Blue Tiger Engage February 2026
BT Engage: February Newsletter
Welcome to Blue Tigers monthly newsletter Engage, bringing you all the latest news, trends and updates from across the media landscape. In this month’s edition we look at the major news stories capturing the headlines as we enter 2026.
Netflix, Disney+ and Prime Video to come under stricter regulation in UK
Netflix, Amazon’s Prime Video and Disney+ are to come under “enhanced regulation” by the UK media regulator, Ofcom, making the streaming giants subject to the same scrutiny as traditional broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV.
Under the new regulatory regime, which will also apply to public service broadcaster (PSB) video-on-demand services such as ITVX and Channel 4, the platforms will have to adhere to regulations relating to accurate and impartial news and protecting audiences from harmful and offensive material.
Ofcom will have the power to accept and investigate complaints from viewers about content on streaming platforms, and to impose fines of up to £250,000, or 5% of revenue generated in the UK, for each breach.
“By bringing the most popular video-on-demand services under enhanced regulation by Ofcom, we are strengthening protections for audiences, creating a level playing field for industry and supporting our vibrant media sector,” said Lisa Nandy, the culture secretary.
Until now, streaming services have not been subject to the same level of regulation under the UK broadcasting code as traditional, licensed TV channels.
Netflix has not been regulated in the UK at all; because its European headquarters are in Amsterdam, it has come under Dutch laws.
The UK government said the new regulations, being implemented as part of the Media Act 2024, will apply to video-on-demand services that have more than 500,000 UK viewers.
Two-thirds of UK households subscribe to at least one of the three biggest streaming services – Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+ – with 85% of people using an on-demand service each month, compared with 67% who watch live TV, the government said.
“We know that the way audiences watch TV has fundamentally changed.” “Millions now choose to watch content on video-on-demand platforms alongside or, in the case of many young people, instead of traditional TV.”
OOH reports highest-ever annual revenue in 2025
Out-of-Home (OOH) has reported its highest-ever annual revenue in 2025, despite the challenging macroeconomic factors, according to the industry trade body, Outsmart.
Revenue for year-end 2025 grew 2.6% year-on-year to £1.44bn, beating ad revenue in 2024.
Digital OOH grew 3.2%, and classic OOH was up 1.3%, with DOOH taking a 67% overall share of annual revenue.
Growth in the second half of the year was up 3.8% year-on-year and was stronger than the first half of the year (1.2% growth).
Partly behind this growth was a strong Q4, which saw 3.3% growth in overall revenues to £404.9m.
DOOH grew by 4.8% year-on-year, and classic grew by 0.3% year-on-year in Q4, marking a slowdown for classic from Q3, where growth outpaced digital.
Digital’s share in Q4 also grew to 69% up from 67% in Q3.
Justin Cochrane, chair of Outsmart, said: “Despite the wider economic headwinds, 2025 shows that brands continue to invest in Out of Home because it offers unrivalled reach and delivers trailblazing creative opportunity and effectiveness.”
The latest Advertising Association/Warc Expenditure Report upwardly revised its forecast for OOH adspend for 2025 to 3.1%, led by growth of 3.7% for digital OOH.
Dan Bunyan, partner at PwC UK, said: “OOH has continued to prove its value to brands despite the challenging macroeconomic backdrop and disruption from new AI models.
“The industry has seen positive growth in H2 2025, a good sign for 2026. Continued investment in digitisation and programmatic capabilities should underpin growth moving forward.”
The figures for this report were collated by PwC.
Rajar Q4 2025: Heart Breakfast remains top commercial show after reporting strong growth
Top commercial breakfast show, Heart Breakfast with Jamie and Amanda (Global), grew its weekly reach by 5% year-on-year and saw a 5% quarter-on-quarter increase from Q3 2025, according to the latest Rajar figures.
The BBC continues to lead the breakfast time slot in weekly reach, despite Radio 2’s breakfast show reporting a 5% year-on-year decline. In Q4 2025, however, it saw a 5% increase from the previous quarter, signalling that the decision to replace Zoe Ball with Scott Mills as host in January 2025 continues to pay dividends.
Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio Breakfast, hosted by Simon ‘Rossie’ Ross, declined 17% year on year and 8% quarter on quarter.
Meanwhile, Bauer’s Hits Radio Breakfast, hosted by Fleur East, Will Best and James Barr, saw a year-on-year decline of 20% and a 5% decline from last quarter.
Bauer’s Magic Radio Breakfast, hosted by Harriet Scott and Gok Wan, saw year-on-year growth of 13% and an 8% increase, reaching 949,000 weekly listeners.
Kiss Breakfast with Jordan and Perri saw a 12% year-on-year increase and a 20% quarter-on-quarter increase, reaching 523,000 weekly listeners. This shows a bounceback in listening for the station which was previously affected by a rebranding of Kiss’ local stations to Hits the previous year.
As of 2 February 2025, Tyler West and Chloe Burrows have become the new hosts, but time will tell what effect this will have on the station’s reach.
Notably, GB News saw a year-on-year increase of 34% in its weekly reach, up to 278,000 listeners, but a slower quarter-on-quarter increase of 4%. This follows a period of standout growth in Q1 2025, when the breakfast show saw a 25.4% year-on-year increase in weekly reach to 237,000 listeners.
Examining the London market, three Global brands topped the charts: LBC London (720k) overtook Heart London (629k) and Capital London (615k). LBC saw a year-on-year decrease of 12%, whereas Heart London saw a 24% decline and Capital London a 4% decline.
For further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Blue Tiger Marketing, we’re here to help you navigate the changing landscape effectively, leveraging new opportunities while mitigating potential risks.
dan@bluetigermarketing.co.uk
Sources:
bbc.co.uk, ITV.com, The Media Leader, Tech Crunch, Video Week, Adexchanger, The Drum, Marketing Week
