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A dramatic slump in advertising revenues plunged ITV into the red today as the search for a chief executive to succeed Michael Grade continued.
Advertising revenues at the troubled broadcaster were down 15% in the first six months of the year, robbing the firm of £108 million of income.
ITV racked up losses of £105 million in the first half of the year, against a deficit of £1.5 billion in the same period of 2008.
ITV also revealed its pension deficit has ballooned from £178 million at the end of 2008 to £538 million today.
Grade, who has agreed to relinquish his role as executive chairman and become non-executive chairman once a chief executive is found, said the losses “reflect the impact of the unprecedented downturn in television advertising”. He said the industry was in “the worst recession we have ever seen”.
Martin McNulty, director of online marketing agency Trafficbroker, said the 15% slump in revenues “is more than serious, it's a slaughter”.
However, the slump in advertising at ITV was not as bad as in the overall market, where revenues were down 17% or £277 million in the first half.
Grade signalled the worst of the advertising recession may have passed and forecast revenues to be down 12% in the third quarter.
Shares in ITV, which were trading at 120p two years ago but sank as low as 17½p early this year, were up 1.6p to 43.6p today.
“Whilst UK television advertising remains down, the rate of decline has eased and ITV continues to outperform the market,” said Grade.
He also highlighted the success of shows such as Britain's Got Talent, which with a peak audience of nearly 20 million viewers was the highest rating non-sports programme on UK television for six years.
Grade added that ITV is now delivering good dramas such as Whitechapel, while ITV2 has overtaken 5 in terms of 16 to 34-year-old viewing figures.
ITV offloaded Friends Reunited for just £25 million having bought it for £170 million four years ago.
The broadcaster said it is on course to appoint a new chief executive by the end of the year. A decision is thought to be closer than that, with HMV's top dog Simon Fox and Pascal Cagni, the Frenchman behind Apple's European operations, among the favourites.
Reader views (9)
Pretty much all TV adverts are irritating, tired and clichéd, and an unwelcome distraction. I don't want to ever see them, and I can't remember the last time I bought a product because of a TV advert. I now avoid companies that irritate me through advertising: a particular sofa company is top of my blacklist.
If I want to watch something on a channel with adverts, I record it, wait 10 minutes or so, then chase play it, skipping the adverts as I go.
- Clovis, London
"The success of ITV`S show Britain’s got talent..."
Pity Britain’s didn’t have the right type of talent to stop our finances getting into this sorry mess?
Perhaps it’s talents OTHER than being "celebrity" wanabees that we should strive for and nurture in future, Science and Engineering for example, as opposed to crass delusions of "Cool Britannia"!
- Darius, London UK
They made a rod for their own back, far too many soaps get rid of them they are costing huge money that could be spent on better programs, come on folks flood this and tell then how much we HATE repeats
- John Tonbridge Kent, Kent England
Perhaps ITV could save some money by a little economy. Dispense with using TWO news readers for starters and stop making programmes which no one wants to watch. Too many actors in their soaps. It all amounts to avoidable costs.
T H Leeds
- Thomas Hayes, Leeds UK
They have nothing to offer the viewers so the advertisers pull away and the shareholders also.It is a business that doesn"t come up with the goods,ITV2 has more to offer and it is rumoured that they want to sell it to sky
ray london
- Ray, london
I hardly watch any TV now, and certainly not ITV. Love Film send me rental DVDs through the post and I watch what what I have chosen, at a time when it suits me. Eventually we'll all do this online, but DVDs through the post works really well at the moment.
- Alan In Bow, London
If ITV actually viewed programmes people wanted to watch, advertisers would be willing to pay more.
Quite simple really. Either make better shows or give up.
- Rod, Epping, UK
Besides "The Bill", I don't think I could name another show on ITV, let alone a good one. This is why Labour want to give ITV part of the license fee, because it fits with their "reward the incompetent by crippling the competent" mentality.
- Ian, london
Do people still watch ITV?
- Bob, Cheam
