Grade assures staff as city gives ITV 'yes' vote

[BGonaSTICK]

ITV executive chairman Michael Grade met with his top executives this week and assured them he would not be making any changes immediately.

According to The Guardian, Grade brought executives together at Network Centre yesterday for the meeting, with an away-day scheduled in the new year for the former BBC chairman to get to know his new team.

He said he wants ITV executives to get back to taking risks and that he would support them in their decisions.

Elsewhere, analysts at Goldman Sachs have issued a "buy" note on ITV's stock, saying current share levels were "too pessimistic," predicting the decline in ITV1's advertising revenues would ease from 13% to 10% next year and 1.5% in 2008. Goldman also said a renewed bid from NTL or from owner of Five, RTL, could provoke an uplift to ITV1's shares.

Source: Digital Spy