ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2021
Digital
Acceleration
Phase Two of ITV’s More Than TV strategy
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Welcome to the ITV Annual Report and Accounts
We are More Than TV
We entertain and connect
with millions of people
globally, reflecting and
shaping culture with…
brilliant
content
and
creativity
Key financial highlights
Contents
Group external revenue1
Notes
2021 Highlights
Chief Executive’s Report
£3,453m
+24% (2020: £2,781m)
Total advertising revenue
£1,957m
+24% (2020: £1,577m)
Adjusted EBITA2
£813m
+42% (2020: £573m)
Operating profit
£519m
+46% (2020: £356m)
Adjusted EPS
15.3p
+40% (2020: 10.9p)
Statutory EPS
9.4p
+32% (2020: 7.1p)
Net debt3
£414m
(2020 Net debt: £545m)
Leverage3
0.5x
(2020: 0.9x)
Corporate website
We maintain a corporate
website at www.itvplc.com
containing our financial
results and a wide
range of information of
interest to institutional
and private investors.
Alternative Performance Measures
(APMs)
We use both statutory and adjusted
measures in our Strategic Report.
The latter, in management’s view,
reflects the underlying performance
of the business and provides a more
meaningful comparison of how the
business is managed and measured
day-to-day. A full reconciliation
between our reported and adjusted
results is provided in our Alternative
Performance Measures section from
page 59. Our KPIs are set out from
page 26.
1.
2.
3.
The Strategic Report also refers
to total revenue, which includes
all ITV revenue, both internal and
external.
EBITA before exceptional items
has been adjusted to reflect
the inclusion of production tax
credits (‘adjusted EBITA’).
Net debt includes IFRS 16 lease
liabilities. Leverage is net debt
to adjusted EBITDA.
Strategic Report
The Strategic Report explains in detail how
we have performed this year and sets out,
amongst other things, a fair review of the
business, a balanced and comprehensive
analysis of our performance, the use of
key performance indicators to explain
the progress we have made, a description
of the principal risks and uncertainties
facing the Company, and an indication
of potential future developments.
The Strategic Report is prepared in line
with the relevant provisions of the
Companies Act 2006 and the Company
has had regard to the guidance issued
by the Financial Reporting Council. It is
intended to provide shareholders and
other stakeholders with a better
understanding of the Company, of its
position in the markets within which
it operates, and of its prospects. In
setting out the Company’s main risks and
uncertainties, an indication of potential
future developments, and in other
content, this report and accounts contains
statements that are based on knowledge
and information available at the date
of preparation of the Strategic Report,
and what are believed to be reasonable
judgements, and therefore cannot
be considered as indications of likelihood
or certainty.
A wide range of factors may cause the
actual outcomes and results to differ
materially from those contained within,
or implied by, the various forward-looking
statements in this Annual Report and
Accounts. None of these statements
should be construed as a profit forecast.
2
8
Operating and Financial
Performance Review
Finance Review
32
62
Strategic Report
Governance
2021 Highlights
ITV at a Glance
Chairman’s Statement
Chief Executive’s Report
Investor Proposition
Market Review
Our Strategy
Our Business Model
Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs)
Operating and
Financial Performance
Review
32
48
56
59
62
Social Purpose
Our People
Alternative Performance
Measures
Finance Review
Our Commitment to
Section 172(1)
Non-Financial Information
70
Statement
72
Risks and Uncertainties
Task Force on Climate-related
Financial Disclosures
68
(TCFD)
88
2
4
6
8
17
18
22
24
26
Chairman’s Governance
Statement
Board of Directors
Management Board
Corporate Governance
Nominations
Committee Report
Audit and Risk
Committee Report
Remuneration Report
Directors’ Report
98
100
102
104
123
126
138
158
Financial Statements
Financial Statements
Independent Auditor’s
Report
Primary Statements
ITV plc Company Financial
Statements
163
164
172
245
Additional Information
Glossary
261
1
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Strategic Report | 2021 highlights
January
February
March
The Chase
The Chase launches in the US on ABC,
attracting 6.2 million viewers for the
first episode. It was subsequently
recommissioned for a second series.
The Pembrokeshire
Murders
The Pembrokeshire Murders is
ITV’s biggest new drama since
2013, averaging 12.1 million
viewers across the series.
News at Ten
News at Ten wins the Daily News Programme
of the Year award at the RTS Television
Journalism Awards.
ITV2 and CALM
ITV2 and CALM collaborate to help one
million young people take action to
support their mental health.
Meghan & Harry
Oprah with Meghan & Harry, was watched by
15.5 million viewers on ITV and is the biggest
current affairs audience for 18 years.
what3words
ITV makes its first investment in what3words
as part of its Media for Equity programme.
2021
Highlights
April
May
June
Cattleya
Arturo Diaz joins Cattleya, (part of ITV
Studios International), to launch a new
scripted production company in Spain,
called Cattleya Producciones.
Line of Duty
The finale of Line of Duty, produced by World
Productions (part of ITV Studios UK) for BBC
One, is watched by an average of 12.8 million
viewers. It is the most-watched episode of
any drama (ex. Soaps) since records began.
Love Island returns
Love Island UK returns to ITV after missing
a year due to COVID-19. The top episode is
watched by 5.2 million across all platforms
and is the biggest digital audience in 2021.
2
July
September
Diversity Acceleration
Plan
ITV publishes its first Diversity Acceleration
Plan Report.
The Euros 2020
The Euros 2020 semi-final between England
and Denmark peaks with 27.6 million viewers
and becomes the most-watched football
match ever shown by one broadcaster.
August
BritBox
BritBox International launches in South Africa.
The service is also available in the US, Canada,
and Australia and will be launching in the
Nordics in the first half of 2022.
England Women’s
football
ITV becomes the home of England Women’s
football team, to broadcast tournament
qualifiers and friendlies in a new four-year deal.
November
5 Acts
Productions
David P. Davis is announced as joining ITV
Studios in the UK to launch a new scripted
label, 5 Acts Productions.
October
Weather Targeting
ITV launches real-time Weather Targeting on
the ITV Hub via Planet V. ITV is the first UK
broadcaster to launch a product that allows
advertisers to automate campaigns once
specified weather criteria is met.
December
ITV Hub
ITV Hub has its most successful year ever
with the number of hours of content on
the service doubling. Viewing on ITV Hub
contributed to streaming viewing hours
being up 22% in the year.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
3
GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportITV at a Glance
ITV is an integrated producer broadcaster (IPB) consisting of ITV Studios
and Media & Entertainment (M&E). Through ITV Studios we create,
own and distribute high-quality content for broadcasters and platform
owners globally. Through M&E, we distribute content across our
channels and platforms, with an increasing focus on driving streaming
viewing and revenues. The integration of these two businesses
provides an attractive destination for talent and offers advertisers
a unique opportunity to integrate their brand into our shows.
ITV Studios
One of the biggest global creators,
producers and distributors in
the world
Over 55% of ITV Studios total
revenue and 85% of ITV Studios
external revenue is from outside
the UK
60 labels
across 13 countries
supplying over 200
channels and platforms
285+ unique
formats
across our format catalogues
90,000+
hours
of active content in our catalogue
ITV total revenue
ITV Studios
£1,760m
(2020: £1,375m)
M&E
£2,282m
(2020: £1,885m)
We have built significant
scale globally; we have
a production presence
in six out of the top ten
largest TV content
markets as well as
being one of the largest
independent producers
in the world. We create,
produce, and distribute
a broad range of
programmes, including
drama, entertainment
and factual. Our
customer base is
diverse, producing for
international television
broadcasters and global
streaming platforms.
ITV Studios creates and
produces content across
13 countries, while our
global formats and
distribution business
sells, commercialises
and distributes over
285 formats and over
90,000 hours of finished
programmes worldwide.
ITV Studios UK
ITV Studios UK is the largest
commercial producer in the UK.
We have 28 labels and create
and produce programming
across a diverse range of genres,
for ITV channels, other UK public
service broadcasters (PSBs),
including the BBC, Channel 4,
Channel 5, along with global
streaming platforms.
ITV Studios US
ITV Studios US creates and
produces content for all the
major networks, cable channels
and streaming platforms
across the US. The business is
underpinned by ITV America,
which develops and produces
unscripted content and has
a portfolio of successful formats
and returning series; and ITV
Studios America, which produces
high-end scripted programming
with the potential to travel and
build international appeal.
ITV Studios
International
ITV Studios also operates in
the Netherlands, Germany,
France, Italy, Spain, Israel and
the Nordics and Australia,
producing entertainment,
unscripted and scripted content
for local broadcasters and
streaming platforms. This is
either locally created content, or
formats that have been created
elsewhere by ITV, primarily in the
UK, the Netherlands and in Israel.
Global formats
and distribution
Global formats focus on the
sale and exploitation of
unscripted formats around the
world. It also generates revenue
from licensing our brands
for games, live events and
merchandise. The distribution
business focuses on the
international distribution of
drama, third-party content
and the finished tape versions
of all other ITV Studios shows
to broadcasters and platforms
internationally. Within this
business, we also finance ITV
and third-parties productions to
acquire global distribution rights.
4
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Strategic Report | ITV At a Glance I’m A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!
is a global format for ITV Studios and is in
15 countries. The UK series has been broadcast
annually for nearly 20 years.
ITV adjusted EBITA*
Media & Entertainment
ITV Studios
£215m
(2020: £152m)
33.1%
share of commercial viewing
for the ITV Family in 2021
(2020: 32.8%)
>3.6m
subscriptions globally across
our SVOD services
9.6m
monthly active users across
all streaming platforms
(2020: 8.1m)
M&E
£598m
(2020: £421m)
* A full reconciliation between
our adjusted and statutory
numbers is included in our APMs
on page 59.
The Voice remains one of the
most successful formats in the
world. It is in over 70 countries
with six spin-off versions.
Media & Entertainment
(M&E) is the home of ITV’s
family of channels and
platforms – the largest
family of free-to-air
commercial channels in
the UK, with programming
delivered across multiple
platforms. M&E is made up
of two parts – Streaming
and Broadcast.
Our streaming platforms
are our advertiser-funded
platform, ITV Hub, and our
subscription services, ITV
Hub+ and BritBox UK.
ITV Hub is the online home
of all our channels, live and
on demand and appeals to
audiences who do most or
all of their viewing on
demand. ITV Hub+ is the
ad-free version of ITV Hub.
BritBox UK has the largest
collection of British box sets
and is controlled and managed
by ITV, with the BBC and
Channel 4 as strategic and
equity partners, Channel 5
as a content partner, and EE
and BT as distribution partners.
We also generate revenue
through in-programme
competitions and voting,
and increasingly through
ITV Win, our digital
competitions platform.
In 2022, we will supercharge
streaming by integrating ITV
Hub, ITV Hub+ and BritBox UK
into one platform – ITVX. It
will create a simplified consumer
proposition that will be
advertising video on demand
(AVOD) led, with a compelling
subscription video on demand
(SVOD) proposition.
Broadcast is the home of our
linear channels and continues
to deliver ITV’s USP of mass
simultaneous reach and
unmissable content.
