Profits are NOT cancelled as dramas boost ITV

City forecasts show ITV’s profits will almost triple.

This is due to the Euro 2024 football tournament, the broadcaster’s big dramas and a reduced obligation to invest money in its ITV X streaming service.

ITV is expected to report profits of £133m for the six months to the end of June.

This figure is up from £45m last year, when it invested heavily in ITV X.

The FTSE 100 company has banked on the success of this ad-supported platform, which can be viewed ad-free for a subscription fee.

The hope is that the service will offset the long-term decline in the number of people watching its traditional television channels.

Among the most talked about shows currently on ITV X is the miniseries Douglas Is Cancelled, starring Hugh Bonneville, Alex Kingston and Karen Gillan.

But ITV’s standout drama this year has been Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, which aired in early January.

He is credited with rekindling interest in the national scandal that saw more than 900 subpostmasters wrongfully prosecuted for fraud, theft and false accounting.

Quay Street Productions, a subsidiary of ITV Studios, produced Fool Me Once, one of the top ten most-watched English-language dramas on Netflix, and the reality competition show Squid Game: The Challenge.

Susannah Streeter, an analyst at brokerage Hargreaves Lansdown, said the latest profit forecasts were “promising” and spending was “starting to pay off” for the group, led by Dame Carolyn McCall. Meanwhile, Dan Coatsworth, an investment analyst at AJ Bell, said the Euros – which saw England reach the final but lose to Spain – was a “lifeline” for the business after a difficult 2023.

ITV shares have risen 40 percent in the past six months, partly fueled by speculation about bids, with some seeing Netflix as a potential predator.

Ian Lance of Redwheel, the fund manager that runs the Temple Bar investment trust, said Netflix spends more than £11.5bn a year on programming, while ITV’s market capitalisation is just £3.3bn. On that basis, “Netflix could pick up all of ITV’s back catalogue for a fraction of what it spends on programming.”