ITV online chief goes in broadcast integration move

by Daniel Farey-Jones, Brand Republic 05-Nov-08, 09:00

LONDON - ITV is putting its new media operations under the control of broadcast chief Peter Fincham, triggering the departure of Jeff Henry, as it warned online revenues would be hit by the slowdown.

The company said all of its online assets - ITV.com, ITV Local, Project Kangaroo, Friends Reunited as well as interactive and gaming - would be integrated with its broadcast channels.

Henry, the managing director of the division that currently houses those services, ITV Consumer, will stand down once the integration is completed. Formerly the chief executive of the Hallmark Channel, he joined ITV to head the division in 2005.

Ben McOwen Wilson has been promoted immediately from chief operating officer of ITV Consumer to director of online, reporting to Fincham. Fincham's role is now director of television, channels and online.

Michael Grade, executive chairman of ITV, praised Henry's achievement in creating new revenue streams and generating "unprecedented" growth in unique users and video views, but said it was time for change.

"With content at the heart of our turnaround strategy, it now makes sense to integrate fully all our platforms to ensure the very best of our content is available to viewers wherever they wish to view it."

The reorganisation came at the same time as ITV revealed its revenues for the first nine months of the year fell 1% to £1.47bn and warned that ad revenues for the current quarter would fall 9%.

It did not supply figures for its performance in the third quarter, for which several reports have claimed ad revenues suffered significant drops.

In the first nine months, ITV's ad revenues dropped 2.5% to £1.04bn, compared to a 3.2% drop in the overall TV advertising market. Online revenues grew 6% to £25m.

ITV's share price following the revenue update dropped 4% to 30p, near its October 28 low of 26p.

SDN, the ITV-owned Freeview multiplex operator, will report to Carolyn Fairbairn, ITV's director of group development and strategy.