ITV rules out C5 bid, profits soar

UK broadcaster ITV has ruled itself out of the race to buy Channel 5, while delivering stellar financial results thanks to its growing production business and international sales.

First-round bids for C5 are due in tomorrow, with Discovery Communications and satcaster BSkyB considering a joint bid for the Richard Desmond-owned channel.

But ITV chief executive Adam Crozier said the group was “not looking” at the broadcaster, ending speculation the firm was interested in buying its rival.

This comes as ITV’s revenues increased 8% to £2.8bn (US$4.7bn) while pre-tax profit was up 30% at £435m.

Much of the improvement came from its in-house programme arm ITV Studios, which grew revenues by 20% to £857m following the success of shows such as Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway and The Chase.

The company also bolstered annual profits by 21% after increasing sales of its own shows like Mr Selfridges and Agatha Christie’s Poirot to international broadcasters.

It also saw revenue growth of 3% in its core broadcast division, driven by a 16% increase from online, pay and interactive services.

The strong set of results follows a string of acquisitions in the production space over the past 12 months.

During 2013, ITV acquired The Garden and Big Talk, in an effort to up its factual entertainment and comedy formats.

Meanwhile, in the US, ITV bought Thinkfactory Media and High Noon Entertainment. Just last week, it added DiGa to its portfolio.

The Downton Abbey broadcaster said the growth of its UK and international production business was starting to feed its global distribution business but warned there was still “more to do.”

In 2014, the company said it expects strong growth from its newly launched Encore and ITVBe channels, as well as double-digit growth from its online, pay and interactive operations.