UTV Ad Revenue Outperforms ITV Network
Ulster Television (UTV), part of the ITV Network, saw advertising revenues rise by 0.3% in the six months to the end of June, substantially outperforming the network as a whole, which saw a 5.6% decline in airtime revenue.
Radio advertising in Ireland followed a similar pattern to television, with weak national spend being offset by a stronger local market. However, the positive impact of the World Cup was not as great in Ireland as in Great Britain and so ad revenues at UTV’s County Media station fell by 5% year on year.
Outlook Commenting on the outlook for the ad market, chairman John B McGuckian said: “A much used phrase in media companies has been, and continues to be, ‘limited visibility’. This lack of confidence about future revenues is unsettling for shareholders but is, perhaps, prudent given the uncertainties in the marketplaces in which our advertisers operate and, indeed, in the economy as a whole. In all this uncertainty, it would not yet be appropriate to predict a definite return to growth.
