My Predictions for Q4 2025

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It’s the time of year when people are thinking ahead to Q4 2025 and how they can end their year on high. I’m certainly thinking about that for The Addition. With that in mind, I thought I’d share some predictions at the intersection of culture, media and sport for the coming three months.

The usual caveats, namely that my predictions are generally terrible, apply:

Someone will launch a fully AI-generated publication. It will be rubbish.
Someone will launch a regular (not pilot), fully AI-generated podcast. It will be rubbish.
WSL viewing figures will soar. The Lionesses always provide a boost, so expect to see some good numbers after another successful tournament.
Netflix will announce the acquisition of more live sports rights. (Ok, I’m playing it safe with that one. Look out for the Apple/F1 deal too.)
There will be a takeover of Reach. The Telegraph reported the other day that veteran newspaper exec David Montgomery is set to revive his interest in the parent company of The Mirror and The Express. The plan, of course, comes with plenty of cost-cutting measures, code for sacking a load of journalists. It’s unlikely this deal will be signed and sealed by the end of the year, but I think it will be in the works.
The Argument will launch with a bang but then fizzle out. It will be very earnest, and I think that misses the point of the success of the right-wing media ecosystem, especially in the US.
You will buy my book, Streaming Wars, out on the 3rd October in the UK, or 28th October in US. (That one is manifesting, but I think you’ll enjoy it!)