ITV to cut value of Friends Reunited site

ITV is set to substantially cut the carrying value of its Friends Reunited website in a year-end review of past acquisitions.

The review, which will be carried out by ITV’s chief operating officer John Cresswell, is thought to be likely to slash Friends Reunited’s value to below the £175 million the broadcaster paid for it in 2005.

ITV bought the website in a bid to increase its online presence, however, Friends Reunited has since been overshadowed by other social networking sites such as Facebook and Bebo.

ITV’s online revenue growth slowed in the first nine months of 2008, despite a significant increase in visitors to ITV.com, which attracted around 8.2 million people in October last year.

However, ITV’s online income only went up by 6% year on year to £25 million, suggesting the company may see a shortfall in its target of £150 million of online income by 2012.

Cresswell said the slowdown in growth was caused in part because Friends Reunited stopped charging users to access the site.

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com