Checked out a technique ITV, the UK’s greatest terrestrial broadcaster – or “linear” as they are saying as of late – is nicely and actually caught.
Advert income within the first six months of 2023 is down 11%, serving to to slash first half income from £219m in the identical interval of 2022 to £45m.
But ITV shares rose almost 4% yesterday so what’s occurring? Possibly it’s nonetheless a possible takeover goal.
ITV Studios, its manufacturing arm, helped to make good the income shortfall (it now turns over extra money than adverts), leaving income 2% down over the interval but it surely clearly isn’t as worthwhile as adverts. Each companies turned over about £1bn.
ITV advert income ought to get well within the second half as a result of it all the time does. There are extra large sporting occasions and Christmas nonetheless works its wonders. However linear media within the UK remains to be beneath ferocious strain because the digital tide slows however nonetheless positive aspects: in response to this week’s AA/WARC survey it now accounts for 76.7% of all UK advert income.
ITV has its digital aspect too, as does Channel 4, however they’re minnows in comparison with Fb, Google and now TikTok. Then you have got the streamers (who could also be seeking to purchase ITV content material as theirs dries up with the Hollywood strikes.)
Is there something CEO Carolyn McCall and her staff can do to show the tide?
You get the impression ITV is attempting to handle decline in its advert enterprise, grateful when issues lookup with large occasions however concentrating on different sources of earnings. Its costs replicate this: promoting on ITV at Christmas remains to be massively costly; an growing variety of advertisers are making shorter movies and operating them much less usually, counting on social media and VOD to make up the slack.
Possibly it ought to revise its pricing coverage to make longer campaigns extra inexpensive all year long to usher in extra advertisers? UK advertisers are nicely conscious that quite a lot of digital promoting is wasted and most of it’s fairly ineffective for model constructing. However nonetheless they, with their media company helpers, bung extra money at it.
As of late you by no means get fired for hiring TikTok.
Time for a rethink all spherical maybe.
