ITV CEO Carolyn McCall told analysts and investors during the U.K. TV giant’s Capital Markets Day in London on Wednesday that the company would look to grow its financials and audience reach with its recently unveiled “More than TV” strategy and unveiled new hires to help drive the business forward.
Early in her opening remarks McCall said the company would not comment on speculation about the its interest in production giant Endemol Shine. But she reiterated that ITV would focus on “disciplined, targeted M&A” that add financial and strategic benefits.
McCall previously said that ITV sees an opportunity to build a new subscription VOD service in Britain, potentially with partners, as part of its focus on direct-to-consumer initiatives. No major update on the service came early during Wednesday’s finance event. “We can’t be specific today,” the ITV CEO said Wednesday. But she said the company would detail its U.K. SVOD plans and their impact on the business by February, adding that much will depend on who the company partners with for the service and how.
She also unveiled that ITV has named Reemah Sakaan, currently senior, vp creative and editorial at streaming service BritBox U.S. and Canada, as group launch director – ITV SVOD. Sakaan leads ITV’s interest in BritBox and will continue her work on the ITV joint venture with the BBC and AMC Networks, while now also overseeing the development of ITV’s planned U.K. SVOD service.
ITV announced her appointment as one of several hires to help the company with its updated strategy. “ITV will in future drive profit from three separate sources — advertisers, broadcasters/platforms and consumers,” McCall reiterated Wednesday.
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McCall at Wednesday’s investor event was joined by other top executives from the company, including ITV director of television Kevin Lygo and top executives at ITV Studios.
ITV reiterated Wednesday its previous commitment to a three-year investment of 60 million pounds ($79 million) in its new strategy, which will be partly offset by 35 million to 40 million pounds ($46 million to $53 million) of cost savings.
ITV has been targeting an average 5 percent compound annual growth rate for its ITV Studios revenue at a margin of 14 to 16 percent and double-digit online revenue growth every year. ITV is also targeting its direct-to-consumer revenue to grow to at least 100 million pounds ($131 million) by 2021.