ITV’s family of channels are
advertiser-funded and consist
of ITV, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, ITVBe,
and CITV. ITV offers unique
audience scale and
simultaneous reach to
television advertisers, as well
as targeted advertising on the
ITV Hub. These revenue streams
enable our investment in
high-quality programming
across a range of genres, which
underpins the success of both
Broadcast and Streaming.
In addition to BritBox UK,
ITV has an SVOD joint venture
with the BBC, BritBox
International. This is available
in the US, Canada, Australia
and South Africa, and will
launch in the Nordics in the
first half of 2022. It provides
local audiences with an
unrivalled collection of
British box sets and original
series all in one place.
5
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Chairman’s Statement
Chairman’s
Statement
Our purpose is clear: we entertain and
connect with millions of people globally,
reflecting and shaping culture with
brilliant content and creativity.
Sir Peter Bazalgette, Chairman
2021 has been a year that we can look
back on with immense pride as ITV has
continued to make significant progress
in executing its More Than TV strategy.
We’ve delivered a strong financial
performance, despite the challenges
of COVID-19.
Quality content is at the heart
of everything we do. We delight
audiences globally through the
creativity of ITV Studios and BritBox
International. And in the UK, where
we see ourselves as a national media
champion, we also have a focus on
democracy, culture and the economy –
delivering in all the ways we can for
our stakeholders. To succeed in this,
we have to invest and modernise
at pace to retain our pre-eminent
position. We’re very focused on
executing Phase Two of our More
Than TV strategy – Digital Acceleration,
particularly the launch of ITVX and our
vision of being a leader in streaming
in the UK and an expanding force in
global content.
Our relationship with our stakeholders
in the UK and internationally is vital
to building a successful and sustainable
business – they’re our viewers,
subscribers, customers and partners,
citizens, legislators and regulators,
colleagues and programme
participants, suppliers, shareholders
and debt investors. As a Board we’re
very focused on how we engage to
deliver a positive impact for them.
How have we done in 2021?
Viewers, subscribers, customers
and partners
ITV Studios’ distinctive programmes are
a core part of the content we offer on our
own channels and streaming services. And
as an integrated producer broadcaster, we’re
in a strong position to invest in and launch
successful shows. This also drives value from
different revenue streams. Over two-thirds
of ITV Studios’ revenues now come from
external customers. ITV has increasingly
diversified by genre, geography and
customer, supplying compelling content to
broadcasters and platform owners globally.
In 2021 we continued to be at the heart
of national life in the UK through good
times and bad, attracting large and
broad audiences as we entertained
viewers through our high quality and
varied schedule. This is both on our
broadcast channels and increasingly
through our streaming platforms –
ITV Hub, ITV Hub+ and BritBox UK –
as we build closer relationships with our
consumers. Competition for viewers’ time,
though, continues to increase. Our priority
is to deliver the content our consumers
want, however they want to consume it.
The increased use of data enhances
how we do this by delivering a better
experience for our viewers, through
increased personalisation and the
continuous improvement of our platforms.
We also engage directly with consumers
globally who are passionate about British
television, through BritBox International
and its fast growing subscriber base.
Our Media & Entertainment business is
advertising-led, with a compelling
SVOD proposition. We’re building closer
relationships with our advertisers. We
provide them with more creative marketing
opportunities, helping build their brands
and drive their sales. Planet V, our
addressable advertising platform, is a
leading provider of programmatic video
advertising, second only to Google in the
UK. Therefore, we’re now able to offer
advertisers targeted advertising campaigns
and our resilient mass simultaneous
audience, all with the assurance of a
brand-safe andmeasured environment.
We’re very pleased to have agreed two new
multi–year commercial deals with Sky and
Virgin Media O2 during 2021. This makes our
content more accessible to their customers
through ITV Hub and yields increased
benefits to advertisers through Planet V.
We continue to build strong relationships
with our suppliers and partners, working
with those that not only deliver a great
service and innovation at the right cost
but also meet our high standards of
professionalism and align with our Social
Purpose goals. This year we published
our first Supplier Code of Conduct, which
sets out minimum standards expected
with regards to human rights, diversity,
sustainability and information security.
To that end, we’ve enhanced our standard
terms of trade.
6
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Citizens
Reaching nearly 40 million viewers in the
UK each week gives us a great opportunity.
We are in a position to raise awareness
and inspire positive change in the wider
community, as well as shaping ITV itself
for the better.
We continue to build our better health
campaigns such as Eat Them To Defeat
Them (healthy eating) and our flagship
campaign, Britain Get Talking (mental
health). We have a new partnership
between ITV2 and CALM to encourage
young people to take action on their
mental health. In 2021 we again promoted
Black History Month on and off-screen
with newly commissioned programmes
from some of ITV’s biggest stars –
Will i am, Ashley Banjo and Charlene White.
And through our Diversity Acceleration
Plan, launched in 2020, we are continuing
to create more opportunities for those
from diverse backgrounds.
2021 has been a very important year
globally for Climate Action. To mark
COP26 we held ITV Climate Action
Week with a range of on-screen content,
commercial activities and campaigns
dedicated to helping citizens take action.
We also joined other UK broadcasters in
initiating the Climate Content Pledge to
promote positive action on-screen and
have committed to align our Net Zero
targets with the Science Based Targets
Initiative. We carefully consider the business
risks and opportunities from climate change
by complying with the requirements of the
Task Force for Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD).
Legislators and regulators
As a public service broadcaster (PSB) and
a responsible business, ITV acts on its
obligations – from paying appropriate
tax to providing high-quality trusted and
impartial news. We engage with regulators,
politicians and policy makers on a wide
range of issues which impact ITV.
We’re very encouraged that in 2021 Ofcom
recommended to government that in
their upcoming PSB Review they recast the
regime for public service broadcasting in
the UK as a new Public Service Media regime
fit for a digital era. Within this, Ofcom has
recommended an extension to rules around
prominence and platform inclusion to cover
on demand and streamed content on major
online platforms.
Colleagues, programme
participants and everyone
we work with
COVID-19 has continued to pose many
challenges across the business. But the
resilience, determination and team spirit
of our colleagues has ensured that we
made very significant progress in delivering
our purpose and completed Phase One of
our More Than TV strategy during 2021.
My heartfelt thanks to everyone for their
hard work and commitment.
The health and well being of our colleagues
is a priority. As many have continued to work
remotely, it’s essential that colleagues feel
connected and supported. This we have
done through regular vodcasts by Carolyn
McCall, our CEO and the wider leadership
team; virtual training and workshops;
and easily accessible and frequent wellbeing
advice through ITV Feel Good. In Autumn
2021 we undertook a Company-wide
employee survey. While we are
encouraged by the results, they also
highlight opportunities to improve.
This will be a valuable focus for 2022.
As a Board we believe that we should
have an open two-way dialogue with
our colleagues which helps inform
our discussions and decision-making.
Edward Bonham-Carter, who is our
Senior Independent Director and
Workforce Engagement Director,
works closely with the colleague
Ambassador network and regularly
provides feedback to the Board.
Our relationship with
our stakeholders in the
UK and internationally
is vital to building
a successful and
sustainable business.
Our Duty of Care Operating Board and
Mental Health Advisory Board continue
to provide practical guidance and support
on all aspects of our approach to mental
health and wellbeing for our colleagues,
programme participants, and viewing
public. This is reflected in our policies
and decision-making.
Shareholders and debt investors
ITV is focused on driving shareholder value
through delivering its strategic priorities
and in 2021 made very good progress in
an uncertain environment. Total external
revenue grew strongly by 24%. Adjusted
earnings per share increased 40%, reflecting
this progress and the rebound in the
economy. The Board recognises the
importance of the ordinary dividend for ITV
shareholders and is pleased to reinstate it
with a proposed 3.3p final dividend for 2021.
Understanding the views and interests of
shareholders and debt providers ensures
that the business continues to be successful
in the long term. Therefore, shareholder
feedback is regularly considered during
Board meetings and is an important factor
in decision-making. ITV management and
the Board engages regularly with ITV’s
shareholders, through one-to-one
meetings, conferences and the Annual
General Meeting, which again was held
virtually due to COVID-19 restrictions. In
2021, ITV also hosted two investor seminars
with the wider management team. These
provided a deeper understanding of our
Commercial and Advertising strategy
and of ITV Studios and an opportunity
for investors to raise questions with the
divisional teams. The Group COO and CFO
also had regular dialogue with the Rating
Agencies and the Core Banking Group
throughout 2021, providing updates on the
performance of the business, specifically in
relation to COVID-19.
Over the past six years ITV has robustly
negotiated the economic uncertainty of
Brexit and the unprecedented disruption
of COVID-19. Despite these challenges
the current executive team has resolutely
invested in a dynamic programme of digital
modernisation. And we’re committed, as
a board, to devoting appropriate resources
for growth in years to come.
With global demand for quality content
continuing to increase, and a greater
than ever need for home-grown media
champions in a volatile world, ITV is
looking forward to a strong future.
Sir Peter Bazalgette
Chairman
7
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Chief Executive’s Report
Chief Executive’s
Report
2021 was an outstanding year for ITV both on
and off-screen. Our ITV Studios and Media &
Entertainment businesses both performed
strongly operationally and financially.
We have emerged from the worst effects
of the COVID-19 pandemic as a much
stronger, flexible and digitally scaled
business. In the UK we have also
continued to inform and entertain the
nation with our enviable schedule of
drama, sport, entertainment and news,
and have operated with purpose, driving
positive change through everything
we do.
Having successfully executed the first
phase of our More Than TV strategy that
we set out three years ago we have laid
the foundations for digital acceleration
in the second phase. We have done this
through growing and diversifying our
customer base, geographic reach and
content genres in ITV Studios; investing
in the growth of ITV Hub; rolling out
Planet V, our leading addressable
advertising platform; strengthening our
data and technology capabilities; and
launching BritBox UK whilst driving the
expansion of BritBox International.
Over the past few years, viewing habits
and the needs of advertisers have
changed rapidly, and the growth
in global streaming platforms has
accelerated some of these trends.
Our ITV Studios business can take
advantage of the strong demand for
content fuelled by these streamers.
And as the UK’s biggest TV advertising
platform, ITV is in a strong position to
supercharge its streaming capability.
In Q4 2022, we will launch the UK’s
first integrated AVOD/SVOD platform,
ITVX with a digital-first content strategy.
Through this, we will double our digital
revenues to at least £750 million by 2026.
8
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Carolyn McCall, Chief Executive
EBITA increased by 42%. Statutory and
adjusted EPS increased by 32% to 9.4p
and by 40% to 15.3p respectively.
The venture loss of BritBox UK was £61
million in line with our guidance of £55
million to £60 million.
Our colleagues are always our priority but
we are also focused on all our stakeholders:
our viewers, subscribers, customers and
partners; citizens; legislators and regulators;
programme participants and others we
work with; and our shareholders and
debt investors.
