ITV has underlined growing confidence within the TV ad market, posting an 11 per cent increase in ad revenue within the third quarter with total revenues of £1.7bn for the nine months to 30 September, representing a 6 per cent increase year on year.
The acclaim for Downton Abbey is predicted to boost ad revenue.
The uplift for the 3 months to 30 September has led the broadcaster to forecast that total ad revenue will be up 2 per cent for the entire year.
Non-advertising revenue for the nine month period was also up eleven per cent during period, hitting £810m, because of increased international demand for programmes it has developed and produced which includes Mr Selfridge and Downton Abbey.
The company adds ad revenue was up 8 per cent year on year in October, primarily because of ad spend attracted by flagship programming together with the X-Factor. Ad revenue is anticipated to rise by 4 per cent in November, and by 1 per cent in December.
Adam Crozier, ITV’s chief executive, says: ”The television advertising market is showing signs of improvement, with the intention to benefit the core broadcast business, and we predict to deliver double digit revenue growth in online, pay and interactive.”
The figures seem to back up a report published last month by the Advertising Association/WARC, which claimed advertising spend hit £8.54bn inside the six months to 30 June and forecasting the arena would grow 3.3 per cent for the entire-year.