Media & Entertainment
Audience and subscriber data, rights records and marketing measured on billed revenue, for broadcasters, publishers, streaming services and producers.
Our perspective
A media business counts its audience in several currencies at once: linear ratings, on-demand streams, platform views, app sessions and subscribers in billing. Sales sells on one count, commissioning decides on another, and finance books revenue against neither. Publishers also lose visits they used to measure, because an AI summary answers the query above the link. We build the data, rights records and reporting that tie each count to revenue by title, channel and cohort, and we judge marketing on the subscriptions the business actually bills.
Market signals
01
In 2024, people aged 4 and over spent an average of 2 hours 24 minutes a day watching broadcast TV on TV sets, 4% less than in 2023.
02
UK broadcaster video-on-demand revenues rose 15% to £1.1bn in 2024, passing £1bn for the first time, and now account for a quarter of total broadcaster advertising revenues.
03
In June 2026 the CMA imposed its first conduct requirements on Google search in the UK, giving publishers controls over whether their content is used in AI features such as AI Overviews, and requiring fair ranking of organic results, AI Overviews included.
How we help clients
Audience and revenue by title
TF-06Technology & DataWe join linear ratings, on-demand and platform data, app analytics and ad-server delivery on one title and campaign key, so advertising and subscription revenue can be read by title, slot and platform. Where audience currencies differ, the report shows each one beside its definition.
Subscriber acquisition judged in billing
TF-04GrowthEach campaign is measured on activations and on revenue still billed after the trial and the first renewals, instead of on sign-ups reported by the ad platform. Budget then moves to the channels that bring subscribers who pay.
Churn signals before cancellation
TF-05AIFailed payments, falling viewing or reading frequency, plan downgrades and support contacts joined to the subscriber record feed a churn model the retention team can act on. We test it against past cancellations before anyone relies on it.
A rights and windows register
TF-10RiskRights windows, territories, platforms and talent obligations held as structured records linked to the catalogue let schedulers and distribution teams check a restriction before they commit. Windows about to expire appear in a weekly report.
Search and AI visibility for publishers
TF-05AIWe measure referral and revenue by section and page, which pages AI answers cite, and what the publisher's crawler and AI-use controls currently allow. A decision to opt content in or out of AI features is then taken on those figures.
Subscription flows built for the new UK rules
TF-07OperationsSign-up screens, pre-contract information, renewal reminders and the cancellation path are mapped against the subscription contracts regime and rebuilt where they fall short, with every customer notice logged. Legal interpretation stays with your advisers.
What changes next
Publishers deciding on AI features
Since June 2026, publishers in the UK can stop Google using their search content in AI features such as AI Overviews. The choice trades visibility in AI answers against control of content, and only page-level data on referrals, citations and revenue shows which side of that trade a section sits on.
UK subscription rules from January 2027
The government has brought the DMCC Act subscription contracts regime forward to January 2027. Streaming and publishing subscriptions will need clear pre-contract information, reminder notices before renewals and a straightforward way to leave, and records that show each step happened for each customer.
BBC Charter renewal
The BBC's current Charter expires on 31 December 2027, and the government expects to publish a white paper on its future during 2026. Producers and distributors that know what share of their revenue comes from BBC commissions and licensing can model the options as soon as they are published.
Business challenges
01
Audience figures that disagree
Linear ratings, broadcaster on-demand streams, YouTube views and app analytics each count a viewer differently. Sales teams sell on one number, commissioning teams decide on another, and neither ties back to advertising revenue by title.
02
Churn seen after it happens
Subscription businesses usually see a cancellation when it reaches billing. Earlier signals, such as a failed payment, a drop in viewing or reading, or a repeat support contact, sit in other systems and are rarely joined to the subscriber record.
03
Acquisition judged on platform figures
Ad platforms report sign-ups under their own attribution rules. Compared with activations in billing, the totals often diverge, and budget keeps flowing to channels that bring trial users who never pay.
04
Search referrals falling without a cause on record
A publisher's rankings hold while referrals from search fall, because an AI summary now answers the query on the results page. Without referral and revenue data by page, nobody can say which sections lost revenue and which only lost visits.
05
Rights held in spreadsheets
Rights windows, territory limits and talent obligations are often recorded in spreadsheets and email, so a scheduling or distribution decision depends on someone remembering where the restriction is written down.
Where the opportunity sits
One subscriber record across billing, usage and support
Joining billing, viewing or reading data and support contacts on one subscriber key lets retention teams act on early signals and gives finance revenue and churn by cohort and acquisition channel.
Marketing read against paying subscribers
Measuring each campaign against activations and revenue still billed after the first months shows which channels bring subscribers who stay, so budget can move to them.
A rights register teams can query
Holding rights windows, territories and obligations as structured records, linked to the content catalogue, lets schedulers and distribution teams check a restriction before they commit to it.
How we approach it
We start with the records that decide revenue: billing, subscription management, CRM, audience, analytics and ad-server data, and the rights files. Access is read-only until the findings are agreed. We trace how a viewer, reader or subscriber is counted from first contact to paid account and where the counts diverge, then turn the findings into a prioritised list of data, measurement and workflow tasks, each with an owner and a measure. If the organisation wants us to build, we deliver the pipelines, reporting and automation in its own environment and document them for its teams. Specialists from our network of independent partners, for example in subscription analytics or rights systems, join under one accountable lead. We do not replace industry audience-measurement bodies or give regulatory or legal advice on licences and rights, and editorial decisions stay with the organisation.
How our experience is evidenced
No anonymised engagement in media or entertainment is published. This page describes our approach and capabilities in subscriber and audience data, rights records, customer operations and marketing measurement. FocusADS.ai, our managed-advertising service, is in development and is not offered today.
How an engagement with THEFOCUS starts
A first conversation is about your situation. If there is a fit, we propose a scoped diagnostic with a fixed deliverable before any larger commitment.
Discuss this with us01
A working conversation
Forty-five minutes with the person who would lead the work. We ask about the decision, the systems behind it and the deadline.
02
A scoped diagnostic
Read-only access, a fixed timeframe and a written finding: what the records show, what it costs and what to change first.
03
A plan you can act on
Changes, owners, measures and exclusions in writing. The same team then builds and measures, or hands over cleanly.
- One accountable team
- The people who diagnose also build the systems and measure the result.
- Partners chosen per problem
- Independent specialists join for the parts that need them, under one contract.
- Records before dashboards
- Orders, ledgers and logs are reconciled before any recommendation depends on them.
Questions executives ask
Have you worked with media companies?
We have not published an anonymised engagement in this sector. A proposal would state which methods we have applied in other sectors and which would be new for your organisation.
Can you work with our billing and subscription platforms?
Yes, through their exports, APIs or data-warehouse connections, starting with read-only access. We do not ask you to change platform before the analysis, and any migration recommendation comes with its cost and the data behind it.
Do you advise on broadcasting regulation or content rights?
No. We build the data, records and workflows that support compliance and rights management, such as a rights register or a log of customer notices. Regulatory interpretation and legal advice stay with your own advisers.
Is FocusADS.ai available?
No. FocusADS.ai is in development, with no public website or launch date. It is intended to package managed advertising as a defined service judged on the sales and leads a business records.
Discuss this with us
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