ITV (LSE:ITV) warned on Wednesday that advertising demand weakened in the second half, with total advertising revenue now expected to be down around 5-10% in the fourth quarter and down around 2-3% for the full year, against prior guidance.
The London-listed broadcaster and content producer, whose Media & Entertainment arm is being sold to Sky under a deal agreed in July, said total advertising revenue fell 1% for the nine months to 30 September, slightly below previous guidance, with the third quarter down 8%.
Group total revenue declined 1% to £2,762 million for the nine-month period, and group external revenue fell 2% to £2,358 million.
ITV Studios revenue dropped 1% to £1,332 million, with external revenue down 4% on the phasing of production deliveries and licensing deals, which remain heavily weighted to the fourth quarter; internal revenue rose 4%. Media & Entertainment revenue fell 1% to £1,430 million, as 7% growth in digital revenue was offset by weaker linear advertising; digital advertising revenue grew 6% and ITVX streaming hours rose 29%.
Chief executive Carolyn McCall said weaker advertising demand reflects "continuing broader macroeconomic uncertainty, increased digital advertising on global streaming platforms and the impact of Less Healthy Food regulations which came into effect on 1 October 2025."
To address the shortfall, ITV has identified £30 million of additional temporary savings in Media & Entertainment for the fourth quarter, comprising £25 million of content savings and £5 million of discretionary non-content savings; the 2026 content budget is expected to be around £1.2 billion.
ITV Studios is still expected to deliver good revenue growth for the full year, ahead of the market, with EBITA margin at the lower end of its 13% to 15% range, as previously guided; McCall said the division has "a greater proportion of our full year Studios revenue secured than at this point last year," with a pipeline including titles for Netflix, Fox, the BBC and Peacock.
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- 15/05/26ITV reiterates full-year guidance after Q1 trading in line
The agreed sale of ITV's Media & Entertainment business to Sky for consideration of up to £1.6 billion, announced in July, is progressing toward completion expected in the second half of 2027. The Secretary of State issued a Public Interest Intervention Notice on 4 November, a step McCall called "an expected and important milestone in the regulatory review process."
Net debt stood at £695 million at 30 September, up from £652 million at 30 June, with total liquidity of £940 million comprising £240 million of cash and £700 million of committed undrawn facilities. In September, ITV's maturing €360 million bond was refinanced through a drawdown of its £300 million term loan, which matures in September 2029.
ITV's £100 million share buyback, launched ahead of the Sky deal's completion, had repurchased 116.57 million shares for £81 million as of market close on 6 November, all held as treasury shares.