Your commercial news round-up: cost of living, Netflix, FIFA+, TikTok, covid-related disputes

Reading time: three minutes

Developing your commercial awareness is all about being consistent. Here’s your weekly reminder to set some time aside to develop yours so you’re ready to ace future applications and interviews. Whether you think you’re a commercial awareness expert or you’re just starting out on your journey, use the below summaries to help you on your way!

• The UK cost of living hit a 30-year high after rising 7% in the year to March, with the rising cost of petrol and diesel contributing to the inflation. Between February and March 2022, average petrol prices rose by 12.6 pence per litre which, according to the Office for National Statistics, is the largest monthly rise since records began in 1990. The cost of diesel also rose by 18.8 pence per litre. Petrol and diesel rose by just 3.5 pence per litre for the same periods in 2021. Inflation is expected to continue to rise following the energy price gap increase, which has seen the cost of gas and electricity surge.

Alongside the rising cost of living, the average price of a UK home hit £276,755 in February, with the average price of property in London at £529,882.

• Netflix is being sued by Russian users due to an alleged “violation” of their rights following the streaming giant’s “refusal to provide services in Russia”. Demands for compensation worth £563,000 were cited by the RIA news agency. Following backlash on social media platform Twitter regarding Netflix’s delayed response to the invasion of Ukraine, the US production company paused production of Russian language series Zato, on top of other future projects and acquisitions from the country.   
   
• In other streaming news, FIFA has revealed its plans to launch a free streaming platform ‘FIFA+’ – a football version of Netflix and Amazon Prime. To start with it appears that the platform will feature documentaries and some live games for free, with the scope to potentially broadcast World Cup games for a fee. FIFA’s Charlotte Burr, director of strategy said that while there is no plan to charge a subscription fee for the service, “that doesn’t mean to say that we may not evolve over time should there be a value proposition that allows us to charge subscription if we step into premium rights or adopt other kind of models”.
   
• TikTok’s advertising revenue is set to triple to over £8.4 billion this year, more than both US rivals Twitter (£4.28 billion) and Snapchat (£3.73 billion) sales combined, according to market research company Insider Intelligence. Known in China as Douyin, TikTok has been described as “the platform of the moment” by Niamh Burns, a tech analysis at Enders Analysis who spoke to CITY A.M. The US has made attempts to keep up with emerging Chinese tech, including banning Huawei in the states and Meta offering copycat products like Facebook Reels. Now might be a good time to follow LCN on TikTok!

• Looking at the legal profession itself, more than 84% of London lawyers are expecting a rise in covid-related contractual disputes, according to a London Solicitors Litigation Association survey which polled 110 lawyers working in the City. A surge in insolvency cases relating to the pandemic is also expected by 70% of the survey’s respondents, while half said they expect to see an increase in business interruption claims. Brexit-related lawsuits are also expected to rise, according to more than half of those surveyed. Tim Synes, a partner at Stewarts, spoke to CITY A.M. about the impact of covid, Brexit, inflation, interest rates and the war on litigation, “particularly in the insolvency and restructuring space”.

Check the News every Thursday for this weekly commercial news round-up.

Follow LawCareers.Net on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram for regular business news updates.