Soon after the protracted takeover process ended, Enders Analysis’ François Godard issued a note that said MFE “finds itself in a stronger position to talk to streamers about content deals in the follow-up of this summer’s announcements. In sum, the merger… is a welcome jolt to the European television industry.”

Looking further into the future, Godard’s colleague, Tom Harrington, says: “The real power lies with who controls how people watch, pay and interact with content.” Here, we’re talking about a bunch of unknowns: What role AI search and Google might play, the possibility of ‘super aggregator’ apps, and newer technologies that we can’t yet even envisage. This is where we’re headed, many believe.

The new measures could also include forcing Google to ask for permission to use publishers’ content in its AI Overviews “without affecting if and how they appear in Google Search,” which may positively impact UK publishers. Major UK publishers’ visibility in search results dropped by up to 80 percent compared to 2019 correlating to the rise in frequency of the AI results, according to a report from Enders Analysis.

Warner Bros. Discovery reportedly rejected Paramount Skydance's initial offer, deeming it too low, according to sources familiar with the matter, cited by Bloomberg. Paramount, owned by David Ellison, the son of Oracle's co-founder, reportedly offered $20 per share. Rejecting an initial offer is relatively standard in a takeover bid, "but it means things are moving forward," says François Godard, an analyst at Enders.

It's impossible to assess the influence of its additional programs, but for Pierre Maes, a sports rights consultant and author of the book "The Ruin of French Football," "it's hard to imagine that they could convince people to subscribe." "We have the impression that Nicolas de Tavernost is sticking to familiar paths, free TV," says François Godard, an analyst at Enders Analysis.

But the situation can also be interpreted differently, from a more financial than marketing perspective. The loss of even a single match would push Canal+ to reduce its bid, as the end of exclusivity represents a loss of value for both subscribers and prospects. "The exclusivity argument is indeed decisive for recruiting new customers," adds François Godard, an analyst at Enders Analysis.

Tom Harrington of media industry research firm Enders Analysis told Telegraph Sport an increased number of late kick-offs would be “bad news” for the BBC and ITV.

“It makes a massive difference,” he added. “There’s going to be somebody who’s probably going to be pretty unlucky and have a big game at 1am.”

“You can’t please everybody,” Harrington added, pointing out that breaks in play during matches played earlier in the day would hardly be ideal for the BBC and ITV amid the potential for long delays wreaking havoc with broadcast schedules.

But it’s still a far cry from chasing the influencer playbook, Keeping its video aligned with its brand DNA is a good call for orgnizations like The Economist where most journalists were hired for their writing and analysis rather than their charisma in front of a camera, said Laura Darcey, research analyst at media analysis firm Enders. “The Economist must remain authentic to its brand and not erode its credibility by trying to fit itself too closely into the image of platform-native creators,” she said.

On the cost side, Enders Analysis media and telecoms analyst François Godard told Investors’ Chronicle that the biggest savings would come from consolidating their respective streaming platforms – Canal+ and Showmax – and cutting fixed costs in advertising technology systems and IT infrastructure.

“I am curious to see how Canal+ can reorganise the business to withstand these things because [it] cannot stop power cuts or devaluation, so they will have to become more resilient in an environment that is unstable,” said Godard.

“It’s a riskier asset, but you have to take risks if you want growth because there is no explosive growth in France,” said Godard.

“S4 was founded with the whole idea being that we’re going to be tech-enabled, we’re driving the digital transformation,” said Claire Holubowskyj, senior research analyst at Enders Analysis. “So it does look quite bad when we’re in arguably the biggest digital transformation we’re going to see for a generation, and they’re performing really badly in the midst of it.”

“There’s an element of looking inwards and strategising that needs to happen a little bit more than is currently taking place,” said Holubowskyj, who argued that S4 and WPP in particular are focused more on preparing for the next AI-driven phase of the industry than trying to maximise performance today.

The Champions League last season introduced a larger league format with an increased number of games. This change resulted in an 18% increase in broadcasting revenue in its top six markets, according to a report from research provider Enders Analysis.