ITV reports full-year growth driven by D2C offering

UK commercial broadcaster ITV has reported a total revenue of £3,211m in 2018, up by 3% year-on-year, driven by direct-to-consumer revenue.

ITV figures show that direct-to-consumer figures have grown by 25%, generating a revenue of £81m. Meanwhile, VOD revenues have climbed up by 36%.

Online viewing is up by 32%, according to the company. ITV Hub + has now reached 265,000 subscribers, while Brtibox US has racked up 500,000 subscribers.

ITV’s total external revenue is up from £3,130m in 2017 to £3,211m, with total non-advertising revenues up by 5% to£1,971m.

Total ITV Studios revenue is up by 6% from £1,579m in 2017 to £1,670 in 2018, driven by distributor ITV Studios Global Entertainment.

ITV boss Carolyn McCall also confirmed ITV and BBC’s proposal for BritBox UK in the report.

The company’s net investment in Britbox UK will be up to £25m in 2019, rising to around £40m in 2020 and declining thereafter, according to ITV.

This is in addition to the previously announced £40 million essential investment for 2019.

“ITV is making good progress as we invest in our More Than TV strategy – repositioning the ITV brand, developing our data and digital capabilities, increasing our ability to offer addressable advertising and expanding our DTC activities. Cost savings, which will partly offset this essential investment, are on track,” said McCall.

“We have started 2019 with strong onscreen and online viewing. However, the economic and political headwinds for the UK will have an effect on the advertising market and while ITV is increasingly diversified, we remain sensitive to this. We continue to be very focused on delivering in the areas we can control and actively mitigating the factors outside the company’s control.”