Market awaits figures after BSkyB and BT fight

BT won the battle with Sky over UK TV rights for the Champions League. Picture: AFP/Getty

The battle between communications giants BSkyB and BT will heat up this week as both firms update investors, amid reports that Sky is in talks over a tie-up with Vodafone to curb the power of their resurgent rival.

Sky was left reeling after losing out to BT on the UK rights to show Champions League matches, but the former monopoly is under pressure to translate its hefty investment into sales success.

WEEK AHEAD

Today

• Apple – The US tech giant will update the market on its financial first quarter. Revenue is projected to rise 5.4 per cent to more than $57 billion (£35bn).

Tomorrow

• UK GDP – The first official estimate is expected to show economic growth slowed slightly in the fourth quarter of 2013. Even so, growth is still expected to be around 0.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter.

Wednesday

• US interest rates – Ben Bernanke might just introduce a further taper to the Fed’s money–printing programme at his last meeting in charge. The latest growth figures for the world’s largest economy will be published the following day.

• Mark Carney – The Bank of England governor will be in Edinburgh to address the Scottish Council for Development & Industry.

• LSE – London Stock Exchange chief executive Xavier Rolet will give a speech at the Asia–Scotland Institute in Edinburgh.

Thursday

• BSkyB – Most analysts are pencilling in a 6 per cent rise in half–year revenues to £3.8 billion, but a fall in operating profits as marketing and content costs weigh on results.

• Diageo – Scotland’s largest whisky distiller should show the benefits of a concerted marketing push in its interim results.

Friday

• BT – A slight dip in third quarter underlying profits is expected at the telecoms firm, but the City will be more interested in the uptake of its sports TV offering after the firm invested heavily in football rights in an attempt to take on BSkyB.