ITV Cuts Costs by £30 Million Amid Advertising Slump
ITV is cutting £30 million in costs by 2026 following a decline in advertising revenue and competition from global streaming platforms.
ITV announced plans to reduce costs by £30 million by the end of 2026 to counter a significant decline in advertising demand. The broadcaster expects fourth-quarter television advertising revenue to drop between 5% and 10%, a figure that falls well below analyst expectations. This follows an 8% decrease in third-quarter revenue, leading the company to project a full-year advertising revenue decline of 2% to 3% compared to 2025.
Chief Executive Carolyn McCall attributed the downturn to macroeconomic uncertainty, the rise of global streaming platforms, and the impact of less healthy food regulations that took effect in October 2025. To mitigate these losses, the company will implement £25 million in content savings, including programming delays, and £5 million in discretionary non-content cost reductions. ITV confirmed that these measures will not result in job losses.
Parallel to these cuts, ITV is moving forward with the £1.6 billion sale of its media and entertainment division to Sky. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2027, following a Public Interest Intervention Notice issued on November 4.
