Sharewatch: Heavy-Weight Broadcasters Seen In Focus

ITV was seen in focus yesterday with shares dipping by 2.21% amid reports that it has scrapped plans to expand its digital strategy with the launch of a dedicated digital channel for children later this year (see ITV Scraps Plans To Launch Digital Channel For Kids).

Meanwhile, BSkyB dipped by 4.70% to close at 628p despite announcing plans to launch a free-to-air satellite package of more than 200 television and radio channels in an attempt to compete with the BBC-backed Freeview service.

However, the city seemed to respond negatively to the broadcaster’s failure to provide details on how much investment would be required to launch the platform or how the new initiative would affect revenue and profits (see BSkyB To Launch Free-To-Air Satellite Package).

Elsewhere, Emap saw shares dip by 0.07% after rival National Magazine Company announced plans to launch a new celebrity-focused weekly to go head-to-head with its highly successful Closer magazine (see Natmags To Take On Closer With New Celebrity Weekly).

The London equity market responded positively to the Bank of England’s decision to raise UK interest rates by 25 points. The FTSE 100 closed down less than 0.1% at 4,486.1, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 rose by the same amount to 6,166.9.

The closing prices of media company shares on Thursday were: