Media Stocks Start New Year With Gains

The stock market started the New Year on an optimistic note, bringing most media stocks along for the ride.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 179.82 points, or 1.47%, at 12,397.38, Tuesday, with several companies in the television business showing even larger gains.

Tuesday morning, Miller Tabak + Co. analyst David Joyce raised hit target stock price for AMC, CBS, Walt Disney Co. and Time Warner. In a research note, Joyce noted that the latest figures show modest growth for the U.S. economy, which should keep the advertising market healthy.

Among the biggest gainers among media stocks were Crown Media, up more than 8% to $1.31 a share, Cablevision Systems, up nearly 4% to $14.78 and Comcast, up more than 3% to $24.50. News Corp., Disney and Time Warner Cable were up more than 2%.

Netflix, which announced plans for an original series, was up 4% to $72.24.

On the downside were AMC Networks, off 0.64% to $37.34 and Discovery Communications, which declined 0.24% to $40.87.

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.