ITV has revealed that it has furloughed roughly 15% of its UK workforce as it bids to cut costs amid the coronavirus crisis that has shut down the majority of its productions and ravaged advertising revenue.
In a trading update on Wednesday, the UK’s biggest free-to-air commercial broadcaster said that 800 staff have been placed on the government’s job retention scheme, the majority of whom work in production arm ITV Studios.
The company said its total revenue dropped 7% to £694M ($872M) in the first three months of the year, with ITV Studios’ turnover falling 11% to £342M and advertising income down 2% to £426M.
But worse looks yet to come. ITV said its ad revenue plummeted 42% in April at the height of the pandemic, which mirrors the declines seen at its rival Channel 4.
More follows.