ITV today cheered the success of the Rugby World Cup in wooing audiences but warned that the advertising market “remains challenging” and is likely to be down 8% for the full year.
In the nine months to September, revenue was up 1% to £2.97 billion, with growth in digital and the studio arm offsetting ad declines.
ITV is still dealing with the fallout from the Philip Schofield scandal. He quit This Morning after admitting to an affair with a younger colleague that he had not disclosed to ITV.
Chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall has been under pressure over how much she knew or should have known about the behaviour of ITV’s top stars.
She has ordered an external review of how the company handled the Schofield matter. The company says those findings will be published, perhaps by the end of the year.
The Rugby World Cup helped ITV grab a high number of male ABC1s, typically seen as elusive by TV advertisers.
But the ad market remains tough, requiring cost cuts.
ITV said: “We continue to review our cost base in order to deliver further savings, in addition to our current £50 million target to 2026.”
It is growing ITVX, its streaming service, which it predicts will have revenues of £750 million by 2026.
It added: “In the shorter term, the global content market has been impacted by lower demand from free-to-air broadcasters, reflecting the challenging advertising environment, as well as the US writers' and actors' strike.”
McCall has been CEO since January 2018 but has given no hint that she intends to move on. City watchers note that she was at The Guardian for 23 years and then easyJet for 8.
ITV shares slid 4p to 61p, which leaves it valued at £2.5 billion.
