ITV PLC (LSE:ITV) reported better first-quarter advertising revenue than expected and a “particularly strong” period of new and returning programmes for its Studios production arm.
Total advertising revenue climbed 16% to £468mln in the first three months of the year, beating average City forecasts of £454mln.
Good demand was reported across the majority of advertising sectors, with ad sales up 15% in January, 20% in February and 15% in March compared to the same period in 2021. Digital advertising revenue was up 27%.
ITV Studios deliveries included a second series of Noughts and Crosses and of Physical, new dramas Murder in Provence and Holding, and Miss Marple series Why Didn't They Ask Evans.
Chief executive Carolyn McCall said ITV is focused on “three core drivers of value”: growing Studios, which further diversified by genre, by geography and by customer; maintaining the strength of its linear (terrestrial TV) business, which secured a 93% share of the largest commercial audiences; and making “good progress” to keep its streaming business full of content, with a 50% increase in the quarter to 6,000 hours, with the majority of scripted programmes made available in full for streaming at the same time as the initial broadcast.
"All of this provides a solid foundation for ITVX,” McCall said, referring to the ad-funded streaming service launched in March, which she said is on track for launch in the fourth quarter of this year and which she said she remained confident will deliver at least £750mln of digital revenue by 2026.
Since the ITVX launch, the company has lost more than a third of its market value.