Grade upbeat as ITV profits fall 35%
- 00:01:57
- ITN
Grade upbeat as ITV profits fall 35%
ITV's annual pre-tax profits have fallen 35 per cent to £188 million, chairman Michael Grade has announced.Mr Grade, who joined the broadcaster at the end of 2006, said the figures for 2007 are a result of lower revenues at flagship channel ITV1 and increased investment in digital channels.Revenues suffered a £58 million hit from premium rate services (PRS), which includes income from phone-ins and on-screen competitions.It followed a spate of problems affecting programmes such as Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway and Gameshow Marathon. Talent show X Factor also saw millions of phone-in votes not counted.Mr Grade said: "Such incidents for the most part appeared to stem from misguided editorial judgments taken with a view to maximising viewer enjoyment, not from any desire to maximise PRS revenues."Nonetheless, we let our viewers down and that is inexcusable. We are determined to restore public trust in ITV and UK broadcasting as a whole."He added that the phone-in scandals had been taken into account when deciding bonuses for the executive team.For ITV1 - home to Dancing On Ice, X Factor and Wild At Heart - viewing figures were 2.1 per cent down while the total channels family viewing share was up 0.1 per cent to 23.2 per cent.But, Mr Grade remained upbeat about the future, saying viewing figures had increased for ITV channels as a whole since the early 1990s.Advertising revenue decline slowed and was down 4 per cent last year compared to a 12 per cent fall in 2006 while ITV's net advertising revenue was flat at £1.49 billion for 2007. The figure for ITV1 was £1.22 billion, down from £1.28 billion the previous year.Mr Grade said so far this year, advertising revenues are up 2 per cent for the first quarter, "well ahead of the market".He said: "The first priority for ITV was to stem the decline. We did more than that, delivering an increase in viewing to the ITV family for the first time in over a decade."For the first time in many years, ITV1 outperformed its competitors and we've continued to do so into 2008. We are heartened by the positive response of advertisers to the improved on-screen performance and our investment in channels and online."He added: "I am confident that the business is in better shape going into 2008."ITV shares hit all-time record lows in January and February as a difficult advertising market takes its toll and rumours have resurfaced about takeover interest from private equity firms Apax, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Provident.© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
ITN | March 5, 2008
