BSkyB Ahead despite Ofcom Ruling

Trading volumes were thin once again on Wednesday morning and the FTSE 100 index marked time as strength in banking and commodity stocks offset weakness in traditionally defensive stocks. Shortly before midday, the leading share index was up just 2.17 points to 5,675.03, after closing below the 5,700-point mark for the first time in three sessions on Tuesday.

Dominic Turner
shareprices.com - Wednesday, March 31, 2010

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Mining stocks added most points to the index after a sector review by Morgan Stanley. The broker raised its target price for Anglo American from 3,084p to 3,274p, lifting the share price 19.5p or 0.69% to 2,853.9p. Antofagasta also benefited from its target price being raised from 923p to 1,042p, trading at 1,033p, up 2p or 0.19%, shortly after midday; Fox Davies Capital also commenced coverage of the Chilean copper miner with a "hold" recommendation.

British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) was ordered to make its top sports channels, Sky Sports 1 and 2, available to its rivals at a 23.4% discount to the current price by Ofcom. The discount applies to the channels when sold singly, but a discount of 10.5% also applies to packages that include Sky Sports 1 and 2, Ofcom said. The telecommunications regulator also told BSkyB that it must offer wholesale HD versions of both sports channels. Analysts played down the ruling, which imposed fewer restrictions than originally proposed, however and BSkyB's share price rose 18p or 3.09% to 600p during morning trading. The ruling came after a three-year investigation into BSkyB's dominance of the sports market, following complaints from rival broadcasters.

 

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