ITV UK tv channel confirms Pay TV move

TV confirmed it is to make a move into pay-TV as it announced a pre-tax profit of £97m for the first half of the year.


The broadcaster said it has reached an agreement with Sky to make HD versions of ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4.

The new channels will be available from the autumn as part of the Sky+HD subscription package.

Announcing the move, ITV
chief executive Adam Crozier said: "Building new revenue streams by
exploiting our content across multiple platforms is a key part of the
ITV transformation plan announced today.

"Pay television has seen continual growth over the last decade and
this deal is a great example of how a new, subscription-based launch can
complement ITV's existing free-to-air channels."

The highly-anticipated move came as ITV celebrated an 18% rise in net
advertising revenues, boosting profit for the six months to the end of
June to £97m.

The figures represented a marked improvement on the £105m loss ITV made in the same period last year.

But the broadcaster expects ad revenue growth to ease to 15% in the
current quarter and warned that economic uncertainty made it "cautious"
about the outlook for the fourth quarter and for 2011.

Furthermore, Mr Crozier said his five-year transformation plan would
bring necessary changes to ITV's strategy, management, culture and
organisation.

"The good financial performance we have reported today has enabled us
to reduce our debt significantly but does not disguise the underlying
challenges we face," he said.

"We are under no illusion that ITV needs to change substantially.

"For the past decade ITV has not faced up to the challenges presented
by the rise of internet-based platforms, the continuing growth of
pay-TV and subscription services and the globalisation of content."





Seriously now, who the fuck would pay to watch any single one of ITV's coma inducing rubbish..?And its not even ITV1 (yet) its ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4..
Good luck with that..

.

They have their moments but few and far between. ITV bosses are relying on the soap dopes to fork out.

Rumour is all HD channels will be free. So how that for a cat among the pigeons scenario.

I'm surprised that so many already subscribe to HD channels already. Granted the quality of picture is better, but the normal viewing isn't that bad surely, at least not enough to warrant forking out for channels that are already available for free! What sort of a nut job is going to pay for something you get for free just for the sake f sharper colours. I mean how much crystal clear an image do you want of ant & dec or Betty's hot-pot.

The same principle applies to the likes of Sky sports.... why pay for a sports package then have to pay again on top of that to watch football, boxing or any other sporting event.... daylight robbery

The only time I cursed not having HD was when Sky launched Going postal in Hd. As a huge fan of Terry Pratchett I was seriously peeved and almost signed over my soul so I could watch it.

Luckily for my soul I forgot and luckily for me Going Postal was aired later on Sky one is super normal looking TV.

Gris Gris wrote:

The only time I cursed not having HD was when Sky launched Going postal in Hd. As a huge fan of Terry Pratchett I was seriously peeved and almost signed over my soul so I could watch it.

Luckily for my soul I forgot and luckily for me Going Postal was aired later on Sky one is super normal looking TV.

Blimey, something else we both like, i'm a huge Pratchett fan too, though i think SkyOnes adaptions have been shite...

The Witches are and always will be my favourites...

Granny Weatherwax is you and Nanny ogg is a drunken old strumpet...

With a Huge soft pot for Nobby nobbs, Sam vimes, Death (and his niece?) The Assassins Guild and last but very much not least The Patrician (a man after my own heart )

Cheeky bleeder get your own author and hands of my Terry.

Iron's as patrician was the man for it. Going postal was not the best. And its Susan who is Death's neice.

I adore Death and the hogfather and Captain Carrot.

I hope they make The fifth Elephant. I doubt they will. But I so want an igor.

I think the books have got gradually worse though but thats cuz Pratchett thinks a typewriters a kangaroo nowadays...

As he sadly declines, so will the books. I saw him attempt to read one of his books and just couldn't. It was an awful moment.

All his books still hold the magic for me. Even dear old Nanny oggs recipes.