BSkyB has to sell ITV stake

It was a foregone conclusion that the Court of Appeal would decide that satellite broadcaster BSkyB should reduce its 17.9 per cent stake in rival broadcaster ITV down to at least 7.5 per cent.

This was the fourth time that the case brought by the Competition Commission had been in court.

The legal costs must be astronomical and the judges ruled that both BSkyB and Virgin Media must pay the bill.

The case may not be over just yet, as there is just one more avenue that BSkyB can take, but would going to the Supreme Court make any difference to outcome?

Probably not, but this is business and the longer the case continues, the more chance there is that shares in ITV may rise and therefore reduce the loss that BSkyB is looking at.