ITV’s total external revenue rose by 2% to £709m during the quarter ending on 31 March
ITV (LON:ITV) is retaining a level of cautious optimism over its recovery during 2021 as its advertising sales have seen a resurgence in recent months.
The UK broadcaster told shareholders that it has been “encouraged” by trading levels over the past quarter as revenues rise on robust growth of its ITV Studios production and distribution arm.
ITV’s total external revenue rose by 2% to £709m during the quarter ending on 31 March in the face of pandemic-related restrictions.
The FTSE 250 company said that ITV Studios made £372m, up by 9%, as production, for the most part, continued in the face of the pandemic.
“The weather may be unseasonably chilly, but the advertising market is heating up according to free-to-air broadcaster ITV.
Despite people now being allowed outdoors, there is reason for ITV bosses to be optimistic over the coming months, according to Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.
“Even the biggest devotee of reality show Love Island won’t be as excited about its return as ITV given its importance to driving online viewing.”
“The lack of a ‘winter’ Love Island in the first three months of 2021 meant online viewing was down 11% for ITV but when it was stripped out, eyeballs on the ITV Hub were actually up by nearly a quarter.”
“The Euros football tournament will provide another reason for people to switch to ITV and combined with the reopening impact, and assuming the UK keeps the virus under control, advertising growth is likely to be very significant for some time to come,” Mould said.
The broadcaster is fighting to stay relevant having seen both the television market and advertising space heavily disrupted by giant US companies in recent years – Disney, Netflix and Amazon Prime on the streaming side and Google and Facebook competing for advertising spend.
“However, TV as a medium still has reach, particularly with certain sections of the population, and ITV has a chance to prove it still has a place as it benefits from the reopening boom,” Mould said.