Shares in AOL Time Warner hit $21.65 on Friday, a record low for the company since it was formed from the merger of internet service provider and entertainment giant Time Warner over a year ago.

As the world's largest media consortium, AOL Time Warner has been the focus of investor disillusionment in the sector and ongoing fears about the speed of recovery in the advertising market. It was notable that AOL Time Warner shares sank on Friday while many other US media stocks moved higher. By the end of trading it had recovered slightly to close at $22.42. At this price the group has a market capitalisation of $82bn.

But that means that it has more than half its value since the year's high of $58.61 in June, when the group was worth a staggering $215bn.