ITV hails 2012 results despite ‘flat’ advertising

ITV says its strategy to become less reliant on advertising revenues by boosting income from production and online services is on-track after reporting a 6 per cent rise in profit for 2012.

ITV
ITV’s 6 per cent profit rise driven by non-advertising sources.

The broadcaster registered pre-tax profit of £348m last year, up from £327m in 2011. Total revenue increased 5 per cent to £2.55bn.

“Flat” advertising revenue in 2012 was offset partly by an increase in income from ITV Studios, which makes ratings hits Mr Selfridge, Downton Abbey and Dancing On Ice, and monies from its online, pay and interactive services, up 16 per cent and 26 per cent respectively.

Chief executive Adam Crozier set out his “transformation plan” to generate revenue from self-made shows and reduce reliance on advertising revenue earned from shows such as X-Factor aired by the broadcaster but produced externally in 2010.

Crozier says today’s results demonstrated the success of the strategy. “We’re now almost three years into our transformation plan and our strong performance is delivering growth right across ITV, enabling us to build a stronger and more balanced business”, he adds.

ITV tried to enhance the status of its master brand earlier this year by dropping the numerical 1 from its flagship channel. The move aimed to emphasise all programming was commissioned or made by the parent company.

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