Auris will be built here despite EU fears
ITV IN AD BID TO TAKEAWAY CASH
ITV are to pump nearly £2.2billion into programmemaking over the next two years.
The broadcasters behind Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway, Love Island and Coronation Street are upping their budget to more than £1billion in 2018, in part due to the World Cup.
The firm are banking on the tournament after blaming “economic and political uncertainty” for a five per cent fall in advertising revenues. Profits were down six per cent to £800million.
But programme-making arm ITV Studios saw revenues jump 13 per cent and viewing figures rose for the second year in a row, up two per cent.
Boss Carolyn McCall said it showed free-to-air broadcasters could compete with online rivals. She said: “If you have live sport and great drama, then live TV is very robust and resilient.”
ITV are also making shows for Netflix and Facebook.The results, which triggered a fall in ITV’s share price, came a day after US cable giant Comcast launched a shock £22billion bid for Sky. McCall said: “I think everybody is having a look at everybody.” TOYOTA have picked the UK to build a new model – despite MPs issuing a blunt Brexit warning for the industry.
The Japanese car giants yesterday announced the third generation of the Auris will be built at the Burnaston plant in Derbyshire. Engines for the hatchback will mainly come from the Deeside factory in North Wales.
The move follows £240million of investment last year to upgrade the Burnaston site, including £20million from the Government.
The decision comes despite fears that Brexit will see foreign companies ditch car production here because of threatened import tariffs and disruption.
Dr Johan van Zyl, Toyota’s European boss, hailed the UK plants’ “skills and capabilities”.
But with 85 per cent of Toyota’s UK-made cars sold to Europe, he warned “continued free and frictionless trade between the UK The Competition and Markets Authority into have launched a probe mega-merger of energy the The giants SSE and npower. the watchdog will look at whether reduce deal could “significantly of competition” in the supply The energy to households. to CMA have until April 26 make an initial decision. and Europe will be vital for future success.”
Toyota first began making cars at Burnaston in 1992 and employ 3000 workers in the UK. Japanese car makers, including Toyota, last month warned they may have to leave the UK if trade barriers with Europe hammer profits. It comes as the Commons business select committee urged the Government to maintain the “closest possible relationship” with EU rules to give the UK car industry a “realistic chance of survival post-Brexit”.
Rachel Reeves, chair of the committee, said: “The car industry is one of the UK’s great manufacturing successes. Car plants provide thousands of jobs and the automotive sector is a major contributor to our economic growth.
“There is no credible argument to suggest there are advantages to be gained from Brexit for the UK car industry.”