ITV set to soar after World Cup factor kicks in

Published on Thursday 24 February 2011 15:29

A STRONG rebound in television advertising is expected to help profits more than double at broadcaster ITV.

&#149 Billie Piper as a high-class prostitute in Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, one of the shows that have helped broadcaster ITV more than double profits to 298 million

Analysts have pencilled in pre-tax profits of 298 million - up from 108m in 2009 - for the company behind shows including The X Factor, I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! and Coronation Street.

Analysts at Numis Securities predict that advertising revenues will have increased by 16 per cent over the year after receiving a first-half boost from the World Cup.

The final quarter is also expected to have seen strong progress, with the finals of talent show The X Factor reported to have pulled in up to 250,000 for a 30-second advertising slot. Downton Abbey also drew an audience of more than 10 million for its final episode.

Under the leadership of former Royal Mail boss Adam Crozier, who took over as chief executive in April, ITV has launched high definition versions of ITV2, ITV3, and ITV4 on the Sky platform. It has also agreed new long-term deals for series such as Britain's Got Talent.

Although the broadcaster is expected to reveal a strong performance in the final quarter it is cautious about its prospects for 2011 as it comes up against strong comparable figures from the World Cup.

Total revenues rose 11 per cent to 1.45 billion over the first nine months of 2010, with a 16 per cent jump in broadcasting and online sales offset by a 10 per cent drop in external revenues at ITV Studios.

Other broadcasters have also reported strong results recently. Last week Scottish ITV licensee STV's results showed TV revenues up 16 per cent to 104.8m thanks to the resurgent advertising market.

STV, which also said it expects the total TV advertising market to remain strong in the first quarter up 10 per cent year on year, last week reported revenue from its broadcasting division grew 16 per cent to 90.3m.

But it also revealed it racked up 3.5m in litigation costs last year in its protracted dispute with ITV and could face a 21.1m bill if it loses the long-running battle over its controversial decision to opt out of network programmes.

The Glasgow-based group said there was "no material change" in the dispute, in which the two sides have been at loggerheads since 2009. STV has already paid more than 3m to fight ITV's claims and to launch counter-claims in relation to advertising sales and new media rights. The first hearing in the case is scheduled for May.