2021 Financial highlights1
ITV’s operational and financial performance
in 2021 saw a significant rebound after the
adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
in 2020. While government-imposed
lockdowns and containment measures
in the UK and internationally continued
sporadically during the year, the majority
of our productions returned, operating
efficiently and mitigating many of
the challenges that COVID-19 still
posed globally.
ITV Studios total revenue was up 28%
with double-digit growth across all areas
of the business.
For Media & Entertainment (M&E), the
combination of our linear channels’ mass
simultaneous reach, ITV Hub’s brand-safe
targeted advertising proposition and the
strong economic tailwind, meant 2021
had the highest advertising revenue in
ITV’s history, up 24% to £1,957 million,
despite the lockdown in Q1. This included
strong AVOD revenue growth which was
up 41%. Total M&E digital revenues, which
includes AVOD, SVOD and other digital
revenues was £347 million in 2021,
which was up 40% in the year.
Total group external revenue increased
24% in the year to £3,453 million.
Statutory operating profit increased by 46%
to £519 million, adjusted EBITA increased
42% to £813 million, including £48 million
of cost savings which more than offset £24
million of investments. ITV Studios adjusted
EBITA increased by 41% and M&E adjusted
We remained highly cash generative in the
year, with profit to cash conversion of 80%.
At 31 December 2021, our net debt was £414
million (31 December 2020: £545 million)
and our net debt to adjusted EBITDA was
0.5x (31 December 2020: 0.9x).
We remain committed to investing
organically in content, data and technology
in line with our strategic priorities while
maintaining a credit rating investment-
grade balance sheet. We want to sustain
a regular ordinary dividend that can grow
over the medium term and we continue
to consider value creating inorganic
investment against strict financial and
strategic criteria, with surplus capital
being returned to shareholders.
Reflecting ITV’s strong operational and
financial performance in the year, and in line
with previous guidance, the Board intends to
propose a final dividend of 3.3p for the full
year 2021, based on two-thirds of a notional
full year dividend of 5.0p.
1. See APMs on page 59 for a full reconciliation between
our statutory and adjusted results.
ITV’s purpose
Our purpose is to entertain and connect
with millions of people globally, reflecting
and shaping culture with brilliant content
and creativity.
We have successfully
executed the first phase
of our More Than TV
strategy. We’ve continued
to implement our key
strategic priorities and
have further strengthened
the business.
As a public service broadcaster (PSB), ITV
contributes to the UK’s culture and
society, creating shared national moments,
highlighting difficult issues, and running
programmes and campaigns for mental and
physical wellbeing. We make programmes
across the whole of the UK, reflecting British
culture and experiences, that are available
for free to everyone. We contribute to the
health of democracy, providing trusted,
impartial and high-quality local and national
news. And we play an important part in
economic growth, investing in regional
creative economies and the independent
production sector.
Driving positive change through
our Social Purpose priorities
Businesses have an important role in
driving positive change and at ITV, our
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
strategy is an essential part of our purpose
and ability to deliver our business goals. ITV
does much more than entertain – it makes
a difference to British society in a way that
global competitors can not.
We have a unique ability to drive meaningful
change by reflecting and shaping culture,
raising awareness and inspiring positive
change through the massive reach of
our platforms. Our four Social Purpose
priorities – Better Health, Diversity &
Inclusion, Climate Action and Giving Back –
help us to express that, both on-screen and
off-screen. During the year we launched many
initiatives to continue to amplify ITV’s Social
Purpose and deliver against our priorities.
These included:
• Multiple campaigns to drive mental and
physical health, including our flagship
mental health campaign, Britain Get
Talking, which has encouraged 106 million
new or better conversations to take place
since its launch in 2019. Other campaigns
included Eat Them To Defeat Them
and 1 Million Minutes, where close to
200,000 viewers pledged to volunteer
over 166 million minutes to help combat
loneliness. We also launched our ITV2
partnership with the charity Campaign
Against Living Miserably (CALM) aimed
specifically at addressing young
people’s mental wellness and
encouraging them to take action
to improve their mental wellbeing.
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Charlene White: Empire’s Child was
a documentary commissioned as part of
ITV’s programming for Black History Month
in the UK.
England Get Talking messages were
broadcast during the Euros as part of ITV’s
Britain Get Talking mental health campaign.
The Pembrokeshire Murders was
produced by World Productions (part of
ITV Studios UK). It was the biggest new
drama on ITV in 2021.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
•
ITV’s Diversity Acceleration Plan Report,
which was published in July 2021, one year
after the Plan’s launch, demonstrated the
progress made across our commitments,
including improving representation
on-screen and career progression
opportunities. We saw a 33% increase
in lead roles filled by Black, Asian and
Minority Ethnic talent on-screen, and
through ITV’s Step Up 60 initiative, 62
opportunities were created for Black,
Asian and Minority Ethnic production
talent to gain more senior experience
and step up to their next role. We also
launched our commitment to disabled
representation on screen, and remain
focused on doubling the representation
of our workforce with a disability.
•
ITV’s emissions reduction targets, set to
enable us to become a Net Zero Carbon
business by 2030 were approved by the
Science Based Targets Initiative. We also
demonstrated our commitment as a
business to these targets by linking them
to the remuneration of ITV’s senior team,
and the refinancing of our Revolving
Credit Facility.
• We helped raise a record-breaking
£13 million for UNICEF through Soccer
Aid 2021. We also continued to encourage
our colleagues to use their three paid
days a year for volunteering and have
launched a new mentoring scheme with
Creative Access, focusing on encouraging
aspiring and emerging talent from
underrepresented backgrounds into
the TV industry.
Our strategic vision
ITV operates in a very competitive
landscape, with viewing habits and the
needs of advertisers changing rapidly.
The COVID-19 pandemic created many
challenges and opportunities for our
business, including accelerating some of
the trends we were already seeing,
particularly the increase in viewership to
streaming platforms. While TV in the UK
still reaches nearly 90% of the population
each week, there is no doubt that overall
linear TV viewing volumes are declining.
The proliferation of digital platforms gives
viewers more choice on what they watch,
when they watch and how they watch, and
we recognise that younger viewers, in
particular, are increasingly moving away
from linear viewing to digital platforms.
Our strategy is aimed to take advantage
of the long-term impact of changing
viewing patterns.
We have increased the pace of delivery of
our strategy, particularly the investment in
our digital products, ITV Hub, Planet V and
BritBox UK, which we continued investing
in during the COVID-19 pandemic. This
investment and pace of delivery mean that,
as of today, we have successfully executed
Phase One of our More Than TV strategy.
We have delivered on the key priorities
which were supported by an investment
plan, and more detail on this is included
in the sections that follow.
We have a clear vision for 2026. The
significant progress we have made has laid
the foundations to enable us to go faster
in the delivery of our strategy, most notably
our digital acceleration, in order to realise
our vision by 2026. We aim to be a leader
in UK streaming and an expanding global
force in content. We will be focused on
three priorities to deliver our vision:
• Expand our UK and global production
business
• Supercharge our Streaming business
• Optimise our Broadcast business
Alongside these priorities, we have set key
performance indicators (KPIs) and ambitions
to be delivered by 2026. We aim to achieve
this through digital transformation across
everything we do. We will have a laser focus
on viewers and every decision will combine
our unique creativity and data insight.
We have continued to strengthen our IPB
model, which gives us a real competitive
advantage in achieving our vision. It provides
ITV Studios with a base of core commissions
and a significant promotional engine for its
content, and enables cross-promotion and
360-degree monetisation of this across our
business models. It secures access to great
content for ITV’s channels, AVOD and SVOD
businesses; and very importantly, it helps
us attract and retain talent, which is so key
in a creative business.
ITV Studios – Expand our UK and
global production business
ITV Studios is a world-class international
creator, producer and distributor. It is the
largest commercial producer in the UK,
one of the largest producers in Europe
and one of the largest independent
unscripted producers in the US.
The vision we set out for ITV Studios
was to strengthen and grow our UK and
international production business into
a high quality and diversified global
business, and over the last three years,
we have made very significant progress.
We are now a key scaled player in the
global content market: diversified by genre,
geography and customer base and we are
in a position of strength to take advantage
of the growing demand for quality content.
We have achieved this by focusing on our
four strategic priorities: growing our
scripted business, growing our global
formats business, and further diversifying
our customer base, all underpinned by our
ability to attract and retain leading talent.
As a result, we now:
• Produce in 13 countries and in the
majority of those markets, we believe
we are one of the top three international
producer groups, and in the UK, we are
the biggest
• Have a catalogue of over 90,000 active
hours and are one of the pre-eminent
distributors in the UK
• Have doubled our proportion of scripted
revenues from 15% to around 30% of
total revenues since 2015
• Have grown our unscripted business and
now have over 285 formats globally, up
from around 165 in 2015
• Have grown our revenues from streamers
significantly as we have tilted our business
towards the strong growth in demand
from streamers. In 2021, 13% of total
revenues came from streaming
platforms, up from virtually zero in 2015
• Have significantly strengthened our
creativity through a variety of talent
deals as we have focused our acquisition
activity on successfully bringing individual
creatives into the business, rather than
large scale acquisitions
Growing our scripted business
We have continued to build our portfolio
of scripted programmes, growing scripted
revenues by 43%, with a large proportion
of deliveries in the year for global streamers,
who are driving the overall growth in the
content market. We saw real success during
2021 in the US, with Physical for Apple TV+
which has been recommissioned for a
second season, Snowpiercer for TNT which
has been recommissioned for a fourth
series; and in the UK with Vigil on the BBC,
the biggest new drama since Bodyguard in
2018, The Pembrokeshire Murders for ITV,
the biggest new drama series on ITV since
2013, and, importantly, six of the top ten
highest-rating dramas on UK television were
produced by ITV Studios labels (including
all of the top three). In Europe, we continued
to produce for streamers and local
broadcasters with programmes such as
Gomorrah, Summertime and Balthazar.
In 2021, ITV produced 175 hours of high-
value scripted content and our ambition
is to grow this to 400 hours by 2026.
Growing our global formats business
We have a portfolio of world-class brands
which we continue to strengthen, protect
and expand. In 2021 we sold 58 different
formats internationally, 15 of which were
sold to three or more countries. Our existing
portfolio of brands, such as Love Island,
Balthazar is a French crime drama
produced by Tetra Media (part of ITV Studios
International). It is now in its fourth season.
Line of Duty is produced by World
Productions (part of ITV Studios UK) for
the BBC. It was one of the most watched
dramas on UK TV in 2021.
Crank Yankers is a comedy show
produced by ITV America for Comedy
Central. It is currently in its sixth season.
Robert Moore is ITV News’ Washington
correspondent. His report covering the
storming of the US Capitol in 2021 was
watched over 11 million times on Twitter.
The Chase, Four Weddings and I’m
A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!, continue
to sell well. We have expanded some of our
biggest formats with successful spin-offs
and this has helped to reinvigorate some
of our more established brands, such as
The Voice, which now has six spin-off
versions, and Come Dine With Me with
Couples and Celebrity versions. We have also
grown our pipeline of new formats, that all
have the potential to be global hits, including
Let Love Rule, Rat in the Kitchen, Moneyball,
and I’d Do Anything For Love.
