From January to September, UK broadcaster ITV’s revenues increased by 6% to £2.52BN ($2.89BN).
In a trading update, ITV noted that ITV Studios’ revenues had grown year-on-year by 16%, amounting to £1.39BN from last year’s £1.19BN for the same period.
As per Deadline, the broadcaster pointed to several new and returning shows, such as A Spy Among Friends, Hell’s Kitchen USA, Let The Right One In and The Voice Germany.
There was no mention of reports that ITV might sell a part of its ITV Studios business to kickstart its share price, which has fallen from nearly £114 at the start of the year to below £70 today.
Although some may have thought otherwise, ITV CEO Carolyn McCall ensured that ITV Studios would continue to succeed.
She said that “ITV Studios continues to outperform the growing content market and will exceed 2019 revenues in 2022. It’s on track to deliver on all its KPI targets. It has a formidable slate to power it into 2023 as we further diversify the business by genre, geography and customer.”
Total non-advertizing revenues increased by 13% to £1.62BN, which is good news for ITV as it prepares to relaunch its streaming service from ITV Hub to ITVX next month.
“This morning, we announced that Joan, a jewel thief drama starring Sophie Turner, will be commissioned by ITVX.”
By the end of September, media and entertainment revenue had decreased by 2% to £1.56BN, with total ad revenues following suit. However, digital advertising saw an increase of 13%.
ITV stated that it anticipates surpassing its revenue levels before the pandemic by the 2022 fiscal year. Furthermore, according to their projections, ITV Studios will generate more than 5% growth in 2023.
McCall expressed the company’s excitement for their new streaming service, ITVX.
“We are making good progress on our new, free, ad-funded streaming service ITVX, which will be rolled out across devices and platforms in the coming weeks with the full launch of new and exclusive content on December 8, in time to reach millions of viewers who will come to ITV for the FIFA World Cup.”
“ITVX will supercharge our streaming business, providing viewers with a content-rich destination rather than a catch-up service and advertisers with valuable addressable audiences at scale. This will drive significant digital viewing and revenue growth, enabling ITV to deliver at least £750 million in digital revenues by 2026.”
