British TV giant ITV, led by CEO Carolyn McCall, said on Thursday that its ITV Studios production division’s revenue would decline due to “a phased shift in distribution and the impact of the 2023 US writers and actors strike.” reported a 20% decrease.
However, ITV Studios is on track to achieve a record adjusted profit before interest, tax and amortization for the full year 2024, “reflecting improved efficiency and significantly improved fourth quarter delivery times”. However, ITV Studios’ revenue is expected to decline in the mid-single-digit percentage range for the full year. The company said the figure “would be only slightly down year-over-year, excluding the impact of the U.S. actors and writers strike.”
Meanwhile, total advertising revenue for the third quarter was flat, in line with the company’s expectations.
Streaming service ITVX also “continued its strong performance, with streaming hours up 14% and digital ad revenue up 15%” in the nine months to 30 September.
Total advertising revenue for the full year 2024 is expected to increase by around 2.5%, but “is expected to decline by around 6-7% in the fourth quarter due to the impact of the 2023 Rugby World Cup,” ITV said. “Additionally, fourth quarter advertising bookings were affected by uncertainty ahead of the UK Budget,” the new Labor government recently put forward.
ITV also provided an update on its cost-cutting initiatives, revealing that net cost savings will reach a further £20 million ($26 million) in 2024. Of this amount, $1,000,000 ($13,000,000) is early delivery of non-content savings that were (originally) scheduled for 2025. “These conditions and overall trends continue, giving us confidence in the growth in group profits this year,” the company said.
“ITV’s successful strategic progress continued in the first nine months of 2024 with strong execution and industry-leading creativity,” McCall said. “ITV Studios continues to perform well despite the expected impact of a softening market due to the writers’ strike and free-to-air broadcasters.”
He added: “As demonstrated in recent weeks with shows like Rivals on Disney+ and Ludwig on the BBC, the studio has significant creative and commercial momentum, with strong prospects for 2025 and 2026. “We are on track to achieve strong earnings growth.”
ITV Studios is set to deliver an “unusually high number of productions” in the current fourth quarter, the CEO concluded. In the U.S., it will include Amazon Prime Video’s “The Better Sister” and Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen.” Other shows include Shetland on the BBC, Destination X on BBC and NBC and The Forsytes on PBS Masterpiece.
ITV’s revenue for the first nine months of 2024 fell 8%. This was because “an increase in total advertising revenue was offset by a decrease in ITV Studios revenue.”