By 2026, we expect to increase the number
of formats sold in three or more countries
to 20.
Further diversifying our customer base
The growth in the content market is being
driven by the demand from streamers, and
we have further diversified our customer
base by strengthening our relationships
with global and local streamers, particularly
in the US, for both scripted and unscripted
programming. In 2021, our revenue from
original commissions sold to streamers was
up 95% and we have projects in production
or under development with all the major
streamers globally. We produced a number
of programmes for them in 2021, including
the fifth season of Queer Eye, and
Summertime season two for Netflix,
Ten Year Old Tom for HBO Max and The
Outlaws, a co-production with Amazon.
In 2021, 13% of ITV Studios total revenues
came from streaming platforms (2020:
10%), and we expect this to grow to 25%
by 2026.
Attracting and retaining leading talent
We continue to attract and retain the very
best creative talent, which remains
absolutely key to building a successful
Studios business. We offer a very strong
creative culture that provides a real
competitive edge and in 2021, we were
successful in attracting and retaining the
industry’s best creative talent. In the UK
global hit format creators, James Fox and
Dom Waugh joined ITV Studios to launch
a new entertainment label, and executive
producer David P. Davis joined to launch a
new scripted label. In Europe, award-winning
executive producer, Moritz Polter joined to
set up a high-end scripted label in Germany,
and renowned television executive and
producer, Arturo Díaz, joined to launch ITV’s
first Spanish scripted label. These deals
enable us to capitalise on the demand for
premium scripted, and entertainment
content in Europe and beyond.
ITV Studios is well positioned in the content
market and strategically pivoted to the key
drivers of that growth. Delivering against
our four priorities and associated ambitions
will enable us to grow ITV Studios total
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revenues, on average, by at least 5% per
annum to 2026. While our ITV Studios
margin in 2021 has been impacted by
ongoing costs associated with COVID-19,
we expect it to return to a margin range
of 13%-15% by 2023, which reflects our
shift into scripted content and our further
diversified customer base.
ITV Studios also remains focused on
innovation and technology to drive
efficiencies. It has embraced new digital
processes with more of our productions
being managed remotely, utilising tools
such as cloud-based editing, and we have
consolidated our US unscripted business.
Media and Entertainment
Following a restructure during 2021,
M&E has two businesses – Streaming and
Broadcast. Streaming is focused on driving
digital viewing and targeted advertising
through our digital products, while
Broadcast is focused on delivering our USP
of mass simultaneous audiences on our
linear channels. This structure enables us
to: seamlessly and strategically respond to
changing viewing habits; be more agile and
flexible; drive mass audiences and digital
viewing; ensure we have the appropriate
allocation of resources between broadcast
and streaming; further develop our digital
capabilities; and streamline the ways we are
working to improve productivity, make
quicker decisions and reduce cost.
Supercharge Streaming
2021 was a very successful year strategically,
financially and operationally for our
streaming business.
The ITV Hub has benefited from the
continued investment to improve the overall
product – including redesigning the interface,
enhancing the user experience, increasing
personalisation and doubling the number
of hours available on the service. This,
along with our strong schedule of drama,
entertainment and sport, particularly the
Euros, contributed to our growth in
streaming viewing hours of 22% in the year,
with 9.6 million MAUs which was up 19%.
Simulcast viewing on ITV Hub was also
up 38% and dwell time was up 14%. These
metrics demonstrate the growing scale
of our digital business, with more people
watching our content, more often and for
longer. This continued growth is key as we
focus on accelerating our streaming business
in the second phase of our strategy.
Planet V has been rolled out to all the major
agencies and is now the second-largest
programmatic video advertising platform
in the UK, after Google, with over 1,000
users onboarded in just over one year from
launch. We have completed several tech
partnerships to enhance the data capabilities
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Loose Women is a core part of ITV’s
daytime schedule in the UK. It won the RTS
Best Daytime Programme Award in 2021.
Coronation Street remains the UK’s
biggest soap. It has been broadcast on ITV
for over 60 years.
and targeting opportunities for our
advertisers which have been well received.
We had over 400 VOD only advertisers in
the year, with the majority of them being
completely new to VOD. Planet V has
opened up a long tail of advertisers and
addressable inventory that we previously
could not access and provides significant
opportunities for growth.
We have made great progress in driving
growth across BritBox UK and BritBox
International during the year. BritBox UK
subscriptions have increased by over 45%
to 733,000, with churn rates halving since
launch. We had a pipeline of really strong
original content including Crime, which
was critically acclaimed, The Secret of the
Krays, The Beast Must Die, and, of course,
the second series of Spitting Image. The
content offering remains strong in the
first half of 2022, with eight originals
launching on the service. Including ITV
Hub+, we now have over 1.2 million
subscriptions in the UK.
BritBox International continues to go from
strength to strength, with over 2.4 million
subscriptions across the US and Canada,
Australia and South Africa, which we
recently launched. The service will launch
in the Nordics in the first half of 2022 and
will continue to roll it out globally. By 2030,
we are aiming to have 10 to 12 million
international subscriptions.
ITVX
With this proven track record and our digital
foundations in place, we are in a strong
position to supercharge our streaming
viewing and revenues, with the creation
of an integrated streaming service, ITVX
which will launch in Q4 2022. This is the first
integrated AVOD/SVOD service in the UK.
It will be an AVOD led service with a
compelling SVOD proposition. It will
provide a seamless viewer experience with
a significantly enhanced digital-first content
offering, allowing our viewers to watch
whenever and however they want, and
to attract those audiences who do the
majority of their viewing on digital services.
It combines the ITV Hub, ITV Hub+ and
BritBox UK into a free and premium content
offering, leveraging our scale, brand and
the investments and success we have
achieved to date.
To support our ambitions for ITVX, in 2022,
we will invest £1.23 billion in content across
linear, AVOD and SVOD. This will increase
to £1.35 billion in 2023 and we expect total
content spend to continue at around this
level going forward. Our one content budget
includes our existing network schedule
budget, our content budget previously
allocated to BritBox UK, along with
significant incremental content investment
for ITVX. We will invest in high-quality,
trusted content across a wide range of
genres, including large family entertainment
shows, sport, drama, factual and news which
will drive simulcast viewing on ITVX and mass
audiences on linear channels. In addition, our
digital-first strategy for ITVX will offer
viewers new and exclusive series every week;
box sets made available in their entirety at
the same time as linear transmission; FAST
channels (Free Ad-supported Streaming
TV services are curated, data-driven
channels that are always on, with content
that evolves and changes depending on
viewer preferences); acquired content and
content partnerships and archive content.
We are pleased to have already secured
a deal with Warner Brothers for American
drama and comedy titles, such as The OC,
One Tree Hill and Nikita.
By the time we launch ITVX in Q4 2022, we
will have 15,000 hours of streaming content
available, both free and pay. We currently
have around 4,000 hours of content on ITV
Hub. There will be a clear and compelling
subscription upselling path between AVOD
and SVOD. ITVX’s premium tier will include
BritBox’s 6,000 hours of British content,
future subscription content partnerships
and all of ITVX’s content ad-free.
To give ITV greater control over BritBox UK
and enable its integration into ITVX, the BBC
has ceased to be a shareholder in BritBox UK.
They will continue to be a strong partner for
BritBox UK and BritBox International, and
we have agreed a new long-term content
supply deal with the BBC. All PSB partners
are committed to BritBox UK which offers
consumers a large library of the majority
of PSB British content in one place from the
past and recent past.
ITVX will combine the experience of our
linear advertising proposition with the
precision of addressable advertising to fully
monetise the value of our digital audiences.
We will provide a more targeted offering
through scaled addressable advertising
inventory not previously available, using
our established data and analytics
capabilities to drive higher-value data-driven
pricing models. This opportunity will allow
us to capture new brands in the long tail
of advertisers who want smaller scale
addressable advertising rather than
mass campaigns.
We have significantly invested in our data
and technology capabilities over the last
three years and these capabilities will be
central to ITVX and the decisions we make.
Our technology team which is supporting
our transformation across the business has
doubled in size since 2020, and we have
really focused on digitising the way we work,
enabling and embedding technology across
everything that we do. We have established
a data and analytics centre of excellence and
have invested in our cloud-based capabilities
to make us scalable and adaptable. We are
also working in a more seamless way across
our business, particularly in content, product
and marketing, with data informing more of
our decisions.
To measure success within Streaming and
deliver long-term growth for our
shareholders, we have redefined our KPIs
and set ambitious targets to 2026.
The combination of our data-driven
models and one content budget will enable
significant flexibility to optimise viewing
and revenue across linear, AVOD and SVOD,
to achieve our overall ambition, which is
to double our digital revenues to at least
£750 million by 2026.
Scaling digital revenue will reflect how we
materially shift the business focus, across
product and viewer experience, content
investment and commercial innovation to
be digital-first. This growth will be achieved
by bringing more people to our service – we
are therefore targeting to double our MAUs
on ITVX to 20 million by providing content
that they can’t get enough of. We aim to
double streaming viewing hours to two
billion by 2026.
By providing a clear, compelling and
differentiated subscription offering within
our service, we will double our current UK
subscriber base to 2.5 million by 2026.
Optimise Broadcast
As the UK’s biggest TV advertising platform,
the Broadcast business is hugely important
to ITV. We are, and will continue to be, the
home of mass simultaneous reach which
is increasingly valuable to advertisers as
viewing becomes more fragmented.
No other platform can deliver scale in
such a brand-safe way and that continues
to be a critical differentiator for advertisers,
and will continue to be an important part of
marketing campaigns. TV remains the media
delivering the highest return on advertising
investment and this revenue stream will
undoubtedly continue for many years
to come. The Broadcast business also
generates significant cashflows through
advertising revenues, which helps fund
our investment in content.
2021 saw ITV deliver the highest total
advertising revenue (TAR) outturn in its
history. There was of course a tailwind from
the reopening of the economy, but there
was a lot of self-help too, with the delivery
of our commercial strategy, particularly the
successful roll-out of Planet V as detailed
earlier. Our Commercial team did an
incredible job during the year in deepening
strategic relationships with clients and
working more collaboratively with them,
using data-driven insights to demonstrate
the power of television, and advertising
with ITV.
During 2021, the team has successfully
brought over 400 new advertisers to
television, encouraged existing digitally
mature advertisers to rediscover TV and
increase their spend, and have provided
innovative ways for brands to advertise
on television. Examples include: advertiser-
funded content; commercial partnerships;
product placement and sponsorship, using
the power of our brands to help advertisers
engage with audiences in different ways.
All this is made possible and more
valuable by being an IPB, with editorial,
commercial, creative and production
working together to provide valuable
opportunities for advertisers.
We have several specific initiatives that
encourage advertisers to ITV, including
ITV AdVentures Invest and ITV AdVentures
Ignite for digitally native brands; ITV Backing
Business, our B to B initiative supporting
businesses; and ITV Home Planet – an
initiative for sustainable brands to tell their
environmental stories and encourage
viewers to reduce their carbon footprint.
We also recently launched ITV Ad Labs which
brings together all of ITV Commercial’s
innovations which the team have been
trialling and bringing to the market.
