ITV Cuts £30 Million From Programming as UK Ad Demand Weakens
ITV will make £30 million in temporary fourth-quarter savings, mostly from content, after warning that UK TV advertising fell 8% in the third quarter.
ITV, Britain’s biggest commercial broadcaster, said on Wednesday it will make £30 million (about $40 million) in temporary savings in the final three months of the year, most of it from its programming budget, after advertising demand weakened in the second half. The cuts come as the company waits for a government review of its planned sale of its broadcasting business to Sky, the pay-TV group owned by U.S. cable giant Comcast.
What happened
In a trading update covering the nine months to Sept. 30, ITV said total advertising revenue fell 8% in the third quarter and was down 1% for the year so far. The company now expects advertising revenue to drop between 5% and 10% in the fourth quarter, leaving the full-year figure 2% to 3% lower than in 2025, according to TheWrap and the trading-analysis site AskTraders, which both reported on the company’s statement.
To offset the shortfall, ITV will cut about £25 million from content spending and £5 million from other discretionary costs within its Media & Entertainment division, the unit that runs its TV channels, its ITVX streaming service and its advertising sales. TheWrap reported that the savings mainly affect smaller shows commissioned from outside production companies, that some projects could slip into 2027, and that ITV does not expect to cut staff. The broadcaster now expects to spend roughly £1.2 billion on programming in 2026.
Carolyn McCall, ITV’s chief executive, said demand for advertising in the second half had weakened. She pointed to economic uncertainty, the growing share of ad budgets going to global streaming and digital platforms, and new UK rules restricting advertising for less healthy food. “We are taking decisive action, aligning our investment with advertiser demand,” she said, according to TheWrap.
ITV shares fell close to 5% in early London trading after the update, AskTraders reported.
Streaming grows while TV ads slip
The update showed a company in transition. Viewing hours on ITVX rose 29% to about 2.15 billion in the first nine months, and total digital revenue climbed 7% to £461 million. But those gains were not enough to offset softer traditional TV advertising, and group revenue slipped 1% to £2.76 billion.
ITV Studios, the company’s production and distribution arm, also saw revenue dip 1% over the period. The company expects the division to grow for the full year because much of its work is delivered in the fourth quarter, but it said the unit’s profit margin is likely to land at the low end of its 13% to 15% target range, according to AskTraders. ITV Studios supplies programs to broadcasters and streamers around the world, including U.S. versions of “Love Island” for Peacock and “Hell’s Kitchen” for Fox, TheWrap noted.
A tougher climate for British production
The cutbacks land as the wider U.K. screen industry slows. The Guardian reported that spending on films and high-end TV shows made in Britain fell by more than £2 billion over the past year, according to official figures released this week by the British Film Institute, the national body that tracks and funds film and television production. Much of the slowdown has been linked to lower spending by overseas-funded productions.
ITV has used temporary savings before to manage swings in advertising. A year ago, it identified £35 million in fourth-quarter savings, partly by pushing some programs into 2026, as businesses held back ad spending ahead of the U.K. government’s budget.
What comes next for the Sky deal
The cuts arrive in the middle of ITV’s biggest corporate shake-up in years. Sky agreed earlier this year to buy ITV’s Media & Entertainment business, including its channels and ITVX, for £1.6 billion, while ITV would keep ITV Studios. On Nov. 4, Lisa Nandy, the U.K. culture secretary, issued a public interest intervention notice, a legal step that triggers a government review of a media deal. TheWrap reported that the review will examine the effects on media competition, editorial independence and the range of news coverage, with regulators expected to report by Jan. 27, 2027.
ITV said the sale remains on track to close in the second half of 2027. Until then, the company faces the challenge of protecting profits in a softening ad market without weakening the programming that it hopes will keep viewers and advertisers loyal.
