at the company’s overall global positioning and prospects.

The Competition Commission inquiry into the proposed merger of Carlton and Granada imposed a remedy called Contracts Rights Renewal. Ofcom devised the details. We conducted a series of interviews to determine the likely effect of these new rules.

So far, the PVR has had indifferent success. Despite the extraordinary enthusiasm of owners, PVRs have struggled to become a fixture in the home. This is now changing as prices fall and pay-TV operators begin to push the technology. This report examines the future of this device.

Comparisons between the French and UK broadband market are thought-provoking. In France there will be 3 million DSL connections and 210,000 unbundled lines by the end of 2003; in the UK in October this year there were 1.5 million DSL connections and just 7,800 unbundled lines. In the first of two reports we look at how local loop unbundling (LLU) in France is changing the market outlook for incumbent and altnets alike.

The elaborate mating dance in the music industry is nearing a conclusion. We look briefly at the main participants in the game and conclude that the Warner/EMI combination still looks likely to happen.

BSkyB’s quarterly results will be delivered on Friday 14th November. Prior to these new figures, this report gives our views on the attainability of BSkyB’s medium term targets.

On 24th November, the FCC hopes finally to force through mobile number portability to the US market. In this report we look at the impact that MNP has had in European markets, drawing conclusions for the potential impact in the US and Japan, and the future of MNP in Europe.

The service from '3' in the UK is one of the few examples of a 3G network in action in Europe. In this report we look at the evidence of customer experiences at 3 to determine the potential popularity of the services to a wider audience. Our sources include two studies performed by GSM operators and an NOP survey.

The promised turnaround at Canal+, the core asset of Groupe Canal+, the pay-TV division of Vivendi Universal, looks less certain due to sluggish growth of the French pay-TV market in 2003 to date and continued declines in the premium service's subscriber base. Rival platform TPS dramatically reduced the price of an entry-level package for the autumn, hoping to build market share at its expense.