ITV AdVentures Invest is our Media for
Equity programme which launched during
the first half of 2021 and involves ITV taking
minority stakes in early-stage digital and
direct-to-consumer businesses, in return for
advertising inventory across ITV’s channels
and the ITV Hub. We have made several
investments to date, including location
service, what3words, and online health
brand, Feel. This is yet another way for us to
encourage digitally native brands to TV and
demonstrate the proven return it offers.
During the year, we continued to deliver
unrivalled audiences, informing and
entertaining the nation with high-quality
programming across the full range of
genres. ITV main channel’s share of viewing
(SOV) (which includes the BBC) increased
marginally in the year from 16.7% to 16.8%,
benefiting from the UEFA European Football
Championships (Euros), the return of Love
Island and a strong slate of new and
returning dramas.
We have an exciting schedule on the ITV
family of channels in the first half of 2022
with new and returning dramas including:
The Ipcress File, Holding, Tell Me Everything,
and The Bay; and new and returning
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entertainment, including: Starstruck, Romeo
& Duet, The John Bishop Show and Saturday
Night Takeaway. Our sporting schedule
includes the FA Cup, Premiership Rugby,
England Women’s football qualifiers and
friendlies, and the FIFA World Cup. We are
also extending our commitment to our
national and international weekday evening
news by increasing its length from 30
minutes to one hour.
With the launch of ITVX in 2022, and the shift
of the business to focus on digital-first, we
will sharpen our broadcast channels to deliver
those unmissable, must-watch moments
for our audiences. With the proliferation of
choice, it’s never been more important for us
to find those programmes that can capture
the attention of millions and create huge
shared moments of entertainment – whether
that’s drama, big entertainment, sport or
live events.
Delivering unrivalled audiences of scale in
a trusted, brand-safe environment remains
a priority for us. To maintain our USP as the
home of the biggest commercial audiences
in the UK we have set new KPIs to measure
our success. This includes tracking our ITV
Family share of commercial viewing (SOCV)
(which is ITV’s share of viewing as a
proportion of all commercial ad-funded
channels in the UK). In 2021 our share
increased from 32.8% in 2020 to 33.1%.
Our ambition to 2026 is to maintain our
SOCV at 33%.
In addition, we want to ensure that we
continue to deliver meaningful audience
scale, so our new KPI tracks our share of the
top 1,000 programmes on commercial TV.
In 2021 our share was 93% which was flat
year-on-year. Our ambition to 2026 is to
continue to deliver at least 80% of the top
1000 biggest commercial audiences for TV
programmes on a two-year rolling basis
across our portfolio of channels.
Following the renewal of our long-term
commercial partnerships with Sky and Virgin
Media O2, we now have the opportunity to
deliver linear addressability through Planet
V. We are developing our linear addressable
capabilities via IP delivery which we will
begin to test during 2022.
Investments and cost savings
Investments
Since 2018 we have made a cumulative
investment of £72 million in ITV Studios
creative development, ITV Hub, Planet V,
data, tech and BritBox, in line with our
strategic priorities. This has delivered
the significant growth we have seen in
ITV Studios and in our digital viewing
and revenue. This was in line with our
plan announced in 2018 and includes
£24 million in 2021.
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To deliver our digital acceleration we will
make further investments across content,
data and technology in 2022 and 2023,
funded by our strong cash flows and
partly offset by a new programme
of cost savings. We are confident that by
2026, incremental annual revenue will
cover incremental annual content and
non-content investment in ITVX.
Our one content budget across all
platforms allows us complete flexibility
to optimise our spend across linear,
AVOD and SVOD to maximise digital
viewing and advertising revenue. We
have a very disciplined approach to
content investment and have based
the incremental investment on rigorous
analysis of both the current and
incremental spend. It reflects both the
confidence we have in providing leading
edge content for our viewers and
advertisers, as well as the inflation
we are seeing in both commissioning
and acquiring content.
Total content costs in 2022 will be
around £1.23 billion, which is higher
than our original guidance of £1.16 billion
and includes £20 million of content
investment for ITVX, and the
reclassification of BritBox UK content
costs from M&E variable costs. In 2023,
we expect total content costs to be
around £1.35 billion, which includes £160
million of content investment for ITVX,
which is partly offset by a reduction in
main channel commissions. We expect
total content spend to continue at
around this level going forward.
Non-content investment includes costs
that will be ongoing in our cost base
and covers our data and technology
capabilities and variable streaming costs.
In 2022 and 2023 this will be £25 million.
Variable costs of streaming will continue
to rise thereafter as streaming viewing
increases. These costs will be offset by
additional permanent cost savings in 2026.
In addition, there will be one-off costs of
£20 million related to the launch of ITVX
in 2022, reducing to £10 million in 2023.
Total non-content investment for ITVX
in 2022 will therefore be £45 million and
£35 million in 2023.
In 2022, we will also invest around £10
million in our digital capabilities and
innovations which includes, Planet V and
addressable advertising, and Studio 55
Ventures. This is our digital innovation
business focused on attracting talent
and creating content and advertising
opportunities targeting 16-34 year olds
as well as revenue generation. These
investments will reach break even in 2023.
Unforgotten is a scripted title produced
by Mainstreet Pictures (part of ITV Studios
UK). It drove significant online viewing, with
15 million streams on the ITV Hub.
Tell Me Everything is a new teen drama
commissioned for ITV2. It will be released
in 2022.
Royal Carols: Together At Christmas
was a special Christmas carol concert led by
the Duchess of Cambridge. It was broadcast
on ITV on Christmas Eve.
The OC is an American teen drama which
will be available on ITVX. It forms part of a
multi-year exclusive deal with Warner
Brothers for 1,200 hours of content.
Cost savings
We are on track to deliver our cost savings
target of £100 million annualised
permanent overhead cost savings by
2022 (from 2019). In 2021 we delivered a
further £37 million of permanent savings
which was ahead of our target of £30 million
for the year due to phasing. Savings were
achieved from our new operating model,
the increased use of technology and data,
contract renegotiations and infrastructure
savings in M&E. At the end of 2021, we had
cumulative cost savings of £83 million,
with £17 million expected in 2022. We
also delivered £11 million of temporary
savings in 2021 due to a natural decrease
in non-essential spend, such as travel
and entertainment as a result of
government restrictions, particularly
in the first half of 2021.
From 2023, we will target an additional
£50 million of annualised permanent
overhead cost savings to be achieved by
2026. We expect these savings to come
from continued reductions in broadcast
supply chain costs, overheads, property
rationalisation and further innovation in
ITV Studios. These savings will largely be
delivered in 2025 and 2026.
Colleagues
I am incredibly proud of the way our
colleagues have continued to work with
determination, pride and a real sense of
purpose over the last year, with many still
having to work at home for the majority of
the year. ITV has succeeded to date because
of the people who work here. Our colleagues
are central to our purpose and vision and
are at the heart of what we do. They make
this a creative, collaborative and commercial
culture and have helped build the strong
foundations of our business today.
At ITV, we understand and value the
creativity that diversity brings to our
business, and strive for an inclusive
environment where everyone can be
their authentic self. We aim to reflect the
diversity of modern society both on and
off-screen. Our Diversity Acceleration Plan
aims to increase the pace of progress in
this area, and we have several workforce
initiatives in place to drive our inclusive
culture. We also have five active colleague
networks that help to shape the culture at
ITV and ensure that all colleagues feel
represented and their voices heard.
In 2021 we ran a full engagement survey
for our employees globally, with 76% of
our employees sharing their views. From
the results, 87% of colleagues said they
were proud to work for ITV, 82% said they
can be their authentic self at work, and 77%
felt that colleagues from all backgrounds
have equal opportunities to succeed at ITV.
I’m pleased with the results, and while there
were areas identified as opportunities for
us to improve, particularly around career
development, and the communication of
ITV’s vision, which we will focus on this year,
we have demonstrated that the work ITV
has done to support our colleagues over
the last two years has had a positive impact.
In 2022, I, along with members of the
Management Board will be holding a series
of roadshows in the UK and internationally
to update our colleagues on the evolved
strategy– the vision and the mission we
are on. We are looking forward to this and
in particular, getting feedback from right
across the business.
Duty of Care
As part of our ongoing evolution of Duty
of Care best practice, we have recently
announced new measures to strengthen
our support for producers working on ITV
network programmes. It includes:
• Extending our Duty of Care training for
third-party producers working on ITV
Network commissions who would like
to access it
• Recruiting a new Duty of Care Business
Partner for M&E to advise and support
on delivering appropriate participant
welfare plans for productions
• The launch of new Experience Surveys –
believed to be an industry first – to allow
participants to provide feedback on
their experience
ITV monitors and reviews historic issues
to continue to evolve and strengthen our
Duty of Care policies. In the Netherlands,
ITV has appointed a Dutch law firm to
conduct an external investigation into
allegations of inappropriate behaviour
surrounding The Voice of Holland. In the UK,
ITV will be giving evidence and cooperating
with the inquest into the death of Steve
Dymond, who died in the days following
the filming of The Jeremy Kyle Show.
Regulation
Ofcom has published its final statement
on the future of public service broadcasting,
including recommendations to the
government as to how the system might
be maintained and strengthened. Ofcom
has concluded that there is now an urgent
need for a new framework to support an
effective transition to public service media
(PSM), straddling online and broadcast TV.
We remain fully engaged with Ofcom and
the government on this, particularly in
relation to the need for reform of the rules
governing prominence, inclusion and fair
value for PSBs on all major platforms,
particularly online. The government
intends to publish a Media White Paper
during the first half of 2022.
In 2020 the government published its
statement confirming the introduction
of a 9pm watershed ban on TV and VOD
advertising of High Fat Sugar and Salt (HFSS)
products, and a prohibition on most paid-for
online HFSS advertising at all times. Small
and medium-sized enterprises (SME) food
and drink companies and owned media (e.g.
own company websites and social accounts)
are exempt. Subject to the passage of the
Health and Social Care Bill through
Parliament, the ban will come into effect
on 1 January 2023. Whilst we remain fully
engaged with this process – and continue
to believe that there is a strong, evidence-
based case for alternatives to the pre
9pm ban – the proposed TV ban will
negatively impact ITV.
In 2021, the government completed a call
for evidence in relation to gambling, with a
White Paper expected during 2022. The call
for evidence was very broad, encompassing
the industry as a whole, and advertising may
form part of any eventual process of reform.
Outlook
2022 will be an exciting year for ITV as we
look towards the launch of ITVX. We are
confident that our vision and strategy is the
right long-term plan for ITV. We are clear
on what we need to do to deliver our digital
acceleration and our ambition to be a leader
in UK streaming and an expanding global
force in content. We start from a position of
strength and have the foundations in place
to take advantage of the evolving viewing,
advertising and content trends.
We have started 2022 with growth in ITV
Family SOCV, and good engagement in
streaming. The demand for advertising
has remained strong with Q1 expected to
be up around 16%. April is expected to be up
around 10%. Q2 will be impacted by tough
advertising comparatives, which in 2021,
saw a strong rebound from May onwards,
along with the Euros in June.
