ITV to cut costs by £30m amid falling advertising sales
Ad revenue slowdown forces company to reduce spending on content by £25m before inquiry into takeover by Sky Business live – latest updates ITV plans to cut costs by £30m this year, as the TV sector faces a chill wind of ditched commissions , falling advertising sales and job reductions. The broadcaster, which has agreed to sell its television and streaming business to Sky, expects ad revenues in…
ITV, a major television broadcaster, is planning to cut costs by £30 million in the current year due to a decline in advertising sales. The company, which is set to sell its television and streaming business to Sky, anticipates a 5% to 10% drop in ad revenues in the final quarter of the year, despite the typically busy Christmas season.
ITV expects ad sales to decrease by 2% to 3% over the entire year. The cost cuts will primarily target content spending, with £25 million being allocated to cutting back on smaller external commissions, which will be postponed until 2027. ITV's chief executive, Carolyn McCall, attributes the ad revenue slowdown to continued macroeconomic uncertainty and the migration of digital advertising to global streaming platforms.
The proposed cost savings will not involve staff reductions, and ITV claims the £1.6 billion sale to Sky is the company's survival strategy. However, the proposed deal has raised concerns over the broadcasters controlling a significant portion of linear news and current affairs viewership, as well as potential US political influence on editorial independence. The media regulator, Ofcom, has initiated an investigation into the matter.
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