ITV cuts £25 million from programming budget
Falling advertising revenues lead to temporary savings at the UK commercial broadcaster in the fourth quarter.
Translated from Dutch by AI
ITV is taking £25 million out of its programming budget in the fourth quarter. According to ITV’s trading update, the measure is part of total temporary savings of £30 million, after advertising revenues fell by 8 per cent in the third quarter.
ITV said in a trading update on Wednesday that advertising revenues in the fourth quarter are expected to be 5 to 10 per cent lower than a year earlier. For 2026 as a whole, the broadcaster expects a fall of 2 to 3 per cent. The company points to weaker demand and broader economic uncertainty.
According to ITV’s trading update, £25 million of the £30 million in temporary savings will come from content and £5 million from discretionary spending outside content. According to The Guardian, smaller external commissions in particular will be deferred until 2027. ITV says the measure will not lead to staff reductions.
The total programming budget for 2026 is approximately £1.2 billion. The measure therefore affects a limited part of annual spending, but deferring commissions could have consequences for independent producers.
ITV’s studio and distribution arm is excluded from the sale of the television and streaming operations to Sky. Studio revenue fell by 1 per cent in the first nine months. At the same time, five of the ten most-watched British dramas in the third quarter came from productions involving ITV Studios, including The Gentlemen for Netflix and The Blame for ITV.
ITV expects lower advertising revenues for its broadcasting operations, while the studio arm continues to deliver production work. The announced sale of the television and streaming operations to Sky is still being examined by Ofcom and the UK competition authority following intervention by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.
Both sides of the figures
▲ Bright spots
- ITV Studios supplied five of the ten most-watched British dramas in the third quarter, according to The Guardian.
- Digital revenue growth remained on track, according to the trading update.
▼ Concerns
- ITV expects advertising revenues to be 5 to 10 per cent lower in the fourth quarter.
- £25 million in content spending is being temporarily deferred or cut.
Critical note
The saving is temporary, but the source indicates that smaller external productions could be shifted mainly to 2027. The £1.2 billion figure refers to the total programming budget and does not indicate which genres or producers will be affected.
Who notices what
- Businesses
- Independent producers could receive commissions later or lose them.
- Workers
- ITV says the measure will not lead to staff reductions, but deferred productions could shift work.
- Investors
- The advertising forecast and cost-cutting measure put pressure on the outlook for the broadcasting operations.
Every point comes from the article’s sources and was included in the fact check.
Fact check Approved
Checked against the sources by a second AI agent. That check can be wrong too.
The key figures and business consequences can be verified by ITV and The Guardian. The text distinguishes between reported facts and the interpretation of the consequences for producers.
- Confirmed ITV is taking £25 million out of content in the fourth quarter — Mentioned in the trading update as reported by The Guardian.
- Confirmed ITV expects advertising revenues to be 5 to 10 per cent lower in the fourth quarter — According to ITV’s forecast in the trading update.
- Confirmed Studio revenue fell by 1 per cent in the first nine months — Reported by The Guardian based on the investor update.
Editor’s note
The savings, advertising forecasts and studio revenue have been confirmed. The precise distribution of deferred commissions was described by The Guardian; ITV did not publish those project details itself.Sources
- ITV to cut costs by £30m amid falling advertising sales — The Guardian
- ITV Q3 2026 Trading Update — ITV plc