Sharewatch: ITV Tumbles Following Shareholder Uproar

ITV saw a tricky day yesterday as shareholders voiced anger at the company’s first AGM since the merger of Carlton and Granada. The broadcaster closed down 0.77% at 129p following uproar at a £15 million award to former ITV boss, Michael Green, earlier this year (see Green Relinquishes Roles As ITV Chairman Designate).

However, in what will be seen by some as damage limitation, ITV’s Chairman Sir Peter Burt yesterday announced that the group is continuing to perform satisfactorily and advertising revenues for April and May are expected to rise by 2.5%.

Kelvin MacKenzie’s Wireless Group remained steady, holding at 110p as a further six radio stations signed up for the company’s Eurolink sports bulletins throughout the Euro 2004 football championship in Portugal. The group has so far secured over 80 radio stations nationwide to receive the syndicated sports news, produced by the group’s flagship talkSPORT station (see Tindle Radio Signs For Eurolink Sport Bulletins).

The industry as a whole should see a boost in the next twelve months, according to the latest Bellwether report from the IPA. The report shows that 26% of companies reported increases to their marketing budgets in the first quarter of 2004, while just 16% reported a decline.

The FTSE 100 closed less than one per cent higher yesterday at 4,546.2. Similarly the FTSE 250 struggled to see significant increase, failing to break the one percent barrier and closing up 6,286.1.

The closing prices of media company shares on Monday were: