ITV Grows Profits, Margins as It Battles Headwinds in First Half of 2024

As a dedicated movie buff with years of experience in following the media industry, I find ITV’s latest financial report to be an intriguing mix of challenges and successes. The British broadcaster has shown remarkable resilience in navigating the shifting sands of the media landscape, delivering a 40% increase in adjusted EBITA despite a decline in group external revenue.


For the initial six months of 2024, ITV, a major British broadcasting organization, showed a blend of positive and negative financial results. Amidst the evolving media environment, they are working to find their footing.

ITV saw a notable jump of 40% in their adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization, reaching £213 million or $275 million during the June 2024 closing. This impressive gain occurred even with a 2% decrease in group sales revenue, amounting to £1.6 billion or $2.06 billion.

ITV Studios, the production branch of the company, saw a drop of 13% in revenue, reaching £869 million. The primary reason for this decrease was the ongoing impacts of the U.S. writers’ and actors’ strikes in 2023. These work stoppages disrupted production plans and content delivery, leading to this significant reduction. Despite this setback, profits before tax rose by an impressive 51%, amounting to £178 million.

As a movie enthusiast, I’m thrilled to share some good news from ITV’s Media & Entertainment division. Last year, we witnessed a noteworthy progression in their financial health. The total advertising revenue swelled by an impressive 10% and reached a commendable £889 million. Among these earnings, digital advertising revenue shone brightly, registering a remarkable surge of 17%.

ITV’s streaming service, ITVX, shone as a positive aspect in the company’s outcomes. The number of streaming hours used on this platform rose by 15%, while the monthly user base grew by an impressive 17%.

ITV’s content strategy significantly boosted audience engagement on traditional and digital channels. One of their successful productions was “Mr Bates vs the Post Office,” a critically acclaimed drama based on true events. This series, which sheds light on the injustice faced by sub-postmasters wrongly accused of theft due to a flawed IT system, attracted a large viewership and rekindled public curiosity about the case. ITV reported that an impressive 93% of viewers who watched this show on ITVX further engaged with other content on the platform.

ITV Studios is now predicting a slight drop in revenue for its division instead of the expected flat performance for this year. Despite projecting high profits overall, the company has made this revision due to persistent industry issues, primarily affecting production arrangements.

In spite of facing challenges, ITV remained dedicated to achieving its objectives for 2026, which include increasing digital earnings to a minimum of £750 million.

CEO Carolyn McCall spoke about the outcomes, saying, “ITV has undergone significant change over the past five years and we’re still making it better. I’m optimistic that we’ll achieve greater adjusted EBITA for the entire year, thanks to our advancements in ITV’s digital evolution.”

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2024-07-25 09:47