FTI Consulting News Bytes – 6 October 2023

FTI Consulting News Bytes

In this week’s edition, we kick off with a piece that looks at why Hollywood actors are increasingly featuring in video games, as the industry is valued at $217 billion. Next, we look at Planisware, which this week launched the largest IPO in Paris in the past two years, before turning to healthcare where a robot has been developed to improve breast cancer detection. Moving onto social media, Meta and TikTok are the latest companies to announce plans for an ad-free service. Finally, we explore the growing problem of space debris following a fine issued to a satellite television provider by the FCC for failing to remove old satellites from space.  

This week’s news

A-list actors level up in video games

Hollywood actors are increasingly looking to video games for their next big role, according to The Independent. Idris Elba, Keanu Reeves and Kit Harington are among those that have featured in blockbuster games. London’s National Youth Theatre has even introduced a summer school in acting for video games. The trend is part of the gradual convergence of video games, cinema and television where popular IP is reproduced across different platforms, often successfully. Hogwarts Legacy is the best-selling game of 2023 while the Super Mario film is second only to Barbie as the highest-grossing film this year. According to The Independent, featuring A-list stars in games is less about appealing to existing players, and more about reaching those outside the gamer community. With the gaming industry valued at $217 billion in 2022 and set to grow 13% by 2030, this strategy appears to be working.

Planisware signals revival in Europe IPOs

After a boom in 2021, the IPO market had all but dried up at the start of 2023. Yet there are signs that the mood is gradually changing. This week, Planisware, a French software company, launched an IPO, aiming for a valuation of between 1.11 billion and 1.25 billion euros, making it the largest IPO on Euronext Paris in the last two years, reports Reuters. Twenty-five companies in the United States and Europe have floated in the last four weeks, raising hopes of a gradual recovery. All eyes are now on how these listings perform in the coming months which will be an indicator of investor appetite for new issues.

Robots revolutionise cancer detection

The University of Bristol this week unveiled a robot with the potential to transform breast cancer detection, reports The National (UAE). The robot, developed by the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, is equipped with hand-like features, resembling the forces used during Clinical Breast Examinations (CBEs), and was 3D printed and extensively tested on silicone breast models. It can detect lumps in breast tissue at previously unreachable depths, offering the possibility of earlier and more accurate breast cancer detection. Plans are underway to integrate AI technology with expert CBE techniques to enhance the robot’s capacity for detecting potential cancer indicators to complement established diagnostic methods. 

Social media shifts gear with ad-free subscriptions 

On Monday, Meta announced that it is preparing to charge EU users a monthly subscription fee to access its Facebook or Instagram platforms without ads. Reuters reports that the new plan would give users the choice between continuing to access Instagram and Facebook for free with personalised ads or paying for a version of the service without any ads. The move comes after the European Union threatened to restrict Meta’s ability to show users personalised ads without first seeking user consent, which would hinder its main source of revenue. Meta informed regulators that the subscription service would be rolled out in the coming months. Shortly after, TikTok announced on Tuesday that it had also begun testing an ad-free subscription service.

Company fined for cosmic clutter

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US this week issued Dish Network, a satellite television provider, with a fine for failing to remove an old satellite in space. The first of its kind, BBC News notes the $150,000 fine indicated the FCC’s intention to strongly enforce rules around space debris. NASA estimates that there are more than 25,000 pieces of space debris measuring over 10cm long, posing a risk of collision. For example, the International Space Station has had to be moved out of the way of debris in the past.

Top Tweets of the Week

• Mark Di Stefano, Reporter, The Australian Financial Review: The ABC has disclosed the broadcaster has 8 people making content for TikTok. More interesting, the ABC TikTok team uses TikTok burners so the app can’t be hooked onto the ABC’s email or cloud systems. 
• Tom Seal, Media and Telecoms Reporter, Bloomberg: Murdoch’s News UK and the Daily Mail group propose merging their printing operations, following circulation declines and higher costs twitter.com/zJGmPWZMUf
• Amy O’Brien, Editor, Sifted: NEW: We’ve been braced for a period of consolidation in European tech that hasn’t quite materialised. But it’s in Q4 that “the dams will break,” one investment banker tells me. So why do sell-side startups need an external advisor for such an exit? https://t.co/Ohz7WcrCjc

Number of the Week

€200bn – The amount of additional investment required to meet the European Commission’s connectivity targets of 5G in all populated areas and full gigabit coverage across the EU by 2030 – Financial Times