Media Stocks Close Higher After Election

By Jon Lafayette
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Media stocks turned mostly higher amid a late post-election rally that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher by more than 200 points.

Big gainers in the TV business included Comcast and Viacom. Viacom reported lower earnings Wednesday. Both companies were up more than 1%.

Also finishing in positive territory were Discovery, Disney, 21st Century Fox and Scripps Network.

Related: Analyst's top six ways Trump could impact media business

Time Warner was down more than 1%. President-elect Donald Trump has said he opposes the acquisition of Time Warner by AT&T. AT&T was up more than 1%.

Netflix was down nearly two points. AMC Networks and CBS showed smaller declines.

As Tuesday night election coverage started pointing to the increasing likelihood of a Trump victory, financial market reacted negatively, with futures trading pointing to a bad day for Wall Street.

But the Dow was at least slightly higher for most of the day and media stocks eventually followed suit.

Jon Lafayette
Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.