Broadcasting giant ITV has warned of a sharp drop in advertising revenues over the summer, but remains hopeful of a year-end boost from the FIFA World Cup football tournament.

The group behind hit shows including Love Island and I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! has reported advertising revenues have risen by 5% over the six-month period ending 30 June 2022.

Within this, digital digital advertising revenue was up by 20%, primarily driven by record levels of streaming on the ITV Hub, which was up 8% with 814 million streams over the period.

However, ITV also said it is expecting to see revenues fall by 9% in July (which is better than expected) and 18% in August, broadly in line with expectations. This drop comes against the tough comparative of last year’s Q3 boost over the summer from the European football championships and amid uncertainty in the wider economy.

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Overall, ITV predicts ad revenues to remain broadly flat in the nine months to the end of September, while the FIFA World Cup tournament is expected to boost numbers significantly throughout November and December.

ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall said that investment in content, data and technology is “already bearing fruit” with digital advertising revenue up 20%, driven by record levels of streaming on the ITV Hub.

“Despite the tough comparators of last summer, when the Euros and a rebounding economy drove record advertising revenues, total advertising revenue is expected to be broadly flat in the nine months to the end of September,” she added.

“We are mindful of the macroeconomic uncertainty; however, we have, for the first time ever in the fourth quarter, the football World Cup to look forward to.”

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