I’m a Celebrity and World Cup won’t save ad sales, says ITV

ITV has warned of lower advertising revenues this year despite an expected boost from the football World Cup and the return of I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here.

The FTSE 250 broadcaster predicted ad sales for this year would be 1pc to 1.5pc lower than its record performance last year, although this would still be ahead of pre-pandemic levels.

The company said the World Cup would raise advertising income across November and December but that would not be enough to reverse a 2pc decline to £1.6bn in the first nine months of the year.

ITV cautioned that there remained a ‘high degree of economic uncertainty’.

One bright spot was the company’s production arm, ITV Studios, which saw revenues jump 16pc in the period to nearly £1.4bn as it cashed in on booming demand for new content.

But the shares fell 4.3pc or 3.2p to 70p as investors fretted about the outlook for the advertising market.

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Sophie Lund-Yates said traditional broadcast advertising spots were ‘simply never going to regain their popularity’. As a result, she said, the onus was now on the group’s plans to expand its presence in the digital market.