Broadcasters' stock prices jolted by Aereo verdict, but level off fast

Announced at around 10 a.m. EST, the U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 verdict against disruptive video-on-demand platform Aereo delivered an immediate, upward stock-price jolt to the publicly traded portion of the victorious broadcast TV world.

The major networks, however, saw their share prices even out as the trading day went on. Regional station groups, meanwhile, seem to be enjoying a more sustained benefit.

Shares on the New York Stock Exchange for CBS Corp. were up about 4.3 percent as of 12:30 p.m. EST after peaking at $63.34 a share just after the verdict announcement. Shares prices for more diversified broadcast network owners such as Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) (up just under 1 percent to $53.10), Walt Disney Company (up around 1.5 percent to $83.88) and Twenty-First Century Fox (up 1.2 percent to $33.76) saw similar morning spikes level off.

The story has been a bit different for station groups like Media General, which was trading at $20.39 a share, up 10.4 percent, and Sinclair, up 14.2 percent to $33.38 a share.

Affects on other major subscription video-on-demand services have been negligible, with Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), for example, seeing only a 0.4 percent increase to its stock price.

Last week, Wells Fargo Securities analyst Marci Ryvicker advised investors that an Aereo loss would result in an uptick of around 12 percent for local broadcast stocks and 6 percent for CBS.

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Related links:
Aereo loses Supreme Court decision, 6-3
Odds of Aereo prevailing about 30 percent, analyst says
Kanojia, Aereo remain optimistic it will win in SCOTUS