Sharewatch: Sale Of The Face Fuels Emap Rise

Magazine and broadcasting giant Emap enjoyed a 1.43% rise in week on week analysys, closing at 885p on Thursday. The company has hit the headlines recently for several reasons, including the poaching of David Pullan from Channel Five to become world-wide managing director of FHM and the continuing speculation surrounding the sale of style bible, The Face (see The Face Attracts Attention From Potential Buyers).

BSkyB also saw good performance, climbing by 1.34% after optimistic reports from JP Morgan. Last week the bank reclassified the broadcaster from ‘neutral’ to ‘overweight’ and moved to quell fears that subscriber growth would plateau. However, research by Lehman Brothers suggests that the company will next month reveal a drop in subscribers taking the total to 7.3 million (see BSkyB To Announce Drop In Subscriber Rates).

The ITV company saw one of the largest week on week decreases, dropping by 1.92% following reports that at least one major shareholder at the broadcaster is calling for chief executive Charles Allen to be removed (see ITV Investors Could Remove Allen As Chief Executive).

The closing prices of media company shares on Thursday were: