ITV, Britain’s largest commercial broadcaster, has warned that its advertising revenue will fall by as much as 10 per cent in the final quarter of the year, as advertisers pull back spending amid a weakening UK economy. The broadcaster said on Wednesday that total advertising revenue, known as TAR, was expected to be down by around 5 to 10 per cent in the fourth quarter, and down by around 2 to 3 per cent for the full year.
The warning came in ITV’s trading update for the first nine months of the year, published on Wednesday morning. Total group revenue for the nine months to the end of September fell 1 per cent to £2.76 billion, broadly in line with analysts’ expectations. Total external revenue fell 2 per cent to £2.36 billion.
Advertising has been the weak spot. Total advertising revenue was down 1 per cent year on year over the nine-month period, and third-quarter advertising revenue fell 8 per cent. Analysts had on average expected advertising in the fourth quarter to fall by just 1.8 per cent, so the new guidance of a 5 to 10 per cent decline is considerably worse than the market had been expecting.
To offset the weaker demand, ITV said it had identified £30 million of additional temporary savings in the fourth quarter, including £25 million of content savings. The broadcaster said the savings would align its costs with the softer advertising demand it is seeing, and would largely offset the expected drop in advertising revenue.
Chief executive Carolyn McCall said the company was adjusting its costs to match the current reduction in demand, citing increased caution among advertisers. The broadcaster has pointed to uncertainty in the wider economy, with businesses delaying or reducing their advertising spending as they wait for greater clarity on the outlook.
There was better news in other parts of the business. ITV Studios, the production arm, saw revenue fall 1 per cent in the nine months, with external revenue down 4 per cent, but the company said it still expected good revenue growth for the full year, with margins at the lower end of its 13 to 15 per cent target range and results heavily weighted to the fourth quarter.
Digital advertising also continued to grow. Media and entertainment digital revenue rose 7 per cent to £461 million, and streaming hours on ITVX rose 29 per cent to 2,153 million. The figures underline how ITV’s strategy of building its digital business is progressing even as its traditional linear advertising comes under pressure.
The trading update also gave an update on ITV’s deal to sell its media and entertainment business to Sky, the £1.6 billion transaction agreed in July. The sale is progressing, with a public interest intervention notice having been issued by the culture secretary, and completion is expected in the second half of 2027. The deal would leave ITV as a standalone production business.
ITV shares were little changed after the update, trading at 66.8 pence in London on Wednesday morning, close to their previous close of 66.9 pence. The muted reaction suggests investors had already braced for a difficult advertising outlook, and that the cost savings and the resilience of the Studios business provided some reassurance.
The warning is the latest sign of the pressure facing UK broadcasters, whose advertising income is closely tied to the ups and downs of the economy. With the crucial Christmas quarter now expected to be significantly weaker than hoped, ITV will be relying on its Studios slate and its digital growth to carry it through a difficult end to the year.
Figures in this post were checked at 13:25 PKT on Wednesday 11 November 2026.
