Digital Platforms Research, Forecasts & Analysis

6 July 2026 · Digital Platforms · Brief· NEW

Nine/Microsoft news deal points to the alternative to News Media Bargaining conflict

: This landmark deal allows Copilot to utilise full-text articles from Nine's mastheads, including paywalled content, to inform and 'ground' its AI search. The agreement facilitates the generation of summaries and headlines with direct attribution and click-through links, establishing a new commercia…

12 Dec 2025 · Digital Platforms · Brief

Netflix/Warner takeover will squeeze local media

: In early December 2025, Netflix entered a definitive agreement to acquire the film and TV studio assets of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), including Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO, and HBO Max. This reflects an SVOD industry that has matured and now seeks profitability through consolidation. If successfu…

31 Oct 2025 · Digital Platforms · Brief

Ad market growth holds up as the AI shift helps ‘traditional’ media

: Next week, we will publish our subscriber-only annual advertising market forecast, analysing trends in the TV, radio, print, outdoor, cinema and digital segments out to 2030. This free brief provides a preview of some of the key results. The biggest change is the decline of Google search under pres…

5 Sept 2025 · Digital Platforms · Brief

Consumerisation brings regulation risk for the AI industry

: While early analysis focused on AI's impact on business, the landscape has rapidly "consumerised." Personal preferences are now shaping how users engage with AI, both at work and at home, fostering deep connections that go well beyond professional utility. This emotional entanglement opens up a vas…

5 Sept 2025 · Digital Platforms · Brief

Consumerisation brings regulation risk for the AI industry

: This report analyses the rapid consumerisation of AI tools, which have amassed an estimated 1.8 billion users in just 2.5 years. As engagement shifts from professional utility to emotional companionship, the industry faces significant psychological and regulatory risks. With ChatGPT projected to re…

5 June 2025 · Digital Platforms · Brief

Social media age restrictions can work, but need an education strategy

: Growing evidence of harms to young people from social media has ignited public concern. In response, Australia passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, a groundbreaking piece of legislation that bans children under 16 from using certain social media platforms, includi…

28 May 2025 · Telecom · Brief

Telstra’s Connected Future 30 drives a new industry narrative

: Telstra’s Investor Day announcement of its new Connected Future 30 Strategy is a watershed for the telecommunications industry. But this is not because there is anything new about AI technology or digital infrastructure. Telstra’s achievement is to craft these elements into a narrative of growth an…

9 May 2025 · Digital Platforms · Brief

Time for a Digital Services Tariff?

: Analysis from Venture Insights reveals that the five largest U.S. tech companies operating in Australia — including Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta (Facebook), and Amazon — are collectively paying only around a quarter of the corporate tax they would be expected to contribute if taxed fully under Au…

11 Apr 2025 · Digital Platforms · Brief

Action needed against digital dominance of Australia’s media

: New analysis by Venture Insights shows that Netflix, Google, and Facebook (Meta) each have larger Australian enterprise values than any domestic media company, with Netflix’s implied local EV approaching $11.8 billion, Google at $10.0 billion, and Facebook at $9.4 billion. By comparison, Nine Enter…

30 Mar 2025 · Digital Platforms · Brief

Unified ad measurement in Australia needs collaboration

: The Video Futures Collective (VFC) and OzTAM are two pivotal players in the Australian media landscape, both focused on audience measurement for television and video content, but with distinct approaches, histories, and stakeholders. OzTAM emerged from the old free-to-air TV oligopoly many years ag…

16 Mar 2025 · Digital Platforms · Brief

Apple and Microsoft Would Crack the ASX10

: New analysis from Venture Insights reveals that Apple and Microsoft would rank among the ten most valuable companies in Australia if their local operations were assessed independently. We estimate that Apple Australia’s implied enterprise value (EV) is $99.6 billion, and Microsoft Australia’s is $8…