REG - ITV PLC - ITV plc Q3 Trading Update
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RNS Number : 3808G ITV PLC 06 November 2025
ITV plc Q3 Trading Update for the nine months to 30 September 2025
Q3 YTD Highlights:
Our performance for the 9 months to the end of September was better than
market expectations, as we continue to successfully execute our More Than TV
strategy.
Total Group revenue grew 2% YTD, driven by ITV Studios up 11% and digital
advertising up 15% as ITVX continues to perform strongly. Total advertising
revenue (TAR) was flat in Q3, ahead of guidance, and down 5% YTD against a
strong advertising performance in 2024, driven by the Men's Euros. TAR for the
9 months to the end of September 2025 was flat versus 2023.
For the full year, we are on track to deliver good revenue growth in ITV
Studios at a margin of 13-15%. The economic outlook in the UK remains
uncertain with widespread caution being exercised across business sectors
ahead of the Budget in November. This is impacting demand for advertising
throughout the industry in Q4, with ITV TAR expected to be down around 9% in
the quarter. In response to this current reduction in advertising demand, we
have identified £35 million of additional temporary savings in Media &
Entertainment (M&E) in Q4. These savings align our M&E cost base -
particularly content and discretionary spend - with the softer advertising
demand we are seeing in Q4 and will largely offset the expected reduction in
TAR.
Carolyn McCall, ITV Chief Executive, said:
"ITV has delivered a good performance in a tough advertising market. Both
our businesses are performing well, reflecting the significant transformation
we have delivered. Our strategic initiatives continue to progress well, and we
remain confident in delivering good growth in ITV Studios revenue and digital
revenue for the full year. This is supported by laser-focused strategic cost
management and underpinned by our resilient and highly cash generative linear
broadcast business.
"UK macro data is showing a softening economy, with increased uncertainty in
the lead up to the UK Budget which is impacting the wider advertising market,
and we are adjusting our costs to match this current reduction in demand. We
do not anticipate these temporary savings to impact our ability to deliver our
strategic plan. We continue to expect to outperform the broadcast advertising
market in Q4, and have a strong programme slate for Q4 and into 2026,
including the men's 2026 Football World Cup."
Outlook: On track for full year guidance
ITV Studios:
● Our 2025 full year revenue and margin outlook is unchanged
● We remain on track to deliver our target of total organic revenue
growth of 5% on average per annum from 2021 to 2026 - ahead of the market, and
at a margin of 13-15%
Media & Entertainment (M&E):
● We expect continued growth in digital advertising revenue during
the rest of the year. TAR is expected to be down around 9% YOY in Q4 2025 and
down around 6% over the full year 2025, as a result of the softening of the UK
economy and consumer and corporate uncertainty in the lead up to the UK's
Autumn Budget at the end of November
● To match our costs to this softer demand, we have identified £35
million of additional temporary savings in Q4 in M&E. This comprises:
○ £20 million of content savings, as we move some programming into
2026 which will be financed out of the existing 2026 content spending plans.
The total content budget for 2025 is expected to be around £1.21 billion
○ £15 million of non-content savings, primarily from reduced
discretionary spend reflecting the lower demand environment and reduced
marketing spend aligned with the adjusted content slate, and marketing
efficiencies
○ These savings will be one-off in 2025
● ITV continues to have a strong schedule in Q4, which includes I'm
A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here, The 1% Club Rollover, The Accidental Tourist
with Ant & Dec, and men's and women's international football
● We remain on track to deliver at least £750 million of digital
revenues by 2026
As previously guided, we expect to deliver £45 million of total Group
permanent non-content savings in 2025.
