ITV, the British broadcaster that has agreed to sell its channels and streaming platform to Comcast’s Sky, said today it had a “solid” first half, with the football World Cup driving 3% growth in advertising and record viewing figures.
The company, which will be a standalone production business after the Sky deal, reported flat adjusted operating profit of £146m for the first half, just shy of analyst expectations.
It said the growth in advertising was offset by an expected decline in profit in its Studios business, which was impacted by scheduling changes to its soap operas, including “Coronation Street”.
It said revenue and profit in Studios would be weighted towards the second half of the year, reflecting a strong delivery schedule of shows and keeping it on track to meet its full-year guidance to produce “good” revenue growth.
“ITV delivered a solid first-half performance and we remain on track to deliver our full-year guidance, including good revenue growth in ITV Studios and strong, profitable digital revenue growth within Media & Entertainment,” ITV’s chief executive Carolyn McCall said.
