Advertisers are cutting back on spending in the traditionally busy run-up to the holiday season because of ongoing uncertainty about the UK's future, ITV has said.
Chief executive Dame Carolyn McCall blamed an “increasingly uncertain economic environment” for a “softening” in marketing spending on its channels.
The broadcaster warned that spending would fall by an estimated 8 per cent in December, as customers rein in their spending on Christmas adverts.
Marks & Spencer and John Lewis have not launched their festive adverts yet, suggesting a more cautious outlook among retailers than in previous years as the UK prepares to leave the EU.
ITV's ad income fell by 3 per cent in October but the company predicted it would rise by 2 per cent this month,
ITV said its performance in the first nine months of the year was "very much as expected", with total advertising up 2 per cent, driven by 43 per cent growth in online revenues.
Ms McCall said: "We have an exciting schedule for the remainder of the year and into next year with entertainment shows I'm A Celebrity and Dancing On Ice, and dramas including Cheat, Cleaning Up, Manhunt and The Widow as well as the Rugby World Cup exclusively on ITV."
