ITV is expected to reveal its weakest results for over ten years, with advertising revenue for ITV1 in Q1 2006, forecast to suffer a year on year drop of 13.5%, to £351.8 million.
Taking into account the performance of the broadcasters digital channels, including ITV2 and ITV3, ITV’s revenues are projected to dip by 10.3% to £389.9 million.
According to a report in Sunday’s Observer, the slow start to 2006 and depressed quarter one revenue figures are, amongst other things, due to Easter falling in the second quarter of the year. ITV1 is also losing out with increasing audience fragmentation and the rise of multichannel networks.
The broadcaster’s slipping advertising revenues have been expected. Previous industry estimates predicted a 14% drop in revenues in Q1 2006, with a recent report in The Times claiming that ITV1 booked roughly £352 million of business in Q1 2006, down £55 million on the same period in 2005 (see ITV Could See 14% Revenue Drop In Q1 2006).
This opinion is confirmed in industry reports from Billetts Media and advertising agency OPera, both expecting a depressed outlook for ITV’s advertising revenues.
According to Billetts Media, ITV is expected to be facing £150 million in revenue deficit in 2006. The broadcasters continued decline in revenue is attributed to increasing presence of commercial multichannel broadcasters (see Billetts Forecasts Mild Growth In UK TV And Print Media).
OPera also forecasts ITV1’s overall share of television revenue to drop, dipping from 46.8% in 2005 to 43.3% this year in a market expected to grow 2.5%, with ITV1’s potential lost revenue amounting to around £82m in 2006 (see UK Adspend To Hit £15 Billion By 2010).
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