ITV forecasts Q4 ad slump, implements £35 million in temporary savings

British broadcaster ITV said on Monday it expects total advertising revenue to fall by around 9% in the fourth quarter, citing an uncertain economic outlook in the U.K. and widespread caution among businesses.

In response to the softer demand, the company announced it has identified 35 million British Pounds in temporary savings for the final quarter, which it said will largely offset the expected revenue decline.

The savings include 20 million British Pounds from moving some programming into 2026 and 15 million British Pounds from reduced discretionary and marketing spending, according to the company.

For the full year 2025, ITV expects total advertising revenue to be down around 6%.

"UK macro data is showing a softening economy, with increased uncertainty in the lead up to the UK Budget which is impacting the wider advertising market, and we are adjusting our costs to match this current reduction in demand," Chief Executive Carolyn McCall said.

The forecast overshadowed a resilient performance in the first nine months of the year, where total group revenue grew 2% to 2.8 billion British Pounds, driven by an 11% rise in its ITV Studios production arm.

Digital advertising revenue for the nine-month period was up 15%, the company said, as its ITVX streaming service continued to perform strongly.