ITV H1 revenues up 8%; plans D2C boost
July 25, 2018
ITV, the UK commercial broadcaster, has reported total external revenue up 8 per cent at £1.5 billion (2017: £1.4 billion) with non-advertising revenues up 14 per cent at £958 million (2017: £837 million).
Total ITV Studios revenue up 16 per cent at £803 million (2017: £692 million), including £12 million of unfavourable currency impact.
ITV total advertising revenue up 2 per cent as expected, with 48 per cent growth in online.
Carolyn McCall, ITV Chief Executive, commented: “We have delivered a strong operating performance with fantastic viewing figures both on-screen and online. Total advertising revenue was up by 2 per cent with 48 per cent growth in online revenues. ITV Family share of viewing was up 9 per cent in the period with outstanding contributions from Love Island and the World Cup.”
“Our hugely talented and creative people in the UK and internationally provided a popular and award winning slate of programmes for ITV, other broadcasters and platform owners. This is reflected in the rise in ITV Studios revenue of 16 per cent, with growth in all our production areas. I’m pleased to say that there is a really healthy pipeline of new and returning programmes.”
“There’s never been a better time to be a creative entertainment company with viewers’ appetite higher than ever for quality content and this is set to grow by around 5 per cent globally over the medium term. ITV is well placed to take advantage of this opportunity and our strategy refresh which will enable us to drive profit from three separate sources – advertisers, broadcasters/platforms and consumers.”
“ITV will be more than TV – it will be a structurally sound integrated producer broadcaster where we aim to maintain total viewing and increase total advertising revenue; it will be a growing and profitable content business, which drives returns; and it will create value by developing and nurturing strong direct consumer relationships, where people want to spend money on a range of content and experiences with a really trusted brand. We will deliver this strategy by building greater capability in data, analytics and technology as well as developing the great creative and commercial talent ITV already has. Executing the strategy will enable us to continue to deliver sustainable returns to our shareholders,” she concluded.
The broadcaster reported that the ITV Hub, the digital home for all its channels and content, is growing rapidly, driven by viewers’ appetite to watch content any time, any where, be it catch up or increasingly, simulcast, and the quality of its content. The ITV Hub is now available on 28 platforms and is pre-installed on over 90 per cent of all connected televisions sold in the UK.
Long-form video requests were up 23 per cent and online viewing consumption, which measures how long viewers are spending online, was up 33 per cent driven by viewing on mobile and connected televisions.
ITV’s Direct to Consumer business generates revenue directly from the customer, and includes competitions, voting, live events, SVoD and its pay per view boxing trial. Total revenue is currently small but up year on year. “Growing a Direct to Consumer business will be a key focus of our new strategy,” said the broadcaster.