Sky plc, the coming together of BSkyB, Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia, has enjoyed an excellent start, as adjusted H1 2015 figures delivered a 5% increase in revenues versus a 3% increase in costs, resulting in EBITDA growth of 7% and with free cash flow up by 25%

The strong financial results were accompanied by strong subscriber growth figures, especially in the operations covering Austria, Germany, Ireland and the UK, while all markets showed large reductions in churn, reinforcing confidence in the strategic approach of Sky plc

It is too early to assess Sky’s delivery of its target group synergies. Individually, the former BSkyB and Sky Deutschland markets may be showing much stronger subscriber and product growth, but they also look to be more exposed to risk over football rights, while Sky Italia has more going for it than may appear at first sight

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas revealed the ‘next big thing’ for consumers to be products embodying the Internet of Things (IoT), controlled from the smartphone or the vehicle Wearables like fitness bracelets are already selling well in the UK, amongst the largest per capita markets for consumer electronics, and next up is the launch of Apple’s smartwatch Building out the smart home is the focus of the current wave of devices imbedded with sensors on show at CES 2015, with apps developed on platforms supplied by Samsung, Google and Apple

In marked contrast to its Q3 2014 results release, Netflix reported a strong Q4 with respect to paid subscriptions that was ahead of company guidance and consensus expectations

The positive news about subscriber numbers, which saw a sharp jump in share price immediately after the results, was heavily reinforced by Netflix’s announcement of its aim to expand its global base from 50 to 200 countries over the next two years and generate a material profit from 2017

As usual Netflix provided no international details other than to say that LatAm had passed the 5 million milestone in Q4. Elsewhere, BARB data suggest that Netflix passed the 4 million milestone in the UK, while it is still too early to assess the longer term potential of its September launches in France and Germany

In 2014 Canal+’s core premium French pay-TV business has continued to lose subscribers and swallowed a VAT increase. But this was offset by growth in FTA ad sales, in ARPU, in overseas subscriptions and by acquisitions. EBITDA has continued the decline which commenced in 2013

Eleven years ago Canal+ in France and Sky in Britain had the same household penetration, but since then a gap has opened up and now Canal+ lags behind at 21% compared to Sky’s 34%. The French platform suffers from its regulated focus on films and its neglect of hardware

A deep revision of Canal+’s model is needed, through building a library of scripted series and a revamp of the consumer proposition to differentiate on quality and user experience. Building on recent initiatives, mediocre IPTV services should be bypassed by OTT bundles on fibre, and the satellite offering upgraded

As part of Ofcom’s third review of public service broadcasting, Enders Analysis produced 12 case studies of online media services, examining how they contribute to the public service objectives. The full report and all case studies are available on the Ofcom website.

Here we present three of those case studies: BuzzFeed, Vice, and the phenomenon of YouTube ‘vloggers’ producing content for young people. These represent sources of innovative content unlike that found in traditional media.

The online services we assess attract younger audiences than traditional media, and also have a more flexible approach to monetising those audiences, relying on sponsorship, creative solutions and even events and book deals to capitalise on their brands.

Sky Italia’s latest strategy presentation to investors focuses on a number of positive revenue-generating and cost-cutting initiatives it is taking in the Italian pay-TV market

Sky Italia is taking a disciplined approach to subscriber recruitment and upsell of optional products as it anchors its brand at the upper end of the Italian entertainment market, supported by proactive development of original content, advertising sales and IPTV distribution

Growing product penetration has helped to reduce churn and support ARPU growth, but Sky Italia’s ability to arrest subscriber erosion and return to growth in fiscal 2015 and beyond also depends on the degree to which the economic climate becomes milder, as expected by forecasters

2014 has been a good year for total advertising, which we forecast to grow by 5.5% across the year; display advertising spend is also forecast to grow by over 6% year-on-year. This is largely thanks to a positive economic backdrop, where we have seen a significant rise in consumer expenditure over the last two years

Online advertising spend has been the biggest recipient of growing ad spend, with 20+% growth last year, this year and next. This has mostly been to the detriment of print revenues, where online classified search solutions, amongst other factors like declining circulation, have disrupted print marketplaces

Video has been the largest growth area in internet advertising as online video consumption increases. Up to now online spend has largely been accretive to TV budgets but we are starting to see some advertisers switch to online video spend. However we do not expect TV to suffer in the same way as press

Investment in YouTube multi-channel networks (MCNs) has accelerated this year and now exceeds $1.65 billion, triple the aggregate value invested to 2013. This step-up is being driven primarily by traditional media companies

Due to the growth of the overall online video sector, we expect to see continued demand for MCNs, as further opportunities for vertical, geographical and functional consolidation exist

While acquisition prices of close to $1 billion (incl. earn-outs) are high, valuation comparables seem relatively consistent and modest in comparison to other media/tech deals. Further, we see MCN investments as part of a wider shift as media companies extend their core business to digital

Q1 2015 results show steady underlying revenue growth in retail subscription and increases in other segments, along with the continuing extraction of cost efficiencies, resulting in an 11% year-on-year increase in Q1 operating profits

Quarter-on-quarter, Q1 2015 retail subscription revenues and ARPU were flat in spite of the strong uptake and growing use of connected products. Main causes appeared temporary - a mixture of seasonal factors and the launch of Sky Sports 5 with its two-year free broadband offer - while underlying growth remains firmly positive

Meanwhile, Sky’s accelerated investment in connectivity during 2014 is bearing fruit. Eyes may be focused on the formation of the “new Sky” (on schedule for November) and the long awaited Premier League auction, yet other developments such as Sky Store and Sky AdSmart also deserve full attention

In the last few days we have spoken to key authorities in advertising in the US, UK and Europe.

We have been exploring the critical debate: the degree to which TV consumption and TV advertising are shifting and will shift to digital. Recent media coverage has argued traditional TV business models could start to unravel in the medium term. We disagree.