ITV must now be a bargain. The current team clearly are an issue but you'd think the big American companies would recognise the bargain.

The yield is also high and can be reinvested. That really does limit the down side. You can even win here if it drops further!

alders - Chart is looking very good, let's see what happens.

Profit taking at 231 ? and news of BT bid for EE takes BT out of companys who were in the frame to bid for ITV

Predicting which companies will be battling it out for Premier League rights can leave you looking a little stupid.

In 2012 - the last time the package of 154 matches was bid for - BT stormed, unannounced, into the market and gained the rights to 38 matches.

They would have liked many more and were only prevented from taking a greater share by Sky lodging an aggressive second round bid.

This time around, Discovery, the owners of Eurosport, has done little to dampen speculation that it might be in the running.

And it would be difficult to the point of impossible to imagine that BT and Sky will not lodge major bids in their attempt to become - or remain - the "home of football".

As the former chairman of ITV, Lord Grade, told me, there is little more valuable than football for telecommunication and broadcasting businesses.

And he should know, having led ITV's successful £160m bid for Champions League rights in 2008.

"The audience that top quality live football attracts is hugely valued by advertisers - the beer, the cars," he said.

"It would have been seen by the advertisers, our pay masters, if we had lost [the rights], that money would have gone to whoever won [them]. It was absolutely crucial, but not at any price."

"Not at any price" is the key phrase. It is expected that bids will top £4bn this time around.

And with bids binding and sealed, broadcasters have to aim as high as they feel they dare.

"It's agony," Lord Grade said of the process.

"With more and more competition, you don't know who is out there. BT must have taken Sky by surprise.

"You don't know what Google is up to, or Amazon. Anyone could be out there, it is terrifying.

"You have to keep your nerve and work out what your walk-away price is before you get into the auction."

The cost of winning rights has certainly been on a vertiginous path. In 2012, the price rose by 77%.

"There is no doubt that the inflation in sports rights has been quite dramatic over the last ten years," Lord Grade said.

"That really reflects the market.

"You pay more for the best, and the Premier League is the best.

"People are not going to overpay for things that are worth it. Sport delivers. It drives audiences, it is a banker like no other."

And therefore possibly better, Lord Grade says, than investing £20m in a drama that viewers might not like.

It would certainly be a big blow if Sky lost another significant part of its football empire.

Don't forget, BT is now also the owner of rights to the Champions League, a contract it took off Sky and ITV .

Jeremy Darroch, Sky's chief executive, has diversified Sky's broadcasting offer, investing heavily in drama in particular.

So, football is certainly not as essential as it was.

Nevertheless, investors will be as twitchy as Sky executives over the results of this year's bidding, the results of which are likely to be announced next week.

I'll leave the final word to Lord Grade: "Sky is very resilient, and it will reinvent itself, but how many years it would take if it lost all the Premier League I wouldn't like to say.

"It would be very seriously damaging."

Kamal Ahmed Article written by Kamal Ahmed
Kamal Ahmed

This part is interesting


Jeremy Darroch, Sky's chief executive, has diversified Sky's broadcasting offer, investing heavily in drama in particular.

So, football is certainly not as essential as it was.


So anyone who looses out of the bidding will maybe turn there attention to ITV

And this: "You don't know what Google is up to, or Amazon. Anyone could be out there, it is terrifying.

LATEST BROKER VIEWS

Date Broker New target Recomm.
10 Feb Barclays... 250.00 Overweight

Sold all my march spreads this morning @231 , didn't have time to place a trailing stop

Intraday all new time high.

My target this week , is for it to move into a 240 - 245 range

Broadcasters are, however, riding a recovery in advertising sales. ITV’s shares are at their highest since the dotcom boom, with ad revenues rising 6 per cent year-on-year in the nine months to September 2014.
In the short term, the fall in television audiences may actually increase the price of TV advertising. Brands want their ads to be seen a certain number of times on television; as it becomes more difficult to reach audiences, the cost of doing so rises.
Brands cannot switch their spending to Netflix, which does not show ads. The obvious option is to advertise more on online platforms — including ITV’s on-demand player and YouTube.
For the moment, “advertisers and media buyers just do not see [YouTube] as a substitute for mass market reach”, says Ian Whittaker, an analyst at Liberum.
“The big thing that prevents disruption is the content most people want to watch is produced by the big broadcasters,” says Mr Syfret.
Broadcasters are therefore investing in making their own programmes. Some are also exploring revenue streams that would hedge against a decline in revenues. ITV launched its first pay channel in more than a decade last year, and offers ad-free digital subscriptions.

