The deals may not be massive - unless, of course, Greg Dyke joins the party and finally takes a pop at ITV - but they are interesting, and herald a change of direction for a number of big media groups such as News Corporation, United Business Media (UBM) and Telewest.
First up on the block is 137-year-old classified ad bible Exchange & Mart. At about 拢100m it represents something of a snip, and UBM's 34% stake in Five won't be far behind in being offloaded. Nothing extraordinary there: the new chief executive, David Levin, is simply following the path set out by his predecessor Lord Hollick in moving away from consumer media and concentrating on professional information and business-to-business services.
Except that it is far from clear what UBM stands for these days. For years, Hollick said he wanted to build up a significant presence in market research - and then, just before he left UBM, he sold NOP World to GfK, the German research group, for 拢383m. Nice deal, but it emphasises the fact that Hollick was more of a trader than a strategist.
What does this say about the future of his creation? It is not clear to anyone any more whether UBM is a magazine publisher, an owner of professional services or an uneasy mixture of both. If Levin can't manage to articulate a serviceable theory of what UBM is actually for, then pressure could grow to put everyone out of their misery by putting the whole lot up for sale and giving the proceeds back to shareholders.
For potential buyers more interested in education than used cars, the Times Education Supplement might be the one for you. Rupert Murdoch is putting the group of specialist titles up for sale, presumably in a fashionable move toward greater focus and reducing complexity. Raising something toward the 拢600m cost of providing new presses for the UK national newspapers will also be in the back of his mind.
There has been silence about what this means for the Times Literary Supplement.
Is it about to become an unwanted orphan? More likely the publication, edited by former Times editor Sir Peter Stoddart, will be kept on as the in-house pet. After all, Murdoch has a record of being loyal to editors who have served him well.
Moving up the food chain, it can only be a matter of weeks before the formal sale of the Flextech group of channels is announced as potential buyers begin to circle. Everyone from Viacom and Discovery to RTL have been identified as prospective owners, but the big question is, will ITV seize the chance to develop a viable multimedia strategy that includes basic pay-TV? After mugging Ofcom for 拢130m a year off its super tax bill, ITV plc could almost certainly raise the 拢700m or so the deal would take.
The really big question is whether Dyke will actually try buying ITV plc. Until now, the rumours have been wildly exaggerated, but it is clear that he would love to have a go if he thought he could get away with it.
There was an interesting session last week at a lunch for veterans of the Royal Television Society when Brian Tesler, the former deputy chairman of ITV, was interviewed on stage. He appealed to Dyke, who was in the audience, to lead a consortium because ITV needed a programme man with business nous to protect its future, even suggesting that Dyke could be in charge by next year.
Asked if he would rise to the challenge, Dyke tantalisingly replied: 'I'm not answering that question.' We will have to watch and wait to see if he takes the bait.
30 SECONDS ON...ITV TAKEOVER
- ITV plc shares rose sharply this week, reaching a 15-month high of 134.75p on news that the company is the target of a possible takeover.
- US media group Time Warner is leading a consortium reported to be considering making a 拢6.6bn takeover bid for ITV. Other members of the consortium include investment bank Goldman Sachs and venture capital group Apax Partners.
- Apax adviser and former BBC director-general Greg Dyke is said to be keen on leading any possible takeover of the company.
- Last week Ofcom slashed ITV's broadcast licence fee for its 12 licences from 拢215m to 拢80m following negotiations with ITV chief executive Charles Allen.
- Ofcom has also cut Five's licence fee from 拢13m to 拢9m. Five has agreed to the terms, making it a more attractive proposition to potential buyers.