ITV will plough £960 million into programming this year, as it aims to kickstart production back after the coronavirus pandemic necessitated delays to filming.
But this comes as something of a double-edged sword, as the broadcaster also announced that its profits have taken a plunge due to the long-standing effects of the virus on the TV industry.
Around 70% of ITV shows have now restarted production as lockdown measures across the country begin to ease, but it’s not all good news.
According to the channel, profits before tax took a hit – dropping 93% to £15 million in the first half of the financial year, on revenue of £1.45 billion.
Chief executive Carolyn McCall said: ‘This has been one of the most challenging times in the history of ITV.
‘While our two main sources of revenue – production and advertising – were down significantly in the first half of the year and the outlook remains uncertain, today we are seeing an upward trajectory with productions restarting and advertisers returning to take advantage of our highly effective mass reach and addressable advertising platform, in a brand safe environment.
‘We have made good progress in our digital transformation. The majority of our colleagues are working seamlessly at home thanks to the investment we have made in technology and systems and this has helped us continue to deliver on our strategic objectives.’
But one promising development is the growth of BritBox, the streaming service which serves as the home for classic ITV shows like Broadchurch alongside BBC and Channel 4.
‘BritBox is ahead of target on subscribers in the UK and we have announced plans to roll out BritBox internationally,’ McCall continued.
‘The future is still uncertain due to the pandemic but the action we have taken to manage and mitigate the impact of Covid-19 puts us in a good position to continue to invest in our strategy of transforming ITV into a digitally led media and entertainment company.’
Despite the pushbacks to production on shows such as Britain’s Got Talent and The Voice – both of which suspended their live semi-finals to air later in the year – production on some of ITV’s most popular programmes is set to start again soon.
I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! will also officially return this year, as earlier confirmed by ITV bosses.
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