Revenue at ITV dropped 3% in the first three months of the year as advertising income fell by 9%.
The broadcaster warned that the advertising market would remain tough compared to last year, when the Euro2016 football tournament boosted revenues.
In a trading update released ahead of the company’s AGM on Wednesday, outgoing chief executive Adam Crozier said the advertising market is “very much as we anticipated”.
“While the economic environment remains uncertain, our guidance over the full year remains unchanged,” Crozier added. “We expect to grow our share of broadcast and will continue to deliver good growth in online, pay and interactive, driven by strong demand for online advertising.”
Total external revenue in the period was down 3% to £731million, but the ITV Studio operation enjoyed revenue growth of 7%, to £343m.
The online, pay and interactive division was up 12%, thanks to a 22% growth in online advertising.
ITV’s trading update comes a week after the company announced that Crozier would be stepping down after seven years as chief executive. He will leave at the end of June, with the broadcasting saying his successor would be announced “in due course”.