2025 Q3 YTD Group Financial Highlights - ahead of expectations
● Total Group external revenue was up 4% at £2,404 million (2024:
£2,321 million), with strong growth in ITV Studios external revenue more than
offsetting the decline in TAR
● Total Group revenue was up 2% at £2,795 million (2024: £2,741
million)
ITV Studios: Strong revenue growth, driven by demand for our creative output
from global streaming platforms
● Total ITV Studios revenue grew 11% to £1,350 million (2024:
£1,217 million)
○ ITV Studios external revenue was up 20%, reflecting strong demand
from, and the timing of programmes for global streaming platforms
○ Internal revenue declined by 7%, due in part to the absence of
programming such as Saturday Night Takeaway, sports production revenue from
the 2024 Men's Euros, and the phasing of productions, which are weighted to Q4
○ Zoo 55 continued to make good progress, with new partnerships with
Spotify and Merzigo, and the launch of a new ITVX FAST channel with the Space
Exploration Network
● ITV Studios had significant creative successes in Q3, delivering a
wide range of programmes globally to a diversified portfolio of customers,
including;
○ The Reluctant Traveller S3 for Apple TV+, Love Island Games for
Peacock in the US, Frauds for ITV and The Guest for BBC
Media & Entertainment (M&E): Fast-growing digital advertising revenues
driven by ITVX and Planet V, and our new digital revenue opportunities
● Total M&E revenue was down 5% at £1,445 million (2024:
£1,524 million). Within this, digital advertising revenue (a component of
digital revenue) grew 15%
● ITVX delivered good growth in viewing, with total streaming hours
up 14%
● Digital revenues increased by 13% (refer to Note 4)
● Our strategic content partnerships are performing well,
contributing to growth in our digital advertising revenues and extending our
reach to younger audiences
○ On YouTube, over 50% of the viewing of ITV's content is from 25-54
year olds
○ During the period, we launched an ITVX Premium channel on Amazon
Prime Video
● ITV linear channels continued to deliver highly valuable mass
reach for advertisers through the breadth of our schedule. Q3 YTD, ITV
delivered:
○ 90% of the top 1,000 commercially broadcast TV programmes (2024:
92%)
○ 31.8% share of commercial viewing on our linear television
channels (2024: 32.3%)
● Total M&E non-advertising revenue was down 6% to £198 million
(2024: £211 million), as expected
Notes to editors
1. Unless otherwise stated, all financial and operating figures refer to
the nine months ended 30 September 2025, with growth compared to the same
period in 2024.
2. Group financial performance
Revenue for nine months to 30 September (£m) 2025 2024 Change Change
£m %
Media and Entertainment 1,445 1,524 (79) (5)
ITV Studios* 1,350 1,217 133 11
Total revenue 2,795 2,741 54 2
Internal revenue** (391) (420) 29 7
Total external revenue 2,404 2,321 83 4
Revenue for nine months to 30 September (£m) 2025 2024 Change Change
£m %
Total advertising revenue 1,247 1,313 (66) (5)
Non-advertising revenue 1,548 1,428 120 8
Internal revenue* (391) (420) 29 7
Total external revenue 2,404 2,321 83 4
* Total ITV Studios revenue includes £50 million (2024: £43 million) of
intra-segment revenue derived from trading between Global partnerships and ITV
Studios productions
** Internal revenue originates mainly in the UK and includes trading between
ITV Studios and M&E, and Global Partnerships and ITV Studios productions.
3. Based on ITV estimates and current forecasts, total advertising revenue
(TAR), which includes ITV Family net advertising revenue (NAR), digital
advertising and sponsorship, is expected to be down around 9% in Q4 2025 and
down around 6% over the full year 2025 compared to 2024, with continued growth
in digital advertising revenues.
4. Key performance indicators
Nine months to 30 September 2025 2024 Change
ITV Studios total organic revenue growth/(decline) 7% (19)% 26% pts
Total digital revenue £432m £384m 13%
Total streaming hours (hrs) 1,660m 1,453m 14%
Share of commercial viewing 31.8% 32.3% (0.5)% pts
Share of top 1,000 commercial broadcast TV programmes 90% 92% (2)% pts
● Our definition of total organic revenue excludes the impact of
any acquisitions made during the current or prior period and the year-on-year
movement in foreign exchange. In the nine months to the end of September 2025,
the unfavourable translation impact of foreign exchange on total revenue was
£15 million.
● Total digital revenue includes digital advertising revenue and
subscription revenue, as well as linear addressable revenue, digital
sponsorship and partnership revenue, ITV Win and any other revenues from
digital business ventures. In addition, digital advertising revenue now
includes previously omitted revenue streams such as commission from STV for
ITV selling their video-on-demand inventory and social media advertising
revenue, which qualify under the definition. The prior year has been restated
to reflect the change in categorisation. Given the nature of digital revenue,
it will evolve over time. 2024 was previously reported as £376 million.
● Total streaming hours measure the total number of hours viewers
spent watching ITV across all streaming platforms at a device level. This
figure includes both ad-funded and subscription streaming. Given the nature of
the market and our strategy to grow digital revenues, we will include viewing
hours from platforms and services where we serve ITV content, where we can
reliably and robustly measure and de-duplicate such hours. In Q3 2025,
streaming hours also include users accessing our IP-delivered content, for
which data is now available. It also includes an estimate for third-party
data, which will be updated once the final data is received. The prior year
figure has been restated to include both IP delivered hours and final
third-party data for the comparative period; it was previously reported as
1,247 million.
● Share of commercial viewing is the total viewing of audiences
over the period achieved by ITV's family of channels as a proportion of all
commercial broadcast TV viewing in the UK, from transmission and seven days
post transmission on catch-up. ITV Family includes ITV1, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, ITV
Quiz (previously ITVBe), and associated "HD" and "+1" channels.
● Share of top 1,000 commercial broadcast TV programmes includes
TV viewing from transmission and seven days post-transmission on catch-up, as
well as six weeks prior to the transmission window. It excludes programmes
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