Most companies in search of both chairman and chief executive lose their independence. Might ITV, which has been up the creek without a paddle for many months, finally attract bids? Most possible buyers from the advertising-funded broadcasting sector have either lost their paddles or are in no position to bail out others. A private equity-backed bid from a vengeful Tony Ball is also unlikely. The spurned would-be chief executive is investing the money he was going to spend on overpriced ITV shares on a new boat. ITV failed to lure bidders when its shares were worth 19p in March. They are now 43p.

This is pricing in a recovery that may not materialise as rapidly as expected. Television advertising recoveries have traditionally lagged broader economic upturns by at least a year, according to Bernstein. If this pattern holds, the summer bounce in free-to-air broadcasting stocks will continue to disappoint; in the wake of the disappointing ruling from the Competition Commission maintaining strict rules on the price of advertising slots, ITV shares have already lost a fifth of their value.