ITV is making £30m in temporary savings across its Media & Entertainment division, with £25m of that coming out of the content budget and £5m from other costs. The company said its 2026 content budget remains around £1.2bn.
Why the cuts are happening now
ITV expects total advertising revenue at the unit to fall 2-3% this year, and by 5-10% in the fourth quarter. Digital revenue is still growing profitably, but not by enough to offset the linear decline as viewers keep moving away from scheduled television. The company framed the reductions as matching costs to a weaker advertiser market.
Media agency Notorious Communications called the move a ‘double whammy’ for UK television. Co-founder Nik Wheatley said a struggling TV market hurts everyone, and the cuts land at a time when brands are already being pulled towards low-pay, short-term ad options elsewhere.
MFM co-founder and chief strategy officer Dan Gee read it as more evidence of ad money flowing to digital platforms and underfunding of original creative work. He also sees an opening: broadcasters trying hard to attract new business can benefit advertisers who are new to TV.
What it means for media planners
The signal for ScreenStat readers is not just a budget line; it is a pricing and availability cue.
- Expect more flexible TV inventory and sharper negotiations as ITV looks to fill airtime in a softening market.
- Treat this as a test window: TV may be cheaper and more open to first-time or returning advertisers.
- Do not mistake cheap reach for guaranteed brand effectiveness; context and frequency still decide outcomes.
For advertisers, the immediate job is to separate short-term pricing relief from a longer-term structural reset. If linear audience declines continue, cheaper spots today do not answer the question of where reach moves next.
Context from ITV’s recent reset
This is not ITV’s first cost reduction. Last year, the broadcaster announced more than 220 job losses and consolidated daytime shows such as Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women under one team sharing resources and operations in central London. Those earlier savings were aimed at funding investment in drama, entertainment and reality, but the new cuts suggest the ad environment has weakened further since.
Source: C21media
