Granada and Carlton's respective share prices slid 2p and almost 6p in London as it became clear that measures to relax media ownership rules would not feature in the Queen's speech, which detailed 20 bills the government hopes to enact over the next 18 months.
The absence of a broad draft of the government's proposals for the creation of a single ITV company through the merger of Granada and Carlton, which own 90% of ITV, has triggered concerns that the legislation will not be brought forward until the next parliamentary session in the autumn of 2002.
Granada's shares closed at 153.5p and Carlton's closed at 341.25p in London. This morning, Granada's shares were up slightly at 154.2p and Cartlon moved up to 343.7p
The lack of short-term information about media ownership rules will also be a blow to Rupert Murdoch. Companies owning more than a 20% share of UK national newspapers are prevented from owning more than a 20% stake in national or regional TV and radio stations.
Murdoch's News International owns four national newspapers in the UK -- The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and the News of the World -- along with a controlling stake in satellite broadcaster BSkyB and is prevented from expanding his UK media interests as he wants to.
The only part of December's Communications White Paper, which will be implemented in this parliamentary term, is the creation of an all-powerful single media and telecoms regulator, Ofcom.
Ofcom will take over the separate functions of the Broadcasting Standards Commission, the ITC, Oftel, the Radio Authority and the Radiocommunications Agency.