ITV’s failure to appoint Ball has negative implications

British commercial broadcaster ITV’s management issues have a number of negative implications, according to analysts Morgan Stanley.

The investment bank has noted that the company’s failure to appoint former BSkyB boss Tony Ball has affected the market. “Tony Ball was considered by the market to be a potentially very effective CEO and the market will be disappointed that he is not being appointed. The process of finding a new CEO may be prolonged, first a new chairman is needed and then a new search for a CEO,” it noted.

However, the broadcaster is expected to gain concessions from the contract rights renewal process, the system that decides how much it can charge for advertising, in the coming weeks and Morgan Stanley said that the sale of Friends Reunited and the possible sale of SDN and Screenvision would be good news for the balance sheet.