ITV chief Adam Crozier to step down

ITV has announced that its chief executive Adam Crozier is stepping down after seven years in the role. He will officially depart on 30 June.

The broadcaster said its finance director Ian Griffiths will take on a new combined role of chief operating officer and finance chief, while chairman Sir Peter Bazalgette will become executive chairman, until a long-term successor is found “in due course”.

Crozier joined ITV, the UK’s biggest free-to-air commercial broadcaster, from Royal Mail in 2010. Since then, ITV’s shares have increased by 250%, while its market capital has grown from £2.7 billion to £8.3 billion.

However, in March the broadcaster reported a -14% drop in annual pre-tax profis to £553 million, as advertising revenues declined by -3%. Crozier said the decline in ad revenues was a result of “wider political and economic uncertainty”.

The news of Crozier’s departure comes shortly after Channel 4 chief exec David Abraham also announced that he would be giving up the helm of one of the UK’s biggest commercial broadcasters after seven years. He is going on to set up a new media enterprise in 2018.