Our balance sheet is in good shape and
well within investment grade metrics.
This combined with our strong cash flows
enables us to invest behind our strategy
to build a more valuable digital media and
entertainment company, and deliver returns
to shareholders. Going forward, the Board
is committed to paying a full year ordinary
dividend of at least 5.0p which it will grow
over time.
Carolyn McCall
Chief Executive
15
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Chief Executive’s Report continued
The Queen visits Coronation Street
to celebrate the soap’s 60th birthday.
16
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Investor Proposition
Unique market position
ITV is a global and diversified integrated producer broadcaster
with a long history of strong execution and unique content. There
are several key pillars to ITV’s strong market position:
1. ITV Studios is a scaled and diversified business and one
of the largest independent producers in the world and
with a global distribution network
2. Mass reach audiences with 93% of the top 1,000 commercial
broadcast programmes on TV being on ITV in 2021
3. Unparalleled depth of advertising relationships enhanced
by being the largest ad-funded premium streaming service
in Europe
4. A leading media brand, trusted by consumers in the UK
and internationally
ITV’s model has already delivered strong revenues in 2021.
ITV Studios revenues are almost back to 2019 levels and it has
increased its scripted revenues by 43% and almost doubled
revenues from original commissions sold to streamers. M&E has
delivered record advertising revenues, up 24% YoY. ITV continues
to experience strong M&E digital revenue growth1, growing at
a 28% CAGR since 2018 and digital viewing numbers growing
at a 12% CAGR during the same period.
We have also been building our data-driven and tech capabilities,
helping to:
• Develop and implement Planet V, our programmatic video
advertising platform, the second largest in the UK, after Google,
with over 1,000 users
• Rapidly grow our SVOD proposition and reach, with total global
5. One of top five data sets in UK with our pool of 34.7 million
subscribers of over 3.6 million
registered user accounts on ITV Hub
6. A rapidly growing international streaming business
1. Total digital revenue includes AVOD advertising revenues and SVOD subscription revenue as well as linear addressable revenue, digital sponsorship and partnership revenue,
ITV Win and any other M&E revenues from digital business ventures.
Strong platform ready for digital acceleration
Phase One of our More Than TV strategy
laid the foundations for the next stage
of ITV’s growth story. ITV has a new
2026 vision, to be a leader in UK
streaming and an expanding global
force in content through:
Expanding Studios globally
Supercharge streaming
Optimising Broadcast
1. Studios revenue is expected to grow by at least 5% on average per annum until 2026
with a margin of 13% to 15% from 2023
2. Creation of ITVX – a simple and seamless customer-facing integrated AVOD/SVOD
platform to combine the best of ITV content in one place. Our digital-first content
strategy will prioritise content through AVOD on our ITVX platform and will deliver large
and growing targeted audiences for our advertisers or enhance our SVOD growth. Our
established data and analytics capabilities will drive higher-value data driven pricing
models and help to deliver our 2026 targets of doubling digital revenues to at least
£750m, doubling streaming viewing, doubling MAUs and doubling subscribers
3. This enhanced platform will allow ITV to optimise its model between linear
and non-linear TV, maintaining its share of mass audience whilst growing digital
streaming revenues
Financial strength and cash generation
ITV retains a stable investment grade
balance sheet supported by strong and
reliable cash generation to enable ITV to
invest behind its key priorities.
ITV maintains tight financial discipline
with a focus on efficiencies and we are
on track to achieve £100 million of cost
savings per annum by the end of 2022
with an incremental £50 million of
permanent savings by 2026.
The Board is committed to an ordinary
dividend of 5p per annum, which will
grow over time. Surplus cash will be
used for accretive, value-adding M&A
or further capital returns.
17
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Market Review
Market Review
The markets in which we operate are
dynamic, increasingly competitive
and rapidly changing. We are seeing
increasing demand for content globally
driven by the proliferation of channels
and platforms. This combined with
changes in the way viewers consume
media, brings both challenges and
exciting opportunities to ITV.
The Ipcress File is a new drama on ITV
in 2022. It will be distributed by Global
Distribution, which is part of ITV Studios.
18
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Strong global demand for content
Trend
The demand for quality content from
broadcasters and platform owners remains
strong and we expect the global content
market to grow at an average rate of 3%
per annum over the next five years, driven
predominantly by streaming platforms.
While the budgets of many free-to-air
broadcasters (FTA) and Pay TV operators
are expected to remain relatively flat, they
are continuing to invest in their schedules,
and despite the growth of streaming
platforms, FTA and Pay TV are expected
to remain the largest buyer segment in
the market. Streaming platforms are
expected to make up around 30% of the
overall market by 2026 (Source: Ampere
Analysis), which includes all spend on
content including films and sports rights.
The streamers are demanding exclusive,
brand-defining original content, including
local language and library content, to
meet the increased expectations of new
and existing subscribers.
The demand for high-quality scripted
content, in particular, has increased
significantly, with the global streaming
platforms investing heavily to attract
subscribers, using it as a tool for
differentiation and prominence in
an increasingly competitive global
environment. This has significantly
increased competition and costs in the
market, particularly for talent, impacting
the margin for scripted content, which is
generally lower than other genres.
Demand for unscripted content remains
strong as platforms and channels continue
to require lower-cost, high-volume
popular series to fill the gaps around
more expensive scripted titles, to attract
mass simultaneous viewing, appeal to
new audiences, or supplement the viewing
of existing subscribers.
The UK remains the dominant producer
and exporter of unique unscripted formats.
The US dominates scripted and is the
largest content market in the world.
Other key attractive creative markets
include France, the Nordics, Italy, Germany,
Australia, and Spain which has access to
Latin American markets.
How we are responding
ITV Studios is a leading global creator,
producer and distributor of content and due
to its scale and presence, is well-positioned
to capture this growing demand for content.
We produce content in the genres highly
demanded and are in six of the top ten
largest TV content markets around the
world, and, in the majority of the markets in
which we operate, we believe we are one of
the top three international producer groups
in that market (based on internal estimates).
We also have relationships with all the
major buyers globally.
A key part of our ITV Studios strategy is
to grow scale in scripted content in
English and local languages, as well as to
diversify our customer base, particularly
towards streaming platforms. Over the
last few years, we have invested in creative
development and strengthening our creative
talent base across ITV Studios to help drive
scripted commissions and relationships
with global streaming platforms.
We have strength in unscripted content
which is around 70% of our overall ITV
Studios production revenues, and it
remains important to us. We have built
a healthy pipeline of returning formats
and programmes, which we will continue
to nurture and develop as well as focusing on
the development of new global unscripted
and large entertainment formats.
ITV Studios focuses on production
innovation and efficiency with improved
ways of working to help mitigate production
cost inflation in the market. This includes
using remote Cloud editing, and production
hubs for key formats.
Creating and owning the IP for our content
is important to ITV Studios as it allows us to
maximise its global value. Where possible,
we do this through format sales, licensing,
and by selling our content to optimise its
primary and secondary windows across
different distribution channels and
customers (FTA, AVOD and SVOD). This
contributes to our higher overall ITV Studios
margin relative to our industry peers.
We have one of the industry’s largest,
broadest and deepest catalogues with
over 90,000 hours of active content which
enables us to provide library content at
scale to our international client base.
As an integrated producer broadcaster,
ITV Studios also benefits from demand for
its content from ITV’s FTA linear, AVOD and
streaming channels, providing M&E with
a strong and secure content supply.
See the Operating and Financial Performance
Review for further detail on these areas.
The Outlaws is produced by Big Talk
Productions (part of ITV Studios UK) for
the BBC in the UK and Amazon Prime
Video internationally.
Summertime is produced by Cattleya
in Italy (part of ITV Studios International),
for Netflix.
Moneyball is a new ITV gameshow
format created in the UK. It was broadcast
on ITV main channel during 2021.
19
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Market Review continued
Digital platforms and changing viewer habits
Trend
Over the last ten years, there has been rapid
growth in the number of global streaming
platforms available, increasing from around
17 to 115 global and local streaming services
today. The global players are led by Netflix,
followed by Amazon, Disney+ and Apple TV,
with local SVOD services including BritBox
from ITV and the BBC, Salto from M6 and
TF1, Joyn from ProSieben and Discovery,
and Viaplay from NENT.
Alongside the growth in SVOD services has
been a proliferation of AVOD services from
large global conglomerates, including Hulu,
PlutoTV (ViacomCBS), Tubi (FOX), Roku
Channel and Vudu (NBCU and WarnerMedia)
who offer free, ad-supported content, many
of which are rolling out internationally.
The rise in the number of platforms offers
viewers increased choice and flexibility
about what, how, where and when they
watch content. This has significantly
impacted viewing habits globally, with the
COVID-19 pandemic further accelerating
some of the digital viewing trends we had
previously started to see. There has been
a significant increase in VOD viewing on TVs
(particularly connected TVs) and non-TV
devices (such as smartphones, tablets and
computers). This evolution, however, is not
uniform across demographics, with younger
viewers spending proportionally more
time consuming video content, while older
demographics spend comparatively more
time engaging with linear television.
In the UK, linear viewing of broadcast TV
remains popular and reaches nearly 90%
of the population each week, with the total
average minutes viewed of live content
being 84% of all broadcast viewing in 2021,
which was flat year-on-year (Source: BARB).
Viewing to public service broadcasters (PSB)
in the UK has remained more resilient than
linear channels in other markets and is
helped by the strength and investment
in original content made by the PSBs,
particularly the BBC and ITV.
In terms of total viewing, regardless of
which device content it is watched on, TV
remains the dominant platform, accounting
for nearly 60% of an individuals average
video time per day, followed by YouTube
and streamers (Source: BARB/Thinkbox).
Overall viewing volumes for TV, however,
are declining, with the total number of
viewing hours of broadcast TV falling by
10% year-on-year. The average daily minutes
of total TV set viewing in the UK, including
unmatched viewing (content that cannot be
matched to broadcast TV content, such as
streamers, YouTube, games consoles), also
fell by 6% in 2021 to 260 minutes (2020:
277 minutes) per person, with 2020 partly
benefiting from strong viewing volumes
as a result of COVID-19 stay-at-home
restrictions. Within this, the average daily
minutes watched of unmatched viewing
increased marginally by 2%, with the
growth attributed predominantly to
streamers viewing. (Source: BARB – C7
viewing via a TV set, within seven days of
original transmission, recorded or VOD).
How we are responding
We recognise the viewing landscape has
become increasingly competitive and
fragmented, and while viewers love ITV
content on linear, they want the flexibility
to watch an increased choice of content
whenever and wherever they are.
In response to the growth in streaming
services and changing viewer preferences,
in 2019 we launched our SVOD proposition
with the BBC, BritBox UK, aimed at being
a complementary service to the global
streaming platforms, providing UK
audiences with an unrivalled collection
of high-quality British box sets and original
series, with content from all the UK public
service broadcasters, all in one place.
BritBox UK has seen good growth in
subscribers since its launch, and in Q4
2021 the service took a greater share
of new SVOD subscriptions than Now TV,
Netflix and Discovery+ (Source: Kantar,
Entertainment On Demand Q4 2021).
