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July 20, 2017Facebook’s charm offensive is over – at least as we k [...]
Our ReportsThe big blue giant is losing its allure with Australians, media companies and news publishers alike. What scenarios will we see play out as Facebook seeks to draw users back in to secure its advertising revenue?. The fight over content rights: are we beginning to see news agencies take the power back? -
New
July 18, 2017Disruption in Electricity – an electrifying start to a sunny fu [...]
Our ReportsWith the appropriate political and regulatory support and after years in the wilderness Australia now approaches a period of rapid change to the way in which it produces and consumes energy. This will mark the end of a ‘lazy’ era of burning fossil fuels and propel Australia’s energy sector toward being regarded as highly innovative with the ability to export our innovation and skills.
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New
July 14, 2017Lending Disruption – Fact or fiction?
Our ReportsThe big four banking oligopoly have had a highly profitable run over the last five years. During this time start-ups have emerged to challenge the dominance of the banks in both consumer lending and business lending markets. Whilst the challengers are growing and gaining traction, the odds are still stacked against many of them. Will they survive and what are the likely outcomes?
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July 13, 2017Verizon merger with Yahoo
Our ReportsVerizon has undergone two large-scale acquisitions within the past two years in a bid to compete against internet giants, Facebook and Google. Are these mergers a step in the right direction for the Telco giant, or will the company remain in the shadow of the duopoly?
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July 12, 2017Cometh the hour for the commercial PSBs
Our ReportsThe first half of 2017 has seen the announced departure of three CEOs from the commercial PSBs within the space of less than two months: David Abraham of Channel 4 (14th March), Rob Woodward of STV (25th April) and lastly Adam Crozier of ITV (3rd May). Responding to the challenges of digital switchover and the advertising recession of 2008/09, as well as their own specific company issues, one of the first tasks for all three CEOs has been to raise staff morale. The last seven to ten years may have been taxing at times. The next seven to ten promise to be no easier, and may yet be harder, as the successor CEOs chart their way through the continuing transformation of the UK digital landscape
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July 11, 2017European scripted content
Our ReportsThe US scripted content boom is spilling over into Europe: Free-to-air TV drama ratings have proven resilient but as costs and audience expectations have risen budgets are under pressure, necessitating flexible co-financing arrangements with American broadcasters, and Netflix and Amazon. Pay channels have boosted output—with uneven results. Long-term IP control is a key factor behind independent production consolidation, led by broadcasters seeking a secure stream of content and diversification away from advertising. Notable developments include the new wave of Berlin-based, internationally-financed series, the rise of domestic French content and Sky Italia’s edgy originals, Telefónica’s giant leap into Spanish dramas, and the continuation of Britain as an export powerhouse.
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July 10, 2017Tinder and online dating: who’s paying?
Our ReportsTinder is one of the most high-profile mobile apps on the market and has transformed the adoption of online dating.Tinder’s success is due in large part to its understanding of user experience, which is key to getting, keeping and upselling users through network effects.But the financial value of this success is limited by the industry: even a mobile revolution has not created a high- revenue mass market where none existed before
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July 7, 2017News publishers accelerate membership drive
Our ReportsIn an immersive industry workshop in Turin celebrating La Stampa’s 150th anniversary, quality news publishers from around the world expressed a strong collective belief in membership, an editorial strategy supported by an emerging advertising opportunity. Editorial and service relevance was defined by widely varying publisher missions, categorised by a range of local and specialist use-cases, creating highly differentiated services for print, mobile and other delivery. A low-level hum in the discussions was a recognition that fundamental change in company culture – editorial and commercial as well as business operations – is a complex but urgent requirement for achieving a long-term sustainable news service.
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July 4, 2017BBC Three: one year online
Our ReportsIn February 2016, the BBC moved its youth-focused channel BBC Three out of the broadcast sphere and into an online-only delivery system, as part of plans intended to find an extra £100m in savings laid out in 2014.The new service would aim to continue fulfilling the channel’s remit of delivering innovative and diverse content to a key audience of 16-34s, but with greater emphasis on short-form and various more digitally focused formats.Now, more than a year on, the effort shows the difficulty traditional media brands have in adapting to space occupied by niches that primarily digital brands have carved out, although the ‘channel’ still manages largely to deliver on its remit with much of its original content
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July 3, 2017End-game for the merger of 21CF and Sky
Our ReportsSecretary of State (SoS) Karen Bradley has made an initial decision to refer 21CF’s bid for Sky to the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) for a detailed consideration of media plurality concerns, to be finalised in the near future. The issue at hand is the potential increase in the influence of the members of the Murdoch Family Trust (MFT) over the UK’s news agenda and political process. The SoS rejected the remedy for Sky News brokered by Ofcom. Ofcom’s non-negative decision on the fitness and propriety of 21CF to hold Sky’s broadcast licences cleared another hurdle in the event the merger is finally accepted.
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June 30, 2017Artificial Intelligence – The next disruptive revolution
Our ReportsArtificial Intelligence (AI) is the biggest technological revolution since the digital age. Businesses and industries will experience a huge boost to productivity and efficiency, and save costs across their entire value chains. Economic, legal and ethical challenges need to be overcome for AI to become widespread.
