Crozier reassures ITV staff over Brexit

ITV CEO Adam Crozier has reassured his staff after the UK’s decision to leave the European Union (EU) caused the company’s shares to plummet by almost 20%.

ITV CEO Adam Crozier

Crozier said the UK commercial broadcaster’s strategy “remains unchanged” despite the country’s vote by 52% to 48% to leave the EU.

“It has clearly been a huge night for the UK and events are still unfolding,” said Crozier, who emailed his message to all 5,000 ITV employees.

“But I want to reassure you that for us at ITV our strategy remains unchanged and we will continue to do what we do really well every day – which is to create and broadcast great programmes and sell them around the world.”

ITV, which owns Dutch prodco Talpa and ITV Studios, among other entities, saw its shares fall by 18% to 178p, while transatlantic producer and distributor Entertainment One was down 9% and European satcaster Sky was down 8%.

Meanwhile, Scotland’s ITV franchise holder STV Group’s shares fell by 10% following the news. This came as the majority of Scotland’s population (62%) voted to stay in the EU, unlike in England and Wales where the majority voted to leave.

Crozier said there would be some “short-term uncertainty” in the political and economic landscape but added that it was important that staff got on with “doing a great job.”

The value of the pound plunged to a 30-year low earlier this morning, losing almost 10% of its value at one stage, before rallying slightly.