We don’t want to sound as if we’re blaming the athletes but that is the truth of the situation.” During the championships in Paris last week, Britain’s athletes won only four medals; two silver and two bronze.During the event, BBC1’s share of peak-time viewers dropped to only 23 per cent, and ITV1 maintained a 30 per cent share.Among the least successful evenings was last Wednesday, when only 3.4 million viewers watched a 150-minute broadcast, the equivalent of a 17 per cent share.The coverage achieved its highest ratings when 5.4 million tuned in to see the triple jumper Jonathan Edwards bow out in tears.Slumps in the number of BBC1 viewers last week were not confined to athletics. “The medal haul was not great and the performance of home-grown athletes does have an effect on ratings.”There were also fewer athletes who were household names, with people of the stature of Paula Radcliffe not competing. The corporation’s decision to devote hours to extensive coverage of the sporting event appeared to backfire, because a record low number of peak-time viewers watched BBC1.
But the BBC defended its decision to broadcast the championships by blaming the drop in viewers on the lack of Britain’s medal hall and an apparent absence of star athletes.”The figures are disappointing and the truth is that British audiences like to see British athletes winning,” a spokeswoman for the BBC said. The BBC is attributing a record slump in viewers to Britain’s failure to win a gold medal at the World Athletic Championships. The group is believed have seen a marked increase in the value of its portfolio of investments, thanks to the recent rise by stock markets.Hornby added 31p to 915p on whispers that the maker of toy models is experiencing solid demand for one of its latest offerings.TDG gained 5p to 222p as dealers reported talk that the group’s logistics services operations in Germany have experienced a marked pick-up in trading over the past two months..

The broker hiked its earnings estimates amid evidence that the ongoing refurbishment programme of MFI stores is continuing to boost sales and margins at the group.Legendary Investments, where the Joe Bloggs entrepreneur Shami Ahmed is the biggest shareholder, gained 0.09p to 1.16p as an overhang of stock was cleared. MFI rose 1.5p to 186p as analysts at Investec Securities returned from a meeting with the furniture retailer in a bullish mood. Soco posted a net profit of £2.5m, down from £3m a year earlier.Spring Group, the recruitment specialist, added 2p to 93.5p on news of a contract from Prudential Assurance. Sarafem has already been suffering from declining prescription numbers of late.Morgan Crucible ticked 0.5p lower to 116p amid whispers that next week’s results from the group will be accompanied by some hefty job cuts.Soco International dropped 7p to 341.5p on the back of slightly weaker than expected first-half figures from the oil explorer. This move will result in greater competitive pressure on Sarafem, one of Galen’s leading products. The German broker assured investors that there are unlikely to be any nasty surprises from BAE next week and said the group is on course to deliver flat earnings for 2003.Lower down the pecking order, Galen Holdings fell 6.5p to 603.5p after the US Food and Drug Administration gave GlaxoSmithKline approval to market Paxil CR, its antidepressant, as a remedy for premenstrual tension.

The FTSE 250 fell 71.2 to 5,707.7, while the techMark 100 dropped 4.65 to 955.2.There was brisk trade in BAE Systems, down 3.75p to 178p, as Deutsche Bank upped its price target to 200p from 166p ahead of interim results from the aerospace giant next week. Analysts estimate that around 8 per cent of retail sales at WH Smith are from CDs, and they calculate that of the £52m of pre-tax profit generated by Woolworths last year, £15m stemmed directly from music sales.Falls in early trade on Wall Street, largely on the back of profit-taking by traders, left the FTSE 100 index 13.3 points weaker at 4,248.8. Around 9 per cent of HMV sales come from across the Atlantic. Should prices in Europe end up being cut as a result of Universal Music’s move in the US, Woolworths, up 0.25p to 39.25p, is likely to be affected, as is WH Smith, 6p lower at 342.75p. HMW was hit the hardest, falling 8p to 159p, as investors woke up to the fact that the group will mostly likely be affected first given its exposure to North America. Investors yesterday were concerned that profit margins at EMI may well suffer as a consequence.This worry also affected music retailers.

“With the largest player looking to lower wholesale prices substantially it will be difficult for the other players in the sector to ignore. We believe others will have to follow suit to a similar or lesser degree,” said Investec Securities. Analysts concluded that it is a matter of time before Universal’s rivals have to follow suit. Next finished the day 13p higher at 1,136p.EMI was not so lucky, falling 17.75p to 153.75p, as news that competitor Universal Music was planning to cut its CD prices in the US by between 16 and 24 per cent unsettled the market. Merrill forecasts a 16 per cent rise in EPS at the upcoming interim stage. The broker was keen to note that should Next shares reach its 1,240p price target they will still trade at a 10 per cent discount to the European retail sector. On the womenswear front the broker believes Next is in a position to offer significantly better prices than its competitors without diluting margins thanks to a combination of favourable currency movements and a restructured supply chain.Next has been engaged in a large share buy-back programme of late and therefore even a relatively small increase in pre-tax profits should translate into an impressive jump in earnings per share (EPS).