ITV PLC (LON:ITV) slipped as total advertising revenue will drop 10% in April, due to travel companies deferring their contracts amid coronavirus disruption.
That compares to an expected 2% rise in the quarter to March, said the broadcaster.
Even with the disruption, the TV network remains confident of growing revenue in 2020 and said it started the year “well” with online views rocketing 89% driven by The Masked Singer and Love Island.
The FTSE 100-listed firm said its streaming service BritBox UK is “on plan” following its launch in November, with 1mln subscribers in the US. This year it will be launched in Australia as well.
Richard Hunter from interactive investor said the ongoing reliance on advertising revenue is the "principal difficulty" for ITV, especially amid growing competition for streaming services.
The full-year dividend for 2020 is expected to be 8p per share, the same rate since 2018.
In the year to 31 December, total advertising revenue dipped 1% to £1.7bn while total revenue rose 3% to £3.8bn.
Profit before tax slipped 6% to £530mln due to higher spending on sport and new drama as well as marketing.
Shares tanked 10% to 105.95p on Thursday morning.
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