ITV has warned it expects a significant year-on-year fall in advertising revenue in the three months to the end of June, due to tough comparisons with the same period last year, which included the Euro 2012 football tournament.

Previously strong revenue growth at ITV Studios has also faltered, with a 5 per cent fall in revenues year on year in the first quarter to £201 (€236m) million. However, across 2013 as a whole the broadcaster still expects double digit revenue growth from ITV Studios.

2013 started well for the commercial broadcaster’s ad sales across its portfolio of channels, with revenues up 6 per cent in the first quarter to £382, according to an interim management statement. But after a first half of 2012 – which included the advertiser friendly Euro 2012 tournament – a slowdown has hit ITV with TV ad revenues down 12 per cent year-on-year in April, 7 per cent in May and between 12 per cent and 15 per cent in June.

Across the first half of the year ITV expects TV ad revenues to be down 3 per cent year on year. The broadcaster said it expected TV ad revenue to return to growth in July.

“As we anticipated, the quarterly pattern of demand from advertisers in 2013 is very different to 2012 although we expect it to even out over the course of the year,” said chief executive Adam Crozier.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, Business, Results