Analyst Upgrades Sky, ITV, Citing “The Year of U.K. TV”

Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Claudio Aspesi has upgraded his rating on shares of pan-European pay TV giant Sky and U.K. TV powerhouse ITV to “outperform” from “market perform.”

He called 2015 “the year of U.K. TV.”

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Explaining his bullish views, Aspesi wrote in a report: “In the case of Sky, we stand 15 percent above 2016 consensus earnings per share, because we expect 15 percent inflation for the English Premier League [soccer rights] at the upcoming auction” early this year, compared to analysts’ consensus expectation of 50 percent.”

He concluded: “At current valuations, the upside opportunity is too high to resist.”

Discussing ITV, Aspesi said: “The U.K. TV ad market should do well in 2015; rising demand for U.K. TV content and possible further deregulation should provide additional upside over time.”

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Plus, he added that “the current inexpensive valuation does not reflect a possible takeover offer.” John Malone‘s Liberty Global last year acquired a small stake in ITV.

Email: Georg.Szalai@THR.com
Twitter: @georgszalai