(Alliance News) - ITV PLC on Thursday said its quarterly Studio revenue was hurt by writers' strikes in Hollywood, though the company remained confident in its guidance for the full year.

The London-based television broadcaster and content producer said Studio revenue in the three months to March 31 fell 16% to GBP382 million from GBP457 million the year before. This was driven by the phasing of deliveries and the expected impact of the US writers' and actors' strike, ITV said.

Media & Entertainment revenue in the first quarter of 2024 was GBP505 million, up 2.0% from GBP495 million a year prior.

Total advertising revenue was up 3% in the first quarter. The broadcaster said that this momentum has gone into the second quarter and the company therefore expects to report a 12% increase.

Looking ahead, ITV reaffirmed its guidance, and said that it expects to deliver a total of GBP40 million of cost savings in 2024. It also said that it continues to make good progress and remains on track to deliver its 2026 KPI targets.

Chief Executive Officer Carolyn McCall said: "ITV continues to execute its strategy successfully. Over the full year we expect ITV Studios revenues to be broadly flat. We have a strong pipeline of programmes, good demand for our quality content as we increasingly diversify our customer base towards streamers and the phasing of deliveries is heavily weighted to the second half of the year."

Shares in ITV were up 1.9% at 75.75 pence each in London on Thursday morning.

By Sabrina Penty, Alliance News reporter

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