• by Wayne Friedman , April 7, 2016

Discovery Communications was off 3.5% to $27.91; CBS was off 2.3% to $53.58; Dish Network sank 2.6% to $43.61; and local TV station owner Tegna slipped 2.1% to $22.47.

Two growing cable network groups -- AMC Networks and Scripps Networks Interactive -- were notable decliners. AMC was down 4% to $64.02; Scripps slipped 3% to $65.13. Viacom, already hit with some losses during the year, went backwards 3% to $38.27.

Three major media companies fared better -- 21st Century Fox, down just 1.1% to $28.55 and Time Warner, dropping 1.4% to $72.91; Walt Disney was off 1.4% to $96.16.

Internet media stocks fared better generally: Facebook down 0.06% to $113.64; Netflix, off 0.4% to $104.45; Yahoo (subject of possible sale of its businesses), was down 1.3% to $36.17; Google, (Alphabet Inc), down 1% to $760.12; and Twitter, giving up 1.6% to $16.98.

By way of comparison, Dow Jones Industrial Index was down just under 1% to 17,541; S&P 500 slipped 1.2% to 2,041; and Nasdaq was off 1.5% to 4,848. Analysts point to slumping oil prices and a weak dollar for Thursday’s results.

Media analyst worries about cord-cutting continue, as well as slightly lower growth expectations for TV advertising, as a percentage of GDP, in the coming year.