Euro 2012 set to kick ITV’s ad sales to growth
ITV yesterday reported a revenue jump in its first quarter and said the Euro 2012 football championship and a strong Autumn line-up bode well for the year ahead.
Revenues at the broadcaster grew 13 per cent to £565m for the first three months of the year, boosted by a “front-loaded delivery” of new shows which bumped income at ITV Studios up by 61 per cent to £212m.
The division performed particularly strongly in the US, and the firm pointed to new revenues from Daybreak, which is now produced by ITV Studios, as a solid source of income.
The broadcaster’s schedule in the last quarter has included the prominent four-episode drama Titanic, made for ITV by Julian Fellowes, creator of Downton Abbey.
Chief executive Adam Crozier said ITV continues to push forward with its five year transformation plan, which includes a move away from reliance on advertising income.
Accordingly, non-advertising revenues climbed 43 per cent to £290m.
Crozier joined ITV in April 2010 and has led the broadcasting company back into profit, helping to eradicate more than £600m of debt through his turnaround plan.
And while ad revenues from ITV Family dropped by one per cent in the three month period, the broadcaster said it expects ad sales in this division to rise by six per cent in May, with June seeing a rise of between 12 and 17 per cent thanks to coverage of Euro 2012. ITV’s revenues from advertising overall are in line to rise by three per cent in the first half of the year, boosted by the strong June, compared to a broadly flat market for the same period last year.
Online and on demand platforms, such as ITV Player, attracted an extra 24 per cent in video views, to 110m in the quarter.
ITV’s shares closed two per cent higher yesterday at 82.5p.