ITV is maintaining a confident outlook regarding potential U.S. trade tariffs while reporting a solid start to 2025, with the British broadcaster’s Q1 results aligning with expectations despite challenging market conditions.
The U.K. media giant noted in its Q1 trading update that while it “continues to assess the possibility of trade tariffs in the U.S.,” ITV Studios “only produces TV programming and therefore do not anticipate any direct impact from the imposition of tariffs on films.”
More from Variety
Total external Group revenue rose 4% to £756 million ($1 billion), with growth in external Studios revenue more than offsetting the decline in total advertising revenue (TAR). This performance reflects the company’s increasingly diversified revenue streams.
ITV Studios delivered 1% revenue growth in Q1, reaching $513 million, with external revenue surging 20% thanks to “strong demand from, and the timing of deliveries to, global streaming platforms.” This robust external performance helped offset a 26% decline in internal revenue, which was impacted by “the non-return of ‘Saturday Night Takeaway’ and ‘The Tower,’ and the year-on-year difference in phasing of production of programs such as ‘The Bay’ and ‘Grace.'”
During the quarter, ITV Studios delivered several high-profile productions including “Run Away” for Netflix, “The Better Sister” and “The Devil’s Hour” for Prime Video, “Malpractice” for ITV, and unscripted hits like “Squid Game: The Challenge” for Netflix and “I Kissed A Boy” for the BBC.
CEO Carolyn McCall struck an optimistic tone, stating: “ITV Studios returned to growth following the impact of the US strikes and is on course to achieve good growth in total revenues over the full year, weighted towards H2 as previously guided.”
On the Media & Entertainment front, ITVX’s streaming service continued its robust performance with total streaming hours up 12% and monthly active users growing in line with the company’s expectations. Digital advertising revenue surged 15%, significantly outperforming the broader advertising market.
However, total M&E revenue declined 3% to $650 million, with total advertising revenue down 2% as previously forecasted. The company maintained its strength in delivering mass reach for advertisers, with “91% of the top 1,000 commercially broadcast TV programs and 34.0% share of commercial viewing” on its linear television channels.