ITV in exclusive talks to buy The Voice producer Talpa
ITV in talks to buy Dutch producer Talpa, which is owned by Big Brother creator John de Mol

By Andrew Trotman4:11PM GMT 27 Feb 2015 CommentsComment
ITV has revealed it is in talks to buy Talpa, the Dutch producer of singing competition The Voice.
The British media company, whose flagship shows include Downton Abbey and The X Factor, confirmed an approach for Talpa on Friday, adding that a deal "may or may not result in agreement of a transaction".
"ITV is continually assessing opportunities to grow and develop its business in line with its strategy, including the assessment of potential acquisitions," the company said in a statement.
"ITV confirms that it is in exclusive discussions regarding an acquisition of Talpa. A further announcement will be made when appropriate."
Talpa is wholly-owned by John de Mol, who created the hit reality show Big Brother.
ITV has been trying to grow its Studios business and create new shows in a bid to become less reliant on advertising revenues. It is currently in the process of relaunching Thunderbirds, the popular 1960s series that featured puppets.
Last year ITV bought an 80pc stake in Leftfield, which produces Real Housewives of New Jersey and Pawn Stars, for £212m. That figure could rise to £471m as it increases its stake in three and five years.
In 2013 it paid $25.65m for a 60pc stake in Cake Boss maker High Noon Entertainment, while a year earlier ITV snapped up Duck Dynasty maker Gurney Productions for £40m.
ITV has also bought Thinkfactory Media, the company behind Kevin Costner drama Hatfields & McCoys for $30m and Teen Wolf producer DiGa Vision in recent years.
ITV itself became the subject of takeover talk last year after US cable group Liberty Global bought a 6.4pc stake in the British company for £481m. The purchase pushed ITV's shares to a 14-year high.
However, in September Mike Fries, Liberty's chief executive, told an investor conference that the investment in ITV “does not portend anything with that company”.
ITV shares were flat at 227.3p on Friday.

Chris

I sent you a email

I did reply alders but there seems to be a problem sending it. I'm holding to answer your question 250p target.

I did read that the selling last week was partly due to people thinking is was to high at 233 -236 , results next week should be interesting. They showed live championship boxing on ITV1 and ITV4 saturday, first time for a long while.

Price falling before tomorrow results , WHY ?

Final Year Results 2014

ITV set for continued growth after another strong year
Full year results for the year ended 31 December 2014
Another year of strong revenue growth in all parts of the business
· Total external revenue up 8% to £2,590 million (2013: £2,389 million)
· 6% growth in Net Advertising Revenue to £1,629 million (2013: £1,542 million)
· Online, Pay & Interactive revenue up 30% to £153 million (2013: £118 million)
· ITV Studios revenue up 9% to £933 million (2013: £857 million)

Fifth consecutive year of double digit profit growth
· EBITA before exceptional items up 18%, to £730 million (2013: £620 million)
· Broadcast & Online EBITA up 17% to £568 million (2013: £487 million)
· ITV Studios EBITA up 22% to £162 million (2013: £133 million)
· Adjusted PBT up 23% to £712 million (2013: £581 million)
· Adjusted EPS up 23% to 13.8p (2013: 11.2p)

Delivering value from investment in quality content - ITV Studios, on screen and online
· Non-NAR revenue up £116m, or 10%, to £1,327 million (2013: £1,211 million) - now 45% of total revenue
· ITV Studios is now a global player of scale with 3 further international acquisitions in 2014
· Online, Pay & Interactive revenue is a growing and profitable part of the business
· Broadcast launched our first new channels in almost a decade
· ITV Family SOV was down 5%, after 4% growth 2013, and this remains a key area of focus for 2015
· Continued strong growth in video on demand, up 26%

Confident in delivering further strong growth in 2015
· Expect another strong performance in 2015 with continued revenue growth in all parts of the business
· NAR expected to be up 11% in Q1 and up 4-7% in April and we expect to outperform the market again over the
full year
· Online, Pay & Interactive revenue will continue to grow strongly
· ITV Studios again expected to deliver around £100 million revenue growth on a constant currency basis in 2015 with
a return to good organic growth

Clear opportunities for further investment while increasing shareholder returns
· Reflecting our confidence in the ongoing growth and cash generation of the business, the Board is proposing a final dividend of 3.3p per share, giving a full year dividend of 4.7p per share, up 34%
· The Board is proposing a £250m special dividend of 6.25p per share

LATEST BROKER VIEWS

Date Broker New target Recomm.
6 Mar Liberum Capital 310.00 Buy
5 Mar Exane BNP... 225.00 Neutral
5 Mar Berenberg 194.00 Sell
5 Mar Barclays... 250.40 Overweight
5 Mar Nomura 260.00 Buy
5 Mar Liberum Capital 255.00 Buy
5 Mar Goldman Sachs 284.00 Conviction Buy
4 Mar Credit Suisse 270.00 Outperform
4 Mar JP Morgan... 251.00 Overweight
4 Mar Investec N/A Hold
Broker Recommendations for ITV

LATEST BROKER VIEWS

Date Broker New target Recomm.
6 Mar Liberum Capital 310.00 Buy
5 Mar Exane BNP... 225.00 Neutral
5 Mar Berenberg 194.00 Sell
5 Mar Barclays... 250.40 Overweight
5 Mar Nomura 260.00 Buy
5 Mar Liberum Capital 255.00 Buy
5 Mar Goldman Sachs 284.00 Conviction Buy
4 Mar Credit Suisse 270.00 Outperform
4 Mar JP Morgan... 251.00 Overweight
4 Mar Investec N/A Hold
Broker Recommendations for ITV

Chris

Been lucky with my ITV spreads, 2/3 buy @229.55, stopped out @223, on 3/3

Bought again 3/3 @ 222.62 sold on 4/3 @ 243, my sell limit was 239 at the close and good old IG index sold them @ 243 a slippage of 4p

Well done alders :0)