ITV chief executive, Charles Allen, could be preparing to leave the broadcaster, as he addresses senior colleagues this morning amid rumours that he could retire shortly.
Allen could be set to leave ITV in an attempt to curb the broadcaster’s falling share price, which has dipped below 100 pence from almost 130 pence in March.
ITV1 is also suffering from much lower advertising bookings than it had last year, with its World Cup coverage and new series of Reality programme, Love Island, failing to bring in the viewers.
Last month, ITV was estimated to be down £125 million in advertising revenue for 2006, compared with the previous year. Also in June, the broadcaster announced it would deliver “efficiency savings” of £100 million by the end of 2008 through “business re-engineering and operational reviews” (see ITV To Undertake Cost-Cutting Restructure). Media buyers also predicted that advertising revenue at ITV1 could fall further (see ITV Ad Revenue To Tumble).
With its share price dangerously low, the pressure has mounted on Allen, who saw off a takeover bid for the broadcaster earlier this year and could face another.
