Sharewatch: ITV Partners Boosted By Hope Of Cost Savings

Carlton was seen in focus yesterday with shares rising by a healthy 4.71%. This led dealers to suggest short positions were being closed ahead of the last day of dealing on Friday. However, Granada was more subdued with stock slipping by 0.19% reflecting the fact that that shares went ex-dividend at Friday’s close.

Both companies were also boosted by hopes of cost-savings following Ofcom’s announcement of a change in the ITV licensing process. The media super-regulator suggested it would cut the cost of ITV licences as part a simplification of process due to implemented in December.

Meanwhile Scottish Radio Holdings was also in the spotlight with shares dipping by 0.65%, despite news that like-for-like radio revenues jumped by 10.5% during the company’s first financial quarter (see Scottish Radio Sees 11% Revenue Jump In First Quarter).

SMG was seen down by 0.58% after confirming that its chairman, Don Cruickshank, will step down at the annual shareholder meeting in the summer. Reports suggest he could be replaced by Michael Grade, a former controller of BBC1 and chief executive of Channel 4.

Broader market sentiment was cautious yesterday as weak sales figures from Legal & General hurt the insurance sector. The FTSE 100 lost 0.3% to close at 4,445.5, while the FTSE 250 fell by 0.2% to 6,036.4.

The closing prices of media company shares on Monday were: