Sharewatch: BSkyB Price Up Ahead Of FreeSat Launch

Satellite superpower BSkyB saw its share price climb yesterday, rising by 2.33% to close at 506p ahead of the launch of FreeSat, the broadcaster’s new free to air digital satellite service, tomorrow.

However, investment bank UBS Warburg yesterday claimed that the new service will confuse viewers, detracting from Sky’s core objective of attracting subscribers. UBS also reiterated an estimate that the broadcaster will add just 41,000 customers to its subscriber base in the three months to September, a figure well below expectations.

Elsewhere global information and news provider, Reuters, saw its share price rocket, adding 8.51% to close at 350˝p. Yesterday the company announced a fall in revenues of 4.4% to £528 million during the third quarter of this year (see Reuters Revenues Down 4.4% And Expects A Further Drop In Q4).

Magazine giant Emap also saw an increase, climbing by 0.52%. The company recently announced the appointment of Steve Carroll as advertising director with responsibility for all of the company’s four wheeled motoring titles with immediate effect. Carroll is charged with increasing revenue from the business, building on his success with cult performance motoring brand Max Power (see Emap Automotive Hires New Ad Director To Drive Sales).

The FTSE 100 performed well yesterday, adding 28.6 points to close at 4,655.2. Elsewhere the FTSE 150 added 36.8 points to close at 6,289.7.

The closing prices of media company shares on Tuesday were: