Jan 6, 2017
Decisive year ahead for ITV
ITV's chief executive Adam Crozier once described the hit musical talent show The Voice as "Derivative", which seems slightly unfortunate given the broadcaster is relying on the programme to reclaim Saturday night from the BBC. But while Mr Crozier paid a reported £50m to lure the show away from its arch-rival in 2015, it was the purchase earlier in the year of Talpa Media, the Dutch production company that created The Voice, that represents the longer-term investment for the future. As Mr Crozier enters his seventh year in charge at ITV, questions are beginning to emerge about the long-term direction of the company and Mr Crozier's own future even as rumours swirl about potential takeover interest from rival global broadcasters. "This is the year that people realise that peak TV is behind us and while ITV has many different levers of revenue advertising will be tough. Adam has done a great job but the fact is ITV is in play because of the fall in the company's share price and the value of sterling." Again ITV insiders play down the significance of the appointment at Whitbread - Mr Crozier was a director of security firm G4S until May last year - but the move will inevitably add to the talk that ITV is about to enter another period of transition. This is a watershed year for ITV. ITV could make a similarly cheap target for an overseas rival given its share price fell from a high of £2.70 in February 2016 to £1.54 immediately after the UK's vote to leave the EU. It has since recovered some ground closing at £2.04 on Thursday, giving the business a market capitalisation of £8.2bn. Much of the fluctuation in the share price has been driven by uncertainty over advertising following Brexit.
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