The recent decline in ITV’s audiences looks set to leave the broadcaster with a disappointing set of results at its Annual General Meeting later this week, with analysts and investors predicting that the viewer exodus will leave ad revenues for June down by 15 to 20%.
The recent poor performance of high-profile, celebrity centric, programming such as
Celebrity Love Island and
Celebrity Wrestling, is also expected to be on the agenda, with reports this morning suggesting that it is these that are damaging ITV’s revenues, rather than weak consumer demand.
ITV’s sliding audience figures are in stark contrast to Channel 4’s performance, which has improved dramatically over recent months, a development which will further entrench ITV’s worries.
However, the broadcaster has plans to beef up its schedule, with the return of previous ratings winners, I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here and X Factor. The broadcaster is also due to have its licence fee cut by Ofcom later this year, removing 40% of its current outlay in a move which will generate savings of around £100 million (see ITV Welcomes Ofcom’s Public Service Proposals).
The broadcaster’s digital channels look set to face more fierce competition meanwhile, with E4 due to launch on Freeview later this month, while a report in this morning’s Financial Times suggests that future subsidisation and take up of PVR services, such as Sky+, could damage the company’s ad sales, with viewers able to easily circumvent schedules and effectively ruin ITV’s price structures.
However, in the short term ITV looks more secure, with many still holding faith in the broadcaster’s ability to deliver an audience share over 20%. As Lorna Tilbian, analyst at Numis Securities, told the FT: “At the end of the day, there isn’t anywhere else you can place large amounts of advertising spending.”
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