After much speculation EasyJet (EZJ) chief executive Carolyn McCall is to leave the airline and take the top job at free-to-air broadcaster ITV (ITV) in January 2018.

The news was received positively by the market, reflecting her success in turning around the low-cost airline during her tenure. She faces a challenge in boosting sentiment towards ITV which is down 15% year-to-date.

Liberum analyst Ian Whittaker lists her strengths: ‘She is seen as being very good with people, at building a strong management team around her and at the ability to “work the room”.

‘She also has very good links on the Government side, which should be very helpful in areas such as retransmission revenues for ITV.’

Whittaker does not expect a big shift from the current strategy of focusing on content and digital revenue.

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