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!

23rd May 2007

Dawn Airey to join ITV as Director of Global Content

ITV today announced that Dawn Airey will join ITV as Director of Global Content.
In this role she will be responsible for developing ITV's UK and international
production, distribution and content exploitation businesses.

Dawn will report to John Cresswell, ITV's Chief Operating Officer and will take
up the post later this year. ITV Productions, Granada Ventures, Granada
International and ITV's international production businesses in Australia,
Germany and the US will report into her. Together, these businesses generated
652 million revenue in 2006, including 370 million of internal sales to ITV.

Of her appointment John Cresswell said:

'This is great news for ITV and a great job for Dawn. I'm delighted she's
joining us to build the content business which continues to be at the heart of
our growth strategy.'

Dawn Airey said:

'It's wonderful to return to my alma mater. It's an incredibly exciting time to
be joining ITV and I'm looking forward to working with some of the UK's best
production talent. Together with John Whiston and his creative team, I'm
confident that we can deliver the programmes and content that Simon Shaps and
his commissioners want in order to continue the reinvigoration of ITV1. ITV
has strong and growing international production and distribution businesses and
I'm thrilled about having the opportunity to help develop them further.'

Michael Grade, Executive Chairman of ITV plc, said:

'Dawn's arrival significantly strengthens the senior management team. She is a
dynamic, creative business leader and I know that everyone in ITV will welcome
her arrival.'

John Whiston, Director of ITV Productions, said:

'I'm delighted and enthusiastic about Dawn's arrival. It signals that ITV is
putting content right at the heart of what it does. It will require some serious
firepower to take Production to the next level both nationally and globally.
And they don't come much fierier than Dawn!'

Guscavalier comment: This announcement has probably helped sentiment demonstrating management intention to place a priority on content. Get that right and the rest will follow.

I am not sure that BskyB is that eager to sell its stake in ITV at this stage given the ongoing review. Still, the sp is only back to the level reached fairly recently having drifted for a time. Good and interesting recovery play.

BSkyB stake restrictive
MoneyAM
The UK Competition Commission has given an initial reaction to BSkyB's purchase of its ITV stake.

The CC has provisionally found that BSkyB's purchase of a 17.9% stake in ITV last year restricts competition and therefore operates against the public interest.

The stake buy, which effectively stymied an attempt by cable operator Virgin Media to buy ITV, was referred to the Commission in April by the Office of Fair Trade and the media and telecoms regulator Ofcom.

The commission today found that the stake 'would be likely to lead to a substantial lessening of competition by giving [BskyB] the ability to influence ITV's strategy.'

In particular, the commission was concerned that it could influence key investment decisions either in content, capacity or technology.

BskyB is the leading Pay-to-view operator in the UK and faces competition from free-to-air TV, including ITV.

The commission said BskyB would have both the ability and the incentive to take steps to weaken ITV or 'prevent it from taking actions that would threaten BSkyB's interests.'

The stake buy also raised concerns over media plurality, which requires that there are enough different voices and outlooks in the media to provide a range of views.

However, the commission found that the acquisition will have no adverse effect on the sufficiency of plurality and that BskyB's stake would not affect how ITV operates as a news provider.

It also does not believe the stake caused competition concerns in other areas, like advertising and news.

BskyB, in a statement in response to the findings, said it will continue to engage with the Commission during the remainder of the process.

The commission must send its final report to John Hutton, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, by January 2nd, although it intends to do this in December.

He will then decide on the basis of the report what action to take.

Hutton is required to accept and remedy the commission's ruling on the substantial lessening of competition, but he is not required to take the recommendations of the commission.

The commission is now in talks on possible remedies, and may recommend forcing BskyB to sell down its stake, but the secretary of state can choose to take whatever action he sees fit

World Cup Rugby fever should boost revenues with the latest win over France, another bull point, added to Michael Grade tenureship, BskyB forced selling for possible takeover and solid divi.

Bought in this morning on recent weekness. I would add F1 to that list though Falcothou, a lot of people are watching this poor sport now thanks to hamilton and I believe ITV have the rights for 3 years which should maintain solid advertising streams.

yes, probably a good opportunity to buy at these levels (around 103p) . Looks to be interesting times ahead.

Charles Allen, the former chief executive of ITV, has been appointed as a senior adviser to the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs and will take a seat on the board of the main European television producer Endemol, which may revive ITV bid talk

At this price bids go to come sooner rather than later, wont be no where near 1.45 mentioned on here though, reading the press coverage there are quite a few in the running. Anybody would be nice !!

The problem for ITV is there is no need to do anything, except at the right-price. If Endomol wanted their own channel they'd need a lot more material and with that the quality is bound to suffer, with deadlines etc. Therefore, they'll need to invite all-commers who may be dubious about giving a rival their ideas, months in advance.
Currently abt. 39p; - Ch4 has just told the Market they are to drop their Radio channels - due to lack of advertising, esp as companies cut expenditure. So I don't see any t/o very attractive for ITV shareholders at the moment.
EDIT(6Mch09):- just 18p now - no sniff of profits seems to worry investors....
EDIT-(6Jy09)- nearly 40p, plans to sell FriendsUnited for a fifth what they paid - looks dumb.

Rising on potential promotion to FTSE 100.

Taken up a long positon here on push through 51p resistance.

As skinny points out we should see strength on the potential rise up.

Also in on that spike down @ 48.4

Yep a little dissapointing the small fall today splat, but Im sticking in I think all the TA is pointing to a breakout especially ADX trending at around 50 !!!!!!.

Will post the chart which I have up across the road on chart attack....

Breaks 50p only minor resistance til 90p gf.

What you doing on the traders board ?

:-)

Traders board... what traders board Dil?.

Chart taken from Sc site chart attack thread....... best around.

Yep 90p will do me.

Sorry mate had two windows open , thought you had gone soft in your old age and joined the traders board :-)

On the watch list but currently at a crucial technical level , will take a look at the fundys later.

Good luck.

Cheers bud.

retired at xmas (grand age of 51, 41 for any available fit women) and now full time trading so TA is coming back into my posting. Originally started out as a TAer but it conflicted with the day job accounting.

Hope your doing well,

regards.

Thanks for that gf, yes, looking promising and 90p would do me too :-)

splat, looks like the markets in general are ready to close down for the bank Holiday weekend. Always happens in august a fall off in general.

Not going to be panicked here. Just hold and wait.

indeed gf, trouble is, when they all come back, I wonder if a fair amount of profit-taking will ensue before the run-up to Xmas. After all, there is a considerable amount of profit to take from the last few months!