ITV profit failing to make Grade following 19% slip

Published on Wednesday 7 March 2007 12:09

NEW ITV chairman Michael Grade today said the broadcaster's "lack of innovation in programming" needed to be addressed as he unveiled a drop in pre-tax profit of 19 per cent to £364 million in a soft advertising market.

Former BBC chairman Mr Grade, who took up the post two months ago, said the broadcaster was "playing catch up in many areas" as it tried to bed-in the Carlton/Granada merger.

But the company, which has drawn in big audiences with new programmes such as Dancing on Ice, Wild At Heart, Soapstar Superstar, added that total revenues had fallen, albeit to a better-than-expected 2.18 billion from 2.19bn the previous year.

ITV said net advertising revenues fell eight per cent during the year to 1.49bn, with the figure for flagship channel ITV1 181m lower at 1.28bn - although strong growth from the broadcaster's digital channels helped offset some of the weakness at ITV1. It added its total advertising revenue will be down by approximately 4.5 per cent over the first quarter of 2007.

Today's report comes just days after the company pulled the plug on all premium-rate phone and red-button interactive activity on its programmes - amid allegations that viewers were overcharged on calls because of an error over interactive voting and claims that viewers were being urged to enter a competition after the winners had been chosen, using 1-per-entry phone lines.

Mr Grade insisted today he was "not ashamed" of "anything we do" and promised the premium-rate phone lines would return.