BSkyB is Britain’s most admired media company according to a new
report on corporate reputations published in the December issue of
Campaign’s sister magazine, Management Today.
BSkyB makes its debut in the annual Most Admired Companies study,
conducted in association with the Nottingham Business School, at the top
of the media table despite a turbulent year.
Although Sam Chisholm, the respected chief executive, stepped down in
November, the company still topped the poll of directors of the ten
largest quoted companies in 26 industrial sectors. The respondents were
asked to grade companies across a range of sectors on the basis of nine
criteria, including quality of management, financial soundness, capacity
to innovate and quality of marketing.
Overall, however, the media sector was considered to lack
confidence.
Carlton Communications came second in the ranking of media companies,
but, for Capital Radio, difficulties over its diversification into the
restaurant business and its recent share performance hit the company’s
reputation. Of the agency groups in the sector, WPP took fifth place,
Aegis was ranked seventh and Cordiant tenth.
In the news and publishers category, Reuters took the number one slot,
and was also voted top of all the companies surveyed across all
sectors.
Reed International came second in the publishers category