Sharewatch: BSkyB Dips Ahead Of Positive Interim Results

Satellite giants BSkyB saw a drop in share price yesterday, losing 0.90% to close at 551p. The dip comes despite an upbeat note from specialist banking group Investec, predicting ‘bullish’ interim results on 2 February, with subscribers ahead of forecasts.

Elsewhere, broadcaster Scottish Media Group saw a jump in share price, gaining 1.04% to close at 975p on Tuesday. The company recently accepted media watchdog Ofcom’s offer of a digital replacement licence, paving the way for the digital switchover in 2012 (see Ofcom Issues Replacement Digital TV Licences).

Meanwhile, Commercial broadcaster ITV continued to dip in share price, losing 0.43% to close at 115p. Reports yesterday stated that former director-general of the BBC, Greg Dyke, had denied recent speculation that he had held talks with Clive Hollick regarding a consortium bid for ITV (see Greg Dyke Implicated In ITV Bid Speculation).

The FTSE 100 dropped by 0.5 points to close yesterday at 4,823.9, while the FTSE 250 also decreased in value, losing 0.3 points to close at 7,057,0.

The closing prices of media company shares on Tuesday were: