Analysts say ITV's value could rise by £2 billion after the BBC sacked 'Top Gear' host Jeremy Clarkson
<img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/550bec4ddd0895567b8b462e-1200-924/jeremy-clarkson-angry-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Jeremy Clarkson Angry">
The BBC just sacked "Top Gear" host Jeremy Clarkson for his now infamous "fracas" with producer Oisin Tymon.
However, analysts at the brokerage firm <span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Liberum effectively told traders that the BBC's loss is ITV's gain. In its latest analyst note, it forecast ITV's value to rise by £2 billion ($2.98 billion) after placing a target price for the stock at 310.00p.</span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">ITV's stock is currently trading at 257.60p, so that would be a climb of about 20%, and significantly raise ITV's current £10.4 billion market capitalisation.</span>
In the note, entitled "Jeremy Clarkson to ITV?" sent to Business Insider, analysts touted the TV presenter as a potential boon for advertisers as Clarkson helped reel in a global audience of 350 million during his 12 year stint on the popular BBC motoring show <span> — as originally spotted </span><span></span>over at Guido Fawkes.
The note said:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Two ways [his arrival at ITV] would help if he can develop a Top Gear-style programme on ITV: </span>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">(1) audience share with such a popular programme; </span>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">(2) advertising - given the Top Gear demographic, it is likely to be relatively attractive to advertisers and </span>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">(3) Worldwide sales - press reports suggested Top Gear earns £50 million per annum for the BBC globally: while it is unclear on what would happen with the Top Gear brand, a Clarkson-fronted motor show is likely to replicate this success</span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">However, the traders may be waiting for more concrete evidence over Clarkson's next move because ITV shares are barely moving. In fact, they're down by nearly 1% today.</span>
<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5512ca5add089537208b4579-724-473/itv.jpg" border="0" alt="ITV">
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