ITV takes hit from downturn as ad revenues slide

UK commercial broadcaster ITV has updated on numbers, reporting a sharp downturn in revenue from its media and entertainment division as the economic situation in the UK took its toll.

Carolyn McCall

ITV’s total revenues were down 7% to £776 million in the first quarter.

M&E revenue was down 9% at £495 with total advertising revenue down 10%. Seeking a silver lining, ITV said this was better than the wider TV advertising market in the UK.

Within the total, again on the bright side, digital advertising revenue was up 30% at £87 million compared to the same period in 2022. However, total M&E non-advertising revenue in the quarter was flat with growth in subscription revenue offset by an anticipated decline in SDN, its digital-terrestrial multiplex operator.

ITVX, ITV’s largely free, ad-funded streaming service, saw digital revenues up 29% and total streaming hours up 49% in Q1.

The broadcaster said it expected digital ad revenue to grow by over 20% in Q2, but the outlook for total ad sales remains bleak. The company anticipates that advertising revenue overall will be down 12% for the second quarter.

ITV’s production unit, ITV Studios, recorded flat revenue at £457 million. The company said that the phasing of deliveries in 2023 is expected to be weighted to the second half.

The broadcaster said it would continue to look for cost savings, with a target of delivering savings of £15 million this year out of a total of £50 million to be saved by 2026.

CEO Carolyn McCall said that the broadcaster “continued to make significant strategic progress in the quarter and all parts of the business performed in line with expectations”.

Highlighting a sustained performance from recently launched ITVX, she said that the company was “successfully executing Phase Two of its More Than TV strategy, despite the current challenging macro and geopolitical environment, as we continue to satisfy the growing demand for content globally and the desire for advertisers to secure both mass reach and targeted digital audiences.”