Broker snap: Buy ITV on 'I'm a Celebrity' success, says Panmure

3rd Dec 2012 08:48

Panmure Gordon has reiterated its 'buy' rating and 140p target price for terrestrial broadcaster ITV following recent viewing data for reality TV show 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here'.ITV has said that the final of 'I'm a Celebrity" had a peak audience of 10.6m, which was an impressive 47% share of TV viewers. Panmure analyst Alex DeGroote said: "This is significant because the ability to deliver major prime-time audiences is key to advertising and, in turn, content/format sales. If anything, the entertainment genre - as opposed to drama - has been tougher for ITV this year."Meanwhile, the broker highlights that ITV has confirmed eight new episodes of popular period drama 'Downton Abbey' for autumn 2013 plus an extended special episode for Christmas 2013.DeGroote said: "The shares remain well supported and, in our view, the valuation is attractive. [...] There is also growing appreciation of the Content/Studios arm of ITV."ITV's shares were up 1.01% at 99.9p on Monday morning.BC