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June 29, 2017European mobile in Q1 2017: Stuck at zero
Our ReportsEuropean mobile service revenue growth remained stuck at zero in Q1, with a heightened impact from the mobile termination rate cuts in Germany and price promotional activity in southern Europe mitigating improving markets in the UK and France.‘More-for-more’ price rises continued both during the quarter and after, and appear to be more widespread than the 2016 increases. This should be driving revenue growth at a healthier rate than zero, and may well do as out-of-bundle revenue declines fade away in significance and regulated MTR and roaming cuts annualise out. The regulatory impact should improve next quarter, as the UK MTR impact drops, Germany at least gets no worse, and the roaming impact has a lull prior to the ‘free roaming’ mandate taking effect towards the end of the quarter. From Q3, however, the ‘free roaming’ effect will be in full force, and will negatively impact operators in northern European and smaller European countries in particular
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June 29, 2017Ten Network– going once, going twice, gone…?
Our ReportsArtificial Intelligence (AI) is the biggest technological revolution since the digital age. Businesses and industries will experience a huge boost to productivity and efficiency, and save costs across their entire value chains. Economic, legal and ethical challenges need to be overcome for AI to become widespread.
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June 29, 2017The map is now the territory
Our ReportsWe are in the midst of a rapid change in how maps are made and used, from a world of cartographers making records of physical features to sell to consumers and businesses, to one where information about the world is automatically tracked and measured, and built into every service we use. A whole host of industries traditionally unconcerned with geography are being and will be transformed by maps and location, from retail and advertising to finance and insurance. Every business needs to know what maps can offer them. A variety of maps suppliers are jostling for position in serving this growing need: local or international, free or commercial, seeing mapping as a core or side-business. Different suppliers suit different requirements.
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June 27, 2017UK broadband, telephony and pay TV trends Q1 2017: Profit warning [...]
Our ReportsUK residential communications market revenue growth dipped modestly to 2.7% in Q1, from 3.3% in the previous quarter. This was mainly driven by ARPU weakness arising due to the timings of Sky and Virgin Media’s price rises, but weakness also stemmed from the sustained decline in broadband volume growth and continued new customer price competition.Looking forward, the implementation of an overlapping price increase from BT, as well as Sky’s price increases coming into full effect, should boost market revenues by around 1ppt in Q2 2017, but this will drop away again by Q3. The churn fallout from the communication of these price increases should also dissipate in Q2, benefiting BT and Sky competitively, and making it challenging for TalkTalk to repeat the feat of recovering to positive retail broadband net adds
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June 23, 2017UK mobile market Q1 2017: EE leads the way
Our ReportsUK mobile service revenue growth continued to improve, with reported growth reaching 0.4%. The rate of improvement has, however, started to slow. Pricing remains solid and data traffic continues to grow healthily.Looking forward, there will be some rare regulatory relief from next quarter, as the regulated MTR cuts drop to de minimis levels, helping service revenue growth by about 0.5ppts, and there is a brief respite from the impact of regulated EU roaming cuts before the full effect of their abolition on 15 June. Q3 will not be so comfortable, with the EU roaming abolition taking full effect during the main holiday season. -
June 23, 2017How to sell games: borrowing ideas from Netflix and Apple
Our ReportsA Netflix-like subscription model for console based video gaming is a big step closer with Microsoft launching a clear and easy Xbox subscription game solution, and it may even work. Sony’s strategy for premium online services across all its businesses remains muddled and complicated, but could be fixed quickly: dropping game streaming is the first step, providing a lower cost subscription service is the second. Google’s admission that more curation in its games app store will be needed finally indicates a better understanding of the games industry, in parallel with the company’s efforts to win over other creative industries
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June 22, 2017US music publishing royalties for 2018-22
Our ReportsThe “fair return” to US music publishers and songwriters for rights used by interactive streaming services will be decided in 2017 by the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB). Rights owners want to switch to a fixed per-stream or per-user rate on all tiers, arguing music has an inherent value. Apple is asking for a much lower per-stream rate. Amazon, Google, Spotify and Pandora warn of disruption to free and ad-supported tiers if the revenue-share tariff is not rolled over, and the CRB could side with them
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June 22, 2017Risks to NBN becoming more visible
Our ReportsNBN’s FY16 results represent a dramatic turnaround however risks to ARPU and connections are on the horizon. Pressure on RSP margins will drive industry to focus on fixed wireless substitution and further market consolidation.
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June 21, 2017Cybercrime as a Service: Six critical questions every business mu [...]
Our ReportsThe rising costs of cybercrime are driven by an increase in online devices, more cyberattacks and the growing sophistication of cybercriminals and their toolkits -
June 21, 2017The Finkel Review – A politically acceptable outcome for no [...]
Our ReportsThe Finkel review has been released and appears to have come up with a ‘politically acceptable’ solution. However, even if all the recommendations are accepted, the future impact on the electricity market is far from certain. Human behaviour and the declining cost of renewables will have a more profound effect than the Finkel review suggests in its modelling.
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June 21, 2017Vodafone Q4 2016/17 results: Solid results, better (short-term) o [...]
Our ReportsVodafone Europe’s service revenue growth reached positive territory in the March quarter, having recovered from a long term decline that it has suffered since 2009, thanks mainly to market stabilisation within the countries where it operates. The company’s service revenues are now growing in Germany, Italy and Spain, with the UK now the laggard, having suffered from recent billing migration issues. With Europe’s major mobile markets now stabilised, Vodafone’s continued high investment levels gives it an opportunity to develop a competitive advantage and outperform its competitors, rather than just keeping up with them.
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June 21, 2017Snowy Hydro 2.0: Good but not enough?
Our ReportsSnowy Hydro 2.0 has been proposed by the Federal Government to alleviate the Australian Energy Crisis. Will it be the golden solution they hoped for, or should the government consider alternative investments to allow a more effective or timely solution?
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June 21, 2017Mary Meeker Internet Trends 2017
Our ReportsMary Meeker discusses the key internet trends for 2017. The continued rise of digital advertising, as well as growth within eSports, and eCommerce all feature heavily
