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Enders Analysis provides a subscription research service covering the media, entertainment, mobile and fixed telecommunications industries in Europe, with a special focus on new technologies and media.
Our research is independent and evidence-based, covering all sides of the market: consumers, leading companies, industry trends, forecasts and public policy & regulation. A complete list of our research can be found here
Mission possible? Skydance's financial future
6 October 2026With Paramount Skydance's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) closing today, attention will turn to the financial future of the combined entity
Its financial future comes down to three things: how much cash the business generates, what prior claims exist on that cash, and whether what remains can pay debt down faster than linear TV shrinks
The bull case rests on linear decline attenuating, as $6bn of synergies and greater streaming scale lift earnings; otherwise cash generation alone is unlikely to deliver the headline deleveraging targets
Karen Egan was quoted in The Times on "What does the £400m rescue takeover of TalkTalk mean for BT?"
6 October 2026“It’s probably the least bad deal for BT, because they were going to take some pain anyway,” said Karen Egan, head of telecoms at Enders Analysis. “They were going to lose wholesale revenues for a few months [and] they were going to have a bad debt for Openreach.”
“There’s now a question mark over whether BT is going to be able to stabilise that customer base,” Egan said. “I would say stabilising is a big challenge and they’re probably not going to be able to immediately.”
“BT’s a big group — they can find £50m, £100m down the back of the sofa here and there … You don’t have to cut that many costs in order to get [TalkTalk] to almost break even on an operating cashflow basis”, said Egan at Enders Analysis.
BT buys TalkTalk: Taking one for the team
6 October 2026BT is buying TalkTalk as a buyer of last resort, given the chaos that would ensue with a disorderly shut down, and will face a regulatory clearance process that reflects this.
The acquisition will cost BT c.£400 million this financial year, and will be hard to
manage given the ongoing subscriber decline, with limited longer-term upside.
Damage limitation appears to be the main driver.
There is a limited impact on the rest of the market, with some opportunity to pick up
business, limited risk for CityFibre despite it supplying TalkTalk, but less choice for
some types of smaller broadband competitors.
James Barford was quoted in The Telegraph on "The BBC fee that could be added to your broadband bill"
5 October 2026With entry-level broadband prices in the UK standing between £20 and £25, an £11 surcharge would represent an increase of more than 50pc for some customers.
James Barford, at Enders Analysis, describes this as “quite a dramatic increase if you’re trying to spend as little money as possible”.
It’s not just young people, though. Older people who are marginal broadband users may choose to ditch their contracts and make do without.
Moreover, any decline in broadband take-up would result in what Barford brands a “doom loop”.
Enders Analysis was mentioned in The Guardian on "BT to buy broadband supplier TalkTalk in £400m rescue deal, saving 900 jobs"
5 October 2026BT is the biggest broadband provider in the UK, with a market share of about 30%, according to estimates by Enders Analysis. Openreach, the broadband network owned by BT, is also TalkTalk’s biggest supplier. BT can expect to add a further 1.5 million broadband customers as a result of the deal.
Enders Analysis was mentioned in the Financial Times on "BT weighs improved TalkTalk offer after initial approach rejected"
5 October 2026A tie-up between the companies would normally trigger a competition review because BT’s broadband network Openreach is TalkTalk’s largest supplier. BT is also the country’s largest broadband provider with a market share of roughly 30 per cent, according to estimates from Enders Analysis.
Claire Enders was quoted in the Financial Times on "Esther Rantzen, television presenter and campaigner, 1940-2026"
5 October 2026The TV star saw far ahead of others the dangers and risks posed to children by technology such as smartphones and the internet, according to friend and media executive Claire Enders. “She had a brilliant insight into the prevalence of abuse in an online world,” said Enders, who pointed to the introduction of the Online Safety Act in 2023 as a culmination of her campaigns over the decades. “She was able to galvanise people to act. She used her voice with utter conviction and effectiveness.”