ITV hopes for £100m boost

British commercial broadcaster ITV could see a £100m (€112m) boost in revenues with the introduction of product placement and the launch of new digital channels, according to analysts.

The broadcaster is set to launch ITV1+1 and ITVHD from June. Investment bank Morgan Stanley notes that this roll out could deliver potential revenues of £50m. The bank also thinks it could make the same again with the recent changes in product placement laws. “ITV is also able to use product placement. Again, this could be a £50m per annum opportunity,” it notes.

Separately, the broadcaster announced that it has no plans to launch its shows on online video sites such as YouTube. Director of online and interactive Ben McOwen Wilson said that it plans to expand its ITV Player rather than strikes output deals with sites including Hulu, SeeSaw, MSN Video Player and Google-owned YouTube.