14th May 2014 07:15
LONDON (Alliance News) - UK television company ITV PLC Wednesday reported higher revenue for the first quarter of 2014 thanks to a continued recovery in advertising revenue, and said it expects to get a further boost from its coverage of the football World Cup in June as well as the launch of new TV channels.
The company reported that revenue in the three months to end-March rose to GBP672 million, from GBP666 million a year earlier, as net advertising revenue rose to GBP390 million, from GBP382 million. Its total external revenue rose 2.5% to GBP585 million, from GBP571 million.
However, advertising revenue growth accelerated to 19% on the year in April and is forecast to be up 7% in May and between 12% and 15% higher in June, and again be positive in July. It said it expects to outperform the broader TV advertising market over both the first half of the year and over 2014 as a whole.
"Broadcast & Online started the year well, helped by another strong performance in Online, Pay & Interactive and by the ongoing improvement in the UK advertising market, with most sectors showing good growth," ITV Chief Executive Adam Crozier said in a statement.
ITV's share of viewing has been lower than expected this year, Crozier said, but he said the company is confident in its coming schedule, including coverage of the World Cup. ITV and the BBC will divide coverage of the competition.
ITV could charge advertisers as much as GBP300,000 for a 30-second commercial during World Cup matches featuring England, up to seven times more than to run an ad in a non-England game, The Guardian reported Wednesday, citing media agency ZenithOptimedia.
ITV is also hoping the launch of its first pay-TV channel, ITV Encore, in June, and then the launch of new free-to-air channel ITVBe later in the year, will also lift viewing share and advertising revenue.
The company has been trying to reduce its reliance on the cyclical advertising market, bolstering its production studios business by buying independent studios in countries like the UK and US. Just last week it bought US production company Leftfield Entertainment, a deal it says makes it the largest independent unscripted producer in that country.
However, revenue at the studios business fell to GBP192 million in the first quarter, down from GBP201 million a year ago.
"As always, Studios revenues are impacted by phasing of programme deliveries. However given the level of forward visibility we have in our Studios business, we are confident of delivering good revenue growth over the full year driven by the acquisitions we have made," Crozier said.
However, ITV shares were down 4.4% at 182.7 pence early Wednesday, the biggest decline on the FTSE 100.
By Steve McGrath; [email protected]; @SteveMcGrath1
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