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

British broadcaster ITV has announced it will implement an additional £20 million in cost reductions after strikes from Hollywood writers and actors have taken a toll on the company's revenue stream. The shares of ITV experienced a dip on Thursday morning following a sales decline, particularly within its production division, ITV Studios.

Reporting to its investors, ITV disclosed a group revenue decrease of 8% to £2.74 billion during the nine-month span leading up to September, when contrasted with the prior year figures. The company pinpoints this drop to its ITV Studios sector, responsible for successful productions like Rivals for Disney+ and Ludwig for the BBC, which saw a sharp 20% revenue downturn to £1.21 billion over the same timeframe due to strikes impeding numerous projects. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter

A consequential shift of roughly £80 million in revenue is now projected to be deferred to the following financial year because of these industrial actions. Moreover, European free-to-air broadcasters' waning demand in recent months has further affected the Studio's performance.

In response to these challenges, ITV has broadcast its strategy to tighten the purse strings even more this year, shaving budgets by another £20 million – including a substantial £10 million cutback in content expenditures. This comes in addition to the previously declared £40 million in cost savings.

Carolyn McCall, chief executive at ITV, asserted: "ITV’s good strategic progress has continued in the first nine months of 2024 driven by strong execution and industry-leading creativity." Furthermore, she stated confidently amid the financial headwinds, "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 had dropped by 7.4% on Thursday morning.