The boss of ITV has backed Jeremy Hunt’s plans to make the UK ‘second only to Hollywood’ for film and television production.
As she hailed the success of the Mr Bates vs The Post Office drama, Carolyn McCall praised the Chancellor’s decision to cut business rates for production hubs by 40 per cent over the next decade.
She referred to Wednesday’s announcement as a ‘good Budget’ for the creative industry – echoing comments by Sky, which also produces several shows on UK soil.
‘We are beginning to become more like France, Australia and Canada in terms of encouraging investment in creative work, but we’re not there yet,’ McCall said.
The Government’s announcement will put Britain on a par with markets who offer tax rebates of 40 per cent to make productions there.
ITV boss Carolyn McCall (pictured) praised the Chancellor’s decision to cut business rates for production hubs by 40% over the next decade
McCall said ITV was also ‘very proud’ of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which is now its biggest drama in more than a decade.
The rights have been sold to 12 foreign broadcasters.
The show put the plight of subpostmasters into the public eye and led to legislative changes. McCall said: ‘We’re very proud of what it’s achieved. It really does show the power of TV.’
The comments came as the maker of Love Island and Celebrity Big Brother said profits fell to £193million for 2023, down from £501million the year before.
Revenues dropped 2 per cent to £4.3billion in what McCall last year said was the ‘worst advertising recession’ since the financial crisis in 2008.
Linear advertising – ads on TV rather than online – was a weak spot, with revenues down 15 per cent.
But 2024 was looking much brighter thanks to the Euros football tournament this summer.
Total advertising revenue is expected to be up 3 per cent in the first quarter of this year, helped by digital revenues.
McCall said ITV was also ‘very proud’ of Mr Bates vs The Post Office, which is now its biggest drama in more than a decade.
And ITV is in the ‘early stages’ of a strategic restructuring to cut costs further to boost profitability.
It last week sold its 50 per cent stake in BritBox, a subscription streaming service, to BBC Studios for £255million.
Analysts at Citi said ‘the outlook is encouraging in terms of the outlook for advertising and cost savings’. Shares rose 12.2 per cent, or 7.42p, to 68.38p.
