Sharewatch W/E 1/11/96

The television sector saw large increases last week in anticipation of the more relaxed cross-media ownership rules which became law on Friday (see Friday’s New Media Ownership Rules Become Law).

Grampian TV saw a big rise on Monday, leaping 22p to a record high of 292p, on the back of speculation that STV would make a move. Good financial results also assisted this increase and the broadcaster continued to rise all week, hitting 327.5p on Thursday before falling to 320.5p the next day.

It was a similar story for HTV. The Westcountry broadcaster started the week at 369.5p and finished at 378.5p, mainly due to City talk that Carlton was a possible suitor. A bid from Carlton was also expected for Pearson, which rose 18.5 to hit a high of 756.5p on Tuesday.

YTTV’s price continued to reflect hopes of a bid from Granada, increasing steadily all week from 1220p on Monday to 1282.5p on Friday.

TV Company Share Prices W/E 1/11/96

BSkyB however remained weak, falling almost 30p during the week to reach 569p on Friday. This was due mainly to uncertainty over Rupert Murdoch’s cash-raising activities for News Corp on the back of his BSkyB stake as well as the delayed launch of the Warner channel WBTV Launch Delayed.

The dispute between Laser and CIA had a negative effect on the agency’s shares. They fell 17.5 to 132.5p on Monday but climbed back to reach 143.5p on Friday with news that CIA was eager to enter arbitration to settle the matter *CIA Looks To ITC For Arbitration.

* MediaTel subscribers only