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Altnet ARPUs are much lower than those of BT and VMO2, the premium-brand incumbents, but not so much lower than TalkTalk, and they are not rising appreciably over time.

Altnet ARPU is generally much lower than premium-brand incumbents both because their prices are lower, and because of the type of customers that low prices attract. Maturity will not solve these issues.

With incumbent and altnet pricing remaining low, there appears to be little potential for the altnets to meaningfully improve ARPUs, leaving their economics fatally stretched.

Studios revenue growth (+4% year-on-year, to £400 million) balanced advertising decline, which dragged Media and Entertainment down 2% (to £477 million): total revenues were flat YoY. Viewing has been poor to start 2026, but there is a World Cup approaching.

ITV’s total advertising revenue (TAR) was down 1.5% in Q1 to £416 million, with digital ad revenues up 14%. ITV expects Q2 to improve 10% YoY.

With the acquisition of ITV M&E appearing close, the ramifications of the change of ownership for ITV’s output is a nuanced consideration.

Audience needs remain unchanged: creativity, talent, and community are central to building user relationships.

Discoverability, distribution, and formats are evolving rapidly. Technical alignment is key to unlocking user value. New means of scaling, partnering, and monetising need to be considered as AI and IP structures evolve.

Publishers don’t need to be everywhere: the fundamentals of content, brand, and curation are still key with no one-size-fits-all route to success. Agility and experimentation are crucial as the ecosystem continues to evolve.

Big tech platforms are extending their advertising lead by deploying existing AI strengths to expand functionality and offer advertisers streamlined performance.

A cohesive model for chatbot advertising is still elusive. While in the process of defining its positioning, it currently impacts discovery more than search.

Scale no longer guarantees agency advantage: value capture is shifting away from providing services and towards owning the processes, tools, IP, and media.

VMO2’s broadband and mobile segments both worsened in Q1 to decline at 3–4%, with altnets hitting the former and an over-publicised price rise change hitting the latter.

Subscriber trends however improved on both, with the broadband base notably reaching near stability as altnet pressure gradually recedes.

2026 will still be a tough year for the company, with service revenue/EBITDA guidance of a 3–5% decline for both looking realistic, but momentum thereafter is likely to be much improved