ITV cuts jobs amid advertising slump

The TV channel ITV recently started letting go of some employees due to a significant decrease in the amount of money they make from advertising.

According to The Telegraph, ITV recently let go of workers from its internal advertising department. This occurred due to a decline in advertising, which is the largest one since the financial crisis. However, a source claimed that the lay-offs were not caused by the economic downturn.

ITV Creative informed its employees about the upcoming reductions earlier this year. Insiders claimed that there were concerns that more job losses would occur in the following months.

A week later, the head honcho, Dame Carolyn McCall, declared that it was premature to predict if the newly imposed measures intended to reduce costs would translate into unemployment.

ITV's advertising revenue dropped by 8% in the last year due to brands reducing their campaign spending in light of a struggling economy.

ITV's traditional television business experienced the sharpest decline, with a decrease of 15 percent. However, this loss was balanced out by an increase in their streaming division, ITVX.

According to Dame Carolyn, the company behind Love Island intends to speed up its plans to reduce costs, with the aim of saving £150 million sooner than previously planned.

Furthermore, a fresh reorganization initiative will be introduced to preserve an additional £50 million annually.

The company's managers have officially enforced a hiring stoppage throughout the organization, and this policy is anticipated to remain in effect until at least the summertime.

Employees have been instructed to limit their spending, and stricter regulations have been implemented on expenditures such as business trips and leisure activities.

ITV Creative, an agency located within ITV responsible for creating campaigns to advertise both the channel and its shows, has recently announced that they will be reducing staff numbers. Despite employing approximately 90 individuals, these job cuts are only a minor fraction of the overall 5,000 staff members employed by ITV as a whole.

According to a source from within the company, the amount of people who lost their jobs was very small since ITV Creative had recruited more workers who possessed abilities pertaining to the digital realm. Nevertheless, it is unclear how the recent ban on hiring new staff members, which was implemented following the reductions, will impact ITV Creative.

The renovation emphasizes the stress on conventional broadcasters as they conform to the streaming era and rival with online advertising platforms like Facebook and Google.

Channel 4 announced in January that they will be making the largest workforce reduction in their history. They plan to decrease their headcount by approximately 18 percent, which amounts to 240 positions.

The media company that caters to young people plans to sell its previous London base in Westminster for up to £90 million to strengthen its financial position.

Both corporations are facing a decline in promotion that the executives have labeled the most severe like it was back in 2008.

Meanwhile, conventional broadcasters are struggling to keep their audience as more and more people are switching to competitive streaming services such as Netflix and Disney, along with social media outlets like TikTok.

Employers are changing their priorities towards streaming to cater to a larger audience. ITV recently sold its share in BritBox International to the BBC for £255m and is now focused on its own streaming platform.

The corporation is also keen on broadening its manufacturing division, responsible for creating successful shows such as Line of Duty and Bodyguard.

ITV Studios experienced a 4% increase in revenue last year, reaching a record-breaking total of £2.2bn. However, the division's leaders cautioned that the effects of the Hollywood strikes from last year are starting to become apparent.

ITV has chosen not to provide a statement regarding the matter.