Credit agency says media sector outlook is ‘stable’

Credit ratings agency Moody’s has said the worst of the advertising recession is over, but that any return to growth in the European media sector will be “tepid at best”.

The free-to-air TV sector remains challenged and open to possible credit downgrades, Moody’s said, adding that pay-TV is faring well and likely to remain robust in 2010. The economic situation remains such that media companies in Europe will not have the capacity for anything aside from ‘limited add-on acquisitions’ this year, according to Moody’s.