ITV Player Views Double In 2009 To 215 Million
The largest commercial TV network in the UK has seen views on its online catch-up tv service more than double in the space of a year. The company have announced that their tv on demand service – the ITV Player had 215 million requests during 2009. This compares to a modest figure of 85 million for 2008.
ITV Player audience doubles in a year
The figures were revealed in the companies financial report, which shows revenue increasing after a disastrous 2008 which showed massive losses.
The number of unique visitors monthly to the online tv service rose by 33% to 8.7m during 2009 and the revenue was £24m compared to £18m in 2008. This doesnt include the massive loss last year on the Friends Reunited business. Revenues from advertising is forecast to rise by around 7% in the first quarter of 2010, and the forecast for April is a 15-20% rise in revenue.
John Cresswell, Interim Chief Executive, ITV plc, said: “Faced with the worst television advertising downturn on record, we took decisive action to improve our operational performance, deliver substantial cost savings and strengthen our balance sheet.
“We won back share of the TV advertising market, grew our audiences in peak time and online, and increased our international production presence. We took out costs of £169m, substantially reduced our headcount and lowered net debt by over £100m.
“Whilst ITV advertising revenues are up 7% in the first quarter, this is against the unprecedented declines of the previous year and, over the medium term, we remain cautious. We recognise also that ITV still faces formidable challenges. However, with the concerted action we have taken, ITV can address these from a stronger position, both financially and operationally.”
ITV are looking to pour a lot of resources into its online content after seeing online revenue soar. It is currently negotiating with Hulu to be part of the UK setup at launch, if of course it ever happens.
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[...] The largest commercial TV network in the UK has seen views on its online catch-up tv service more than double in the space of a year. The company have announced that their tv on demand service – the ITV Player had 215 million requests during 2009. This compares to a modest figure of 85 million for 2008. View the Original article [...]
[...] he said. He also said that it needs to smarten up its online tv operation (which has seen impressive growth) to become market leading rather than market lagging as more people tune into tv on the [...]