Shares in ITV fell as much as 7.2 per cent in early trade today as hopes of a bid for the commercial broadcaster faded after Friday's move by Bskyb to take a blocking stake.
Bskyb confirmed last week that it had purchased a 17.9 per cent stake in ITV, which most analysts interpreted as a blocking move to prevent anyone from making a bid for the company.
Shares in ITV, Britain's biggest commercial broadcaster, had rallied earlier this month after Bskyb's rival cable operator, NTL, said it had approached ITV about combining the two companies.
Analysts believe that deal would now be much harder.
Earlier this morning, ITV shares had made a slight recovery but were still down 4.8 per cent at 111 pence.
Richard Branson, NTL's biggest shareholder, has called for Britain's Office of Fair Trading to force Bskyb to sell its stake in ITV, arguing its move would be bad for competition.
However, Bskyb said its investment in ITV did not enable it to exercise a material influence over ITV's policy and operations.
