UTV Media has said it expects losses at its newest TV channel, UTV Ireland, to hit £6m this year, double its original forecast.
The broadcaster, which also owns TalkSport and the ITV franchise in Northern Ireland, said that a number of unforeseen circumstances had beset the new entertainment channel since it was launched in the Republic of Ireland on 1 January.
“It took us substantially longer than we had anticipated to receive the designation of the channel’s ‘public service’ character which meant that we had very little time before the launch date for engagement with our prospective audience about electronic programme guide positions,” said UTV chairman Richard Huntingford.
“In turn, this delayed meaningful negotiations with advertising agencies. As a consequence, our initial audience levels and advertising revenues have been lower than planned. I am confident that our ambition for UTV Ireland to be the second most watched channel after state broadcaster, RTE 1, within a two-year timeframe will be achieved.”
UTV Media saw operating profits across its TV operations fall by a third yearto £6.5m.
Issues at UTV Ireland aside, the company enjoyed a strong year with total revenues up 8% to £116m and pre-tax profits broadly flat at £17.2m.
This was largely due to a very strong performance at TalkSport, which saw the World Cup drive a 22% increase in revenues last year.
This helped the Radio GB division, of which TalkSport is a part, to grow revenues by 13% to £56m and drive operating profits by 45% to £11.3m.
The company’s radio operations in Ireland, which have been battered in recent years by a deep recession, returned to growth with profits up slightly at £5.38m and revenues flat at £21.7m.
“Record audiences for TalkSport and market leading audiences in both Irish radio and [Northern Ireland] television underpin these results, providing confidence that our new venture UTV Ireland, will emulate its older siblings and over time, build a stronger audience base,” said UTV Media group chief executive John McCann. “The significant uplift in GB Radio’s profitability together with the recovery in Irish radio and television advertising are particularly pleasing.”
The company paid a full year dividend of 7.25p, up about 4%.
