In this pre-Cannes episode of Unfiltered, Justin Lebbon and Ian Whittaker unpack a dramatic week of M&A and IPO activity. They examine what SpaceX's elevated valuation means for funding the AI and space "twin bets", why the public markets impose a discipline private players escape, and how that pressure could see AI giants come hunting for media's advertising revenues. They then turn to Fox's roughly $22bn acquisition of Roku, the market's sceptical reaction, and the wider wave of US-led media consolidation.

Highlights:

SpaceX's valuation as a "virtuous circle": a high price justifies and fuels large-scale investment — and works in reverse if the price falls.
Musk's super-voting B shares mean investors effectively cede control and ride his coattails.
The combined SpaceX/OpenAI/Anthropic valuation sits north of $3.5tn — and to justify it, these companies must take revenue from somewhere, with advertising the obvious first target.
Why incumbent media firms are "trapped": shareholders punish the big investments needed to fight back (the ITV digital-rollout share-price drop as precedent).
Is this "performative capitalism"? Ian pushes back — he sees Musk as epitomising "dream big", with the US having outsourced much of its space policy to SpaceX.
Fox isn't buying shows — it's buying the home screen and the interface between viewers and ad revenue, plus a sports negotiating "choke point".
The market's 15%+ share-price fall signals fears of overpayment, execution risk and debt; the deal is cash-and-stock (~$14bn cash of ~$22bn, ~$96/share).
A wave of US consolidation — Paramount/WBD, Disney/Hulu, Fox/Roku — versus a slower-moving Europe (Sky/ITV, RTL/Sky Deutschland), with many sellers quietly seeking an exit.

Key takeaways

SpaceX's elevated valuation is itself the funding mechanism — a virtuous circle where a high price makes large-scale investment look positive, and a falling price reverses it.
Musk's super-voting shares mean investors are betting on the man and ceding control, with no real voice in the decisions.
To justify combined valuations above $3.5tn, AI giants must grab revenue from elsewhere — and media advertising, a proven trillion-dollar model, is the first logical target.
Incumbent media companies are trapped: the investment needed to respond hits cash flows and spooks shareholders, as ITV's digital-rollout share-price fall showed.
Fox's Roku deal buys the home screen and the viewer-to-ad interface, not content — but a 15%+ share-price drop signals the market thinks Fox overpaid and is pricing execution risk and debt.
US media is consolidating fast (Paramount/WBD, Disney/Hulu, Fox/Roku) while Europe moves slower, with many sellers quietly looking for an exit.