We have continued to develop and improve
our AVOD service, the ITV Hub, investing to
enhance the content and experience to give
viewers a destination to watch live simulcast
content from our linear channels, along
with exclusive, and catch up content. Over
half of the UK’s population is now registered
on the ITV Hub.
As we move into the second phase of our
strategy we will accelerate our streaming
viewing and revenues, with the formation
of a new integrated streaming service ITVX,
it will be AVOD led with a compelling SVOD
proposition. ITVX will provide a seamless
viewer experience with a digital-first
content supply to offer content to our
viewers whenever and however they
want to watch, and attract audiences who
do the majority of their viewing on digital
services. It combines the ITV Hub, Hub+
nd BritBox UK into a free and premium
content offering, capitalising on the
investments we have made to date.
20
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
We will invest over £1.2 billion annually in
our content budget across all our channels
and platforms. We will invest in high-quality,
trusted content across a wide range of
genres, including large family entertainment
shows, sport, drama, factual and news
which will drive simulcast viewing on ITVX
and mass audiences on linear channels. In
addition, our digital-first content strategy
for ITVX will offer viewers new and exclusive
shows every week, boxsets made available
in their entirety at the same time as
transmission, highly curated and data-driven
FAST channels which are always on, acquired
content and content partnerships, and
archive content.
In addition to our UK SVOD proposition,
we also have our successful BritBox
International service in the US, Canada,
Australia and South Africa. It will launch
in the Nordics in the first half of 2022.
We will continue to roll it out globally,
and by 2030 expect to have 10 to 12 million
international subscribers.
See the Operating and Financial Performance
Review, and Strategy sections for further detail.
Average video time per day
All individuals
5hrs
04
mins
Broadcaster
TV
You Tube
Subscription
VOD
58.4%
15.5%
11%
TikTok
Online Adult
video
Other online
video
9.0%
2.7%
1.3%
DVD
Facebook
Cinema
1.1%
0.8%
0.2%
Source: 2021, BARB / Broadcaster stream data /
comScore / IPA Touchpoints 2021 / Pornhub / Rentrak
Strategic Report
The UK advertising market
Trend
In the UK, online advertising is the largest
category of advertising spend followed by
TV advertising (including spot, broadcaster
VOD, sponsorship and other advertising
related revenues), which together made
up 88% of the advertising market in 2021
(2020: 87%). While online advertising and
TV advertising have fully recovered to
pre-COVID-19 levels, all other categories
such as outdoor, press and cinema
advertising have not (Source: Advertising
Association January 2022).
Over the last few years, the UK advertising
market, and particularly television spot
advertising, has been impacted by political
and economic uncertainty, following the
EU referendum and the COVID-19 pandemic,
both of which negatively impacted the
demand from advertisers. In 2021,
however, we have seen a significant
rebound in advertising budgets which in
part have benefited from the tailwind
ofthe economic recovery and, while it
is too early to determine whether this is
permanent growth, it could be seen as
more than a cyclical recovery and possibly
a renaissance in TV.
From a viewing perspective, converting
total viewing video per day into actual
viewing of video advertising, TV (live
linear or streamed) accounts for nearly
90% of viewing to video advertising by
individuals, and nearly 70% for 16-34s
(Source: BARB/Thinkbox).
Online advertising has remained resilient
and has continued to grow rapidly, with
spend increasing by over 30% over the
last five years. It provides advertisers
with a targeted proposition, requires
a lower campaign budget compared
to TV, and provides brands with a quick,
short-term impact for their marketing
campaign. Within online advertising,
search is the largest, dominated by
Google, followed by Display and Online
Video, both dominated by Google
and Facebook.
How we are responding
Total advertising revenue, which includes
linear and online revenues, is ITV’s largest
revenue stream and as an integrated
producer broadcaster, helps to fund the
broadcast of our content in the UK and
content creation globally.
ITV’s linear television channels continue
to offer unique scale and reach of all the
key demographics advertisers target, and it
remains a cost-efficient, flexible and trusted
way of advertising and is an important part
of marketing campaigns. We have focused
on developing deep strategic partnerships
with our advertisers and agencies, with
data-driven insights to demonstrate the
power of television. Over the last year, we
have successfully brought new advertisers
to television, encouraged existing digitally
mature brands to increase their spend,
and have provided innovative ways for
brands to advertise on television, such
as through advertiser-funded content,
brand partnerships, product placement
and sponsorship.
The ITV Hub allows ITV to capture online
advertising revenues in a brand-safe,
trusted and measured environment,
and AVOD remained very strong in 2021.
Planet V, which is our programmatic
addressable advertising platform, allows
advertisers and agencies to plan and
book their campaigns 24/7 using ITV’s data,
which can also be blended with advertisers’
first-party data. It is the second-largest
programmatic video platform in the UK
and allows advertisers to access targeted
advertising at scale around our premium
VOD inventory.
ITVX will combine the experience of our
linear advertising proposition with the
precision of addressable, providing the
opportunity for an addressable audience
at a scale not previously available. We
are developing our linear addressable
capabilities and our new long-term
commercial partnerships with Sky and
Virgin Media O2 will allow us to offer linear
addressable advertising via IP delivery
through the Planet V platform. This
opportunity will allow us to capture new
brands in the long tail of advertisers who
cannot afford mass reach linear campaigns.
See the Operating and Financial Performance
Review, and Strategy sections for further detail.
Average video advertising time per day
All individuals
18
mins
Broadcaster
TV
You Tube
TikTok
87.3%
9.4%
2.3%
Other online
video
Cinema
0.8%
0.2%
Source: 2021, BARB / comScore / Broadcaster stream
data / IPA Touchpoints 2021 / Rentrak* YouTube ad
time modelled at 3% of content time, TikTok ad time
modelled at 1.5% of content time
Gomorrah is an Italian crime drama
produced by Cattleya in Italy (part of ITV
Studios International).
21
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report | Our Strategy
Our Strategy
Having successfully executed Phase One of our More
Than TV strategy, we are evolving our strategy to
enable us to further capitalise on the opportunities
presented by the rapidly changing viewing, content
production and advertising environments. Executing
Phase Two effectively, will create a more valuable
digital media and entertainment company and
deliver returns to our shareholders.
Our More Than TV strategy
Our purpose is to entertain and connect
with millions of people globally,
reflecting and shaping culture with
brilliant content and creativity. This
is aligned to our 2026 strategic vision,
to be a leader in UK streaming and
an expanding global force in content.
It is becoming increasingly clear that
companies with a strong and clear
purpose drive increased value.
Our Social Purpose strategy is an integral
part of delivering our purpose and our
strategy. See Social Purpose from page 48.
Our initiatives to drive growth and future
value are clear. Delivering on our strategy
will be achieved by focusing on three
critical priorities:
Our purpose
We entertain and connect
with millions of people
globally, reflecting and
shaping culture with brilliant
content and creativity.
Our 2026 vision
A leader in UK
streaming and an
expanding global
force in content
How we’ll do this
Digitally transforming across everything
we do. We will have a laser focus on
viewers and every decision will combine
our unique creativity and data insight.
Expand Studios globally
Supercharge Streaming
Optimise Broadcast
These are not independent. They
work together – reinforcing each
other, creating synergies and
delivering value. Being an integrated
producer broadcaster gives us a real
competitive advantage.
How we will deliver our strategy
The key to successfully delivering this
strategy is by digitally transforming
across everything we do. We will have
a laser focus on viewers and every
decision will combine our unique
creativity with data insight.
In addition, we will continue to:
• Strengthen both our creative and
commercial teams. Ensuring we
have the right skill set and culture
to deliver our strategic vision,
particularly in respect of technology
and data functions
• Ensure we own and manage our rights
efficiently and effectively. Maximise
the value of these rights across our
Studios, Streaming and Broadcast
business models
• Further create strong partnerships
with broadcasters, platforms and
technology companies both in the
UK and globally. Work with these
partners to ensure our content is
prominent and we can monetise
it wherever it is consumed
2026 STUDIOS GOAL
Grow revenues on average
by at least 5%
per annum, which is ahead
of the market
SUPERCHARGE
STREAMING
Driving digital viewing
and revenues
Build on our position as Europe’s
biggest ad-funded streaming service
Double monthly active users
Double streaming viewing
Double UK subscriptions
2026 M&E GOAL
More than double digital
revenue to at least £750m
across M&E
EXPAND
STUDIOS GLOBALLY
Expand revenue faster than the market
Double scripted hours
Double our business with streamers
Expand global formats
DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION
OPTIMISE
BROADCAST
Digitally transform the UK’s
biggest TV advertising platform
Maintain a share of at least 80% of the top
1,000 commercial television programmes
Maintain share of commercial viewing
Scale linear addressable advertising
22
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Critical priorities
Media & Entertainment (M&E)
The M&E division has two business units – Streaming and Broadcast – to better
reflect and serve changes in viewer habits and to ensure we maintain a strong,
branded and data rich relationship with our viewers and advertisers.
Expand Studios globally
Supercharge Streaming
Optimise Broadcast
In spite of the growth in streaming
viewing, linear broadcast remains very
important to our viewers and advertisers.
Our priorities for Broadcast are to:
• Maintain our USP of delivering live
mass audiences on our linear channels
as we invest in our broad schedule,
most particularly sport, drama and
large entertainment shows. These
audiences are highly valuable and
highly demanded by advertisers as
they build their own brands
• Focus on scaling our linear addressable
advertising capabilities, building on our
investment in Planet V and our data,
analytics and digital capabilities
• Continue to build more strategic
and creative partnerships with our
advertisers,
• Continue to digitally transform ITV, the
UK’s biggest TV advertising platform.
We have KPIs and have set ambitions to
2026 aligned with our priorities which are
set out in the KPI section. See page 26.
Our aim is to be a leading creative force
in global content production, growing
our revenues faster than the market.
We will continue to diversify ITV Studios
by genre, geography and customer to
take advantage of the strong growth in
demand for content globally, particularly
from streaming platforms.
We are very focused on supercharging
our streaming ambitions, significantly
increasing our total digital viewing and
digital revenues. This is building on the
strong progress we have made over the
last three years to be Europe’s largest
premium advertiser-funded streaming
service by revenue.
Our key priorities are:
• Growing our international scripted
business by continuing to invest in
creative development
• Growing our global formats business
through maximising the value of our
key formats and developing new hit
formats that travel internationally
• Further diversifying our customer base
by serving new fast-growing streaming
platforms (both global and local)
• Attracting and retaining leading talent,
and nurturing the right creative and
commercial environment to do this
• Continuing to collaborate across our
network of 60 production labels to
benefit from ITV’s scale and diversity
Increased use of technology and
innovation in production to drive
efficiencies
•
We have KPIs and have set ambitions for
2026 aligned to these priorities. Refer to
the KPIs section for further detail.
We also continue to consider selective
value-creating acquisitions and talent
deals in both scripted and unscripted
to obtain creative talent and IP.
