ITV to make extra £20m of cuts after Hollywood strikes hit revenues

ITV increased its cost-cutting plans after revenues were hit by writer and actor strikes (Ian West/PA) - (PA Wire)

ITV has said it will cut costs by a further £20 million after the Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes weighed on revenues.

Shares in the broadcasting firm slumped on Thursday morning after it saw sales slide on the back of weakness in its ITV Studios arm.

ITV told shareholders that group revenues dropped by 8% to £2.74 billion for the nine months to September, compared with the same period a year earlier.

It said this fall was driven by ITV Studios, its production business which behind recent hits such as Rivals for Disney+ and Ludwig for the BBC.

The cast of Rivals, which was produced by ITV Studios (Lucy North/PA) (PA Wire)

Studios revenues plunged by 20% to £1.21 billion for the period after the writers’ and actors’ strikes affected a raft of productions.

It said that around £80 million in revenues have been pushed back into the next financial year because of the strikes.

ITV said the Studios business was also impacted by lower demand from free-to-air broadcasters in Europe in recent months.

On Thursday, the media company announced plans to cut its costs by another £20 million this year, including a £10 million reduction in content costs.

This is on top of £40 million of cost savings the company had already announced.

Carolyn McCall, ITV chief executive, said: “ITV’s good strategic progress has continued in the first nine months of 2024 driven by strong execution and industry-leading creativity.

“ITV Studios is performing well despite the expected impact of both the writers’ strike and a softer market from free-to-air broadcasters.”

Shares in ITV were 7.4% lower on Thursday morning.