ITV profits soar with big boost from Euros

ITV’s first-half profits grew by 40 percent thanks to the Euro 2024 soccer tournament, strong dramas and an increase in advertising.

The UK’s largest commercial free-to-air broadcaster reported adjusted profits of £213million, but revenue was down by 2 per cent to £1.6billion compared to the same period in last year.

ITV chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall called the advertising market a “very firm”. She added: “We had really strong viewing on our broadcast channels, ITVX a very, successful Euros and an increase of viewing of Love Island over the past year. We also enjoyed a slate great dramas led by M. Bates vs. the Post Office. Advertising was up 10%, which exceeded expectations.

ITV produces a lot of content, which it then sells to its rivals. ITV Studios, the production arm of the company, was still suffering from the effects of the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strike, as it had previously stated. The division’s revenue was down 13% to 3869 Million from the previous year, but the company is expecting “record profits” in the full year.

ITV announced that it would be adding to its stable of content by taking a majority share in Hartswood Films. This British scripted-drama production house was responsible for the creation of Sherlock.

ITV shares closed at 81p, down 3 1/4p or 3.9 percent.

ITV’s Carolyn McCall said that the Euros had been “very, extremely successful”.

McCall, who is 62 years old, says that the “peak investment” made in ITVX last year has paid off. The number of streaming hours has increased 15 percent to 846 millions, and the number of monthly active users is up 17 percent from last year to 14.6 Million. It is on target to reach its goal of generating £750 million digital revenue by the year 2026.

The company’s programme to cut costs is expected to save £30million, instead of the £50million originally planned. McCall said that the programme includes job cuts. However, McCall added that 85 percent of those leaving had done so voluntarily, as there was no “target number”.

Roddy Davidson is the head of research for Shore Capital. He said that the strong advertising revenue and robust performance of STV and ITV are a reminder that both can deliver a comprehensive offer to brands through a mass market platform which is safe, easily measurable and highly effective and with a clearly defined audience.

We also maintain our optimistic view of the medium-term prospects for ITV Studios. It is well positioned to capitalize on strong demand for high-quality content, given its status as an international multi-format and multi-genre producer.

The BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing program has been accused of bullying. This is the latest scandal that has hit reality television in general and broadcasters in particular. ITV’s duty of care policy for Love Island was tightened after two former contestants committed suicide in 2018 and 2019. This raised questions about support provided to participants. Caroline Flack, who presented the show, committed suicide in 2020, after suffering from mental health issues.

ITV has been accused of doing a “huge duty of care” in relation to shows like Love Island

McCall denied that the television industry had a problem looking after reality show participants, but asserted ITV has “done a huge amount of duty of care, and we take it extremely, very seriously.” As an industry, we place a lot more emphasis on this. We all need to take a close look at our individual shows, as they are all different.

“We now have very strong frameworks for third-party productions for us when an ITV show is broadcast. Seven years ago, this was not possible. Things have changed, they have evolved. We take this issue very, very serious. “I’m sure that the BBC does, too.”

She said that ITV’s Dancing on Ice is a very different programme from Strictly because the majority of the training takes place on public ice skating rinks, and the main concern was medical safety and health.