Commercial broadcaster, ITV, has said that its advertising revenue for the first half of this year is up 5%, as its top ten categories all experienced growth during this period.
Despite tough advertising conditions caused by advertisers negotiating more competitive deals due to a fall in audience share, ITV said that it also expects September’s revenue to be up 5%, based on advanced bookings.
Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, Charles Allen, chief executive of ITV said: “We have seen all top 10 categories growing. September is moving forward so well because telcoms is coming back.”
Recently, Merrill Lynch revised its forecast of ITV upwards to 3.2% from 2.9%, as a result of a much needed boost from this summer’s Olympic games (see Latest ITV1 Forecasts From Merrill Lynch). However the upbeat outlook doesn’t seem to stretch much past this year, as Merrill Lynch downscaled its 2005 forecast from 1.0% to 0.0%.
When asked how future revenue will be generated for the station, Allen said that it will come as a mixture of subscriptions and revenue from advertising, as it does currently for Sky. He added: “I think over-time, the range of channels we are creating will have advertising and subscription revenues.”
During the speech, Allen commented on how new technology, such as PVRs, will challenge ITV but at present he doesn’t think there is enough data around to establish how it has changed the way we watch television.
He said: “I can see people going home on the bus watching Coronation Street, using mobile kits quite different over the next 10 years. I don’t actually fear new technology, I think it presents an exciting opportunity.”
Currently, ITV is in the process of selling off £600 million of non-core assets with Carlton Books being the disposal. According to reports, also to be put on the chopping block is Carlton Screen Advertising, which sells adverts shown at cinemas, to stakes in top Premier League football teams Arsenal and Liverpool (see ITV Starts Disposal Of Non-Core Assets With Carlton Books).
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