Sharewatch: BSkyB Falls Despite Boosting Subscribers
BSkyB was seen in focus last week with shares falling 2.53% to close at £6.94˝, despite comfortably beating market forecasts in its final quarter customer growth, adding 133,000 new subscribers and taking its customer base to 6.8 million (see BSkyB Results Beat Market Expectations As Subs Hit 6.8m).
The satellite broadcaster has also been in the news recently, with reports suggesting its £1.024 billion deal with the Premier League (see BSkyB’s Football Rights Deal Could Face Investigation) could be under threat as rival broadcasters plan to complain to Brussels that the football rights auction was biased in Sky’s favour.
WPP was one of the strongest performers in last week’s media market, with stock rising by 8.06% to finish at £5.70. The global advertising giant is this week expected to report a fall in half year profits and flat revenue. However, chief executive, Sir Martin Sorrell, may indicate that promotional spending is picking up in America, which is the company’s largest market.
The closing prices of media company shares on Friday were:
