ITV chief Carolyn McCall has detailed the possibility of a post-strike “blip” as commissioning talks resume with US buyers, while ITV Studios chief described generative AI as a “co-pilot for creatives”.
Speaking after the publication of ITV’s full-year results, which saw profits fall by 32% amid a tough advertising market, McCall said a factor that was “never talked about” in relation to the months-long US labor strikes last year was a “commission to have conversations” that could not That happened and we were not allowed to put forward ideas or discuss anything that would build a pipeline.”
“This is never talked about, but it is also a very important factor in the market,” she said, adding that the more obvious impact of a strike delaying production was prominent in the discussions.
Asked whether this might lead to an increase in demand from US buyers, McCall said: “We’re saying this is just a blip and permanent conversations will start to trickle out. I don’t know about the bump, but this is a bump.”
A writers and actors strike has crippled productions around the world, American buyers are just returning to a semblance of normalcy, while several major media conglomerates are asking existential questions about their place in the market.
ITV has already said the strikes will delay about £80 million ($101 million) in sales from 2024 to 2025, but 2023 has been a good year for its streaming shows. Revenue from SVoDs rose 10 percentage points last year for ITV Studios, the production arm, to 32%, already beating its five-year target to be met by 2026. Successes included Netflix drama Fool me once And Squid game: ChallengeAlthough ITV is not increasing the target in response.
Studios boss Julian Bellamy admitted there was a “tougher market” with some streaming clients “slowing down the roll”, but said the production arm was “optimistic” in the medium term.
He said ITV Studios was “outperforming” the market on certain metrics such as licensing content and unscripted shows for broadcast.
Artificial intelligence “copilots”
Bellamy spoke to the debate around generative AI and was optimistic about how the growing technology could help rather than hinder ITV and its production arm.
He described generative AI as “a co-pilot for creators” but stressed that it will not be a “replacement.” “He won’t write the next one Succession. “We look at it as something that will be useful over time, but it is at a much more preliminary stage.” Meanwhile, McCall spoke about how streamer ITVX’s AI is helping with targeted advertising.
The couple were talking a few weeks later Slow horses Director James Hawes has unveiled research showing that artificial intelligence could write an entire TV series within three to five years, which comes after the BBC was ruled out. the doctors Channel 4 backed down Hollyoaks.
It is too early to talk about layoffs
ITV’s profits fell by 32% last year mainly due to a difficult advertising market. The broadcaster revealed this morning that it is implementing a “strategic restructuring and efficiency program across the group to reshape its cost base and enhance profitability”.
In response to a question from Deadline, McCall said it was “too early to say specifically” whether the program would lead to layoffs but that “we will keep the market updated as we move forward.”
McCall said the program is designed to “de-risk” any “cyclical or structural” shocks that may occur in the future.
She added: “You can’t do it completely, but what we are doing is building space for ourselves and fortifying the future.” “That’s why we’ve accelerated what we’re doing and it’s in everything.”
By the end of 2024, ITV expects the program to achieve savings of at least £50 million a year. It said today it has broadly delivered £130m of its £150m cost saving target by 2026 and will reach that figure a year early.