28/07/2011

Viewers To Pay For Using ITV Player

ITV has announced plans to charge viewers for using its ITV Player from January next year.

The announcement was made by the broadcaster's Chief Executive Adam Crozier as he revealed the company's first-half interim results.

Mr Crozier confirmed that the pay mechanism would launch at the start of the year and that ITV would test what viewers would be prepared to pay for.

It is not known how the pay mechanism will operate. Plans for its introduction were originally announced last August, with plans to launch in the fourth quarter this year.

The announcement comes as ITV announced a 4% rise in total revenues to just over £1 billion for the six months to the end of June and said that "solid progress" was being made in the first year of the company's five-year Transformation Plan.

Pre-tax profits before exceptional items increased 45% to £240 million, while the comapny's net debt improved to £52 million from £188 million at year's end. ITV also reported that its cost saving programme was on track to deliver £15 million of savings this year.

The company said that ITV1 had screened eight of the UK's top ten new drama shows, including detective drama Vera and ghost story Marchlands, while the ITV Player had also been made available on a number of new platforms, including Apple's iPad and iPhone, Freesat and Android phones. Long-form video views - viewers watching whole TV shows - also increased by 64% to 180 million.

A statement issued by ITV said: "We are encouraged by our progress to date and the prospects for ITV in the medium to long term, but we remain cautious about the advertising market and the economy."

(KMcA/BMcC)

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