What's happened
News Corp's revenue exceeded expectations with a 9% EBITDA increase, driven by growth in its media divisions and AI content partnerships. BT shed fewer broadband customers than forecast, with demand for full-fibre rising as it expands infrastructure, despite revenue declines and profit drops.
What's behind the headline?
News Corp's financial performance signals resilience amid AI content disputes. The company's push to monetize AI rights for its premium content, including expanding partnerships with Bloomberg, indicates a strategic move to capitalize on AI's growing influence. This approach aims to secure revenue streams from AI firms that rely heavily on provenance and content rights.
Conversely, BT's results reveal a more cautious outlook. The lower-than-expected customer losses and increased full-fibre demand suggest that BT's infrastructure investments are paying off, reducing competitive pressure from low-cost rivals. However, revenue declines and profit drops highlight ongoing challenges in balancing investment with profitability.
Overall, these stories reflect broader industry trends: media companies seeking new monetization avenues through AI, and telecoms investing heavily in infrastructure to maintain market share. The success of these strategies will depend on how well they adapt to evolving technological and competitive landscapes, with AI rights becoming a key battleground for media firms and infrastructure expansion critical for telecoms' future growth.
What the papers say
The New York Post highlights News Corp's optimism about AI content monetization, emphasizing their expansion of AI rights partnerships, including with Bloomberg. Meanwhile, The Independent provides detailed insights into BT's operational challenges, noting that despite customer losses, the company is expanding its fibre network and maintaining its strategic goals. Both sources underscore the importance of infrastructure and content rights in shaping future industry trajectories, with the Post focusing on revenue growth and AI, and The Independent on customer retention and network expansion.
How we got here
News Corp reported strong quarterly financials, with EBITDA up 9%, amid ongoing debates over AI's impact on content monetization. BT faced customer attrition but improved its full-fibre deployment, reflecting competitive pressures and strategic expansion in the UK telecom market.
Go deeper
- How will AI rights impact media companies' revenue?
- What does BT's infrastructure expansion mean for UK consumers?
- Are these results indicative of broader industry trends?
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