ITV saw Q3 ad revenues rise 8 per cent as the Rugby World Cup proved a hit with viewers and advertisers, putting the commercial broadcaster on track for another year of record profits.

ITV said that for the first nine months of the year, total revenues, including for its online and production arm, were up 13 per cent year on year to £2.3 billion.

ITV Studios saw revenues increase 28 per cent year on year to £782 milliom in the first nine months, due in part to the acquisition of The Voice maker Talpa. ITV is also in the final stages of securing a £15 million-a-year deal for The Voice, after the BBC reportedly pulled out of the running to retain the talent show.

ITV said the 8 per cent Q3 TV ad revenue growth, compared to a full-year expectation of 5 per cent, was driven by the Rugby World Cup as well as the broadcaster’s daytime TV and flagship soap operas Coronation Street and Emmerdale.

The broadcaster said its online, pay and interactive operation saw revenues rise 29 per cent year on year in the first nine months.

Adam Crozier, ITV Chief Executive, commented: “We’re on track for another year of double digit profit growth as we continue to strengthen ITV in the UK and internationally.  Revenues were up 13 per cent to £2,045 million in the nine months with all parts of the business performing well. Our Broadcast & Online business again delivered good growth with advertising revenue up 8 per cent in Q3 and Online, Pay & Interactive up 29 per cent over the nine months.  As we expected, share of viewing has improved in the second half driven by strong performances in daytime, the soaps and the Rugby World Cup, and continuing this trend remains a key focus for the business. We’re also strengthening our broadcast business with the proposed acquisition of the television assets of UTV”

“Looking forward we expect ITV Family NAR to be up at least 5 per cent over the full year, again ahead of our view of the TV advertising market, with growth across all key advertising categories. We are confident of further good growth across ITV for the remainder of this year and into 2016 as we continue to exploit our integrated producer broadcaster model in the UK and to build a global content business of scale.”