Therefore, our priority is to launch ITVX
in Q4 2022. It is an integrated AVOD and
SVOD platform, capitalising on the
investment and success of ITV Hub,
Planet V, ITV Hub+ and BritBox UK. It will
be AVOD led, with a powerful upsell into
a compelling SVOD proposition.
We will implement a digital-first content
strategy in our content windowing and
significantly increase our overall content
investment for ITVX.
This will deliver valuable addressable
audiences for advertisers at scale and
our established data and analytics
capabilities will drive higher-value,
data-driven pricing models.
It will be a data-driven viewing model
with one content budget across all our
platforms and channels, which will enable
flexibility to optimise viewing and revenue
across AVOD and SVOD to maximise total
digital viewing and revenues. We have KPIs
and have set ambitions to 2026 aligned
with our priorities which are set out in the
KPI section. See page 26.
BritBox International
In addition to our SVOD services in the UK, we are continuing to roll-out BritBox
International, which is seeing strong growth in its subscriber base. It is currently
available in four countries and will launch in the Nordics in H1 2022. We will continue
to roll it out and by 2030 expect to have 10 to 12 million subscribers.
See KPIs from page 26
Beat the Chasers is an ITV gameshow
format, created in the UK. It is a spin-off
of The Chase.
23
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Our Business Model
Our
Business
Model
Our vision for 2026 is to be a leader in
UK streaming and an expanding global
force in content. This is aligned with our
purpose of entertaining and connecting
with millions of people globally,
reflecting and shaping culture with
brilliant content and creativity.
We will continue to expand and diversify
our UK and global content business,
supercharge our streaming business,
and optimise our broadcast business.
We are confident that our vision and
strategy is the right long-term plan for
ITV in a dynamic market environment.
The successful execution of Phase Two
of our More than TV strategy will
strengthen and diversify ITV, creating
a more valuable digital media and
entertainment business and deliver
returns to shareholders.
Vera is a scripted title and is in its
11th series in the UK. It is produced by
ITV Studios UK.
24
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Our vision
Our vision for 2026 is to be a leader in UK streaming
and an expanding global force in content.
Using our strategic assets...
Our strategic assets
Creating and owning
the rights to quality
content and
intellectual
property
Our strong,
trusted brand,
products and
culture
>6,000 talented
commercial
and creative
colleagues
93%
In 2021, 93% of
the top 1,000
programmes
on commercial
broadcast TV
were on ITV
9.6m
We have 9.6 million
MAUs across all
our platforms
>£1.2 bn
We will invest over
£1.2 billion in content
across our linear
channels, AVOD and
SVOD platforms
90,000+
active hours of
content in the Global
Distribution catalogue
...and our competitive advantages...
Competitive advantages
World-class content
At the core of ITV is our focus on creativity and
content, whether selling our unique content
around the world or investing in third-party
content to broadcast across multiple platforms.
Internationally, we have built production and
distribution scale in key global creative markets
through organic growth, selective acquisitions
and talent deals.
Global formats and distribution
ITV has built relationships and a diverse
customer base globally with major networks,
streamers and local broadcasters, to whom
we sell our world-class content.
Intellectual property
ITV has developed, acquired and owns the rights
to a diverse portfolio of shows, particularly
drama and entertainment, that are hugely
popular. Owning this intellectual property
allows us to monetise it internationally
through programme and format sales and
also commercially in the development of
interactive experiences and consumer products.
Delivering unrivalled commercial audiences
and targeted addressable audiences
The scale of our channels and the significant
investment we make in quality content give
ITV a unique scale and reach across the key
demographics on our broadcast channels.
In addition, we deliver targeted addressable
audiences in a brand-safe and measured
environment on the ITV Hub, which we sell
through Planet V. This is our programmatic
video advertising platform, which is the second
largest in the UK after Google. From Q4 2022
we will significantly scale these audiences
via ITVX, our new integrated AVOD/SVOD
platform. Our IP, insight and data on viewer
and advertisers behaviour also helps us
build deeper, more strategic and creative
relationships and partnerships with advertisers
and agencies.
Integrated producer broadcaster
Being an integrated producer broadcaster
provides many competitive advantages. It
provides ITV Studios with a bedrock of core
commissions and a formidable promotional
engine for its content; it enables cross-
promotion and 360-degree monetisation of
ITV Studios content across our business; secures
access to great content for ITV’s channels,
AVOD and SVOD businesses; and all this helps
attract and retain the best creative talent in the
industry. Within the context of our evolved
strategy, ITV Studios will play a pivotal role in
delivering new and exclusive content on ITVX.
...we aim to grow our diversified revenue streams...
Our diversified revenue streams
A diversified business
By developing, owning and managing the rights to content, ITV is able to
maximise the value of its programme brands across ITV Studios; Streaming
(AVOD and SVOD) and Broadcast. This ensures ITV is a more diversified
business and enables it to drive value from different revenue models.
Distribution
We own the rights to a significant catalogue of programmes and formats
that we sell and license to broadcasters and streamers internationally. The
strong global demand for content provides a significant opportunity for us.
Commercial partnerships
We work with advertisers and advertising agencies to provide unique
and innovative commercial and creative partnerships and sponsorship
opportunities that extend beyond pure spot advertising.
Pay
We earn pay revenue from platforms in the UK by licensing our HD
channels and our online VOD services.
Original production
We produce original content commissions for broadcasters and streamers (in
the UK and internationally) from our production bases in the UK, the US, the
Netherlands, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Spain, Israel and the Nordics.
Advertising
Our family of channels and the ITV Hub drive significant advertising
revenues from the ability to deliver mass audiences and more targeted
demographics on linear television and addressable advertising on the
ITV Hub. This funds our investment in the programme budget.
SVOD and other consumer revenues
In the UK, we generate SVOD revenue through the ITV Hub+ and BritBox UK.
These will be integrated into ITVX when it launches in Q4. Internationally,
we deliver SVOD revenues through our joint venture with the BBC, BritBox
International, which is in the US, Canada, Australia and South Africa. We will
further roll-out BritBox internationally with the launch in the Nordics in H1
2022. We also monetise our consumer interactions through competitions,
live events and merchandising.
...supported by...
Our risk management framework
ITV operates in an increasingly complex business environment and there
are risks to the delivery of our strategic goals and the sustainability of our
business model. Our risk management framework provides the business
with the tools to identify, manage and continually review our risks, and
regular reporting provides the Board with the required insight to monitor
the overall risk landscape.
This also allows management and the Board to adapt the strategy to ensure
that we are striking the right balance between risk-taking and risk-mitigation
and that any underlying risks in the strategy are being appropriately
managed, therefore enabling delivery of the strategy. We have identified
the principal risks through our risk management framework and we have
considered them as part of our viability assessment.
...to create value for...
Our key stakeholders
Advertisers
Through delivering unique scale and
breadth of demographics, targeted
advertising opportunities and
innovative and creative ways of
engaging with consumers around
quality programme brands.
Customers
Through our streaming business
and other competitions, we drive
engagement and interaction with
our much loved brands.
Audiences
Through a varied, high-quality
programming schedule, which
they can watch and engage with
on a variety of platforms.
Broadcasters and streamers
Through delivering quality
programming that they can
then monetise through their
own business models.
Citizens
With our creativity and scale, ITV
can powerfully help shape culture
for good. Our offering of free and
universally available high quality
and trusted news services, helps to
inform UK citizens and underpin
democratic debate.
Our colleagues, programme
participants and everyone we
work with
Through protecting, investing in
and developing our talent and
creating a culture that nurtures
them to be productive, commercial
and creative. People, and their
physical and mental health and
safety, are our priority at ITV.
Legislators and regulators
ITV takes its responsibilities and
obligations as a public service
broadcaster (PSB) seriously.
25
Shareholders
Through a track record of creating
shareholder value and delivering
shareholder returns.
Debt investors
Through a track record of delivering
strong profit to cash conversion.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Key Performance
Indicators (KPIs)
We define our KPIs to align
our performance and
accountability to our
strategic priorities. As we
continue to evolve our
strategy, we have redefined
our KPIs to ensure they
remain appropriate to our
business and our priorities.
In the following section,
we have set out our new
KPIs and ambition for
2026 for Studios and
M&E. In addition, we have
included our previous KPIs
which we will no longer
report going forward.
The following KPIs will be
reported on a quarterly
basis: ITV Studios total
revenue growth, total
digital revenue, total
streaming hours, share
of commercial viewing
and share of top 1,000
commercial broadcast TV
programmes. All other
KPIs will be reported on
a six-month basis.
ITV Group
Expand
UK and global production
Adjusted EPS1
Cost savings
Profit to cash conversion1
ITV Studios total
revenue growth2
ITV Studios adjusted
EBITA margin %2
Total high-end scripted
Number of formats sold in
three or more countries
Definition
Definition
Definition
Definition
Definition
Definition
hours
Definition
Adjusted EPS represents the
adjusted profit for the year
attributable to each equity share.
Adjusted profit is defined as
profit for the year attributable to
equity shareholders after adding
back exceptional items and
including high-end production
tax credits. Further adjustments
include amortisation and
impairment of assets acquired
through business combinations,
net financing costs and the tax
effects relating to these items.
It reflects the business
performance of the Group in
a consistent manner and in
line with how the business is
managed and measured on
a day-to-day basis.
Performance
Adjusted EPS increased by 40%
from 10.9p to 15.3p. This was
driven by strong growth in total
advertising revenues (TAR) up
24%, and ITV Studios adjusted
EBITA up 41% as a result of the
recovery from the COVID-19
impact in 2020.
Cost savings are permanent
savings to the business. In 2020
and 2021, this also includes
temporary savings as a result of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Managing our cost base is key as
we aim to run our business as
efficiently as possible and fund
investments in line with our
strategic priorities.
Performance
We delivered £48 million of cost
savings in 2021. Of the cost
savings achieved, £37 million are
permanent and £11 million are
temporary savings. This was
ahead of the target of £30
million permanent cost savings,
which is due to phasing.
Since 2019, we have delivered
a cumulative £83 million of
permanent cost savings. In 2022,
we will deliver around £17 million
of permanent cost savings, with
total cumulative cost savings
of around £100 million.
We will deliver an additional
£50 million of permanent cost
savings by 2026. In total, we
will deliver £150 million of
permanent cost savings
between 2019 and 2026.
2021
15.3p
+40% on 2020
This is our measure of our
effectiveness of cash generation
used for working capital
management. It is calculated
as our adjusted cash flow as a
proportion of adjusted EBITA1.
Adjusted cash flow1, which
reflects the cash generation
of our underlying business, is
calculated on our statutory cash
generated from operations and
adjusted for exceptional items,
net of capex on property, plant
and equipment and intangible
assets, and including the cash
impact of high-end production
tax credits.
Performance
Profit to cash conversion was
80% in the year. This was due to
record advertising revenues in
2021 and tight working capital
management. This was partly
offset by the unwinding of the
working capital benefit from
2020, which had a significant
working capital inflow arising
from a reduction in programme
stock (where we delivered
programmes but were unable
to continue producing due to
the COVID-19 pandemic) and
the timing of VAT payments
which were deferred to the
first half of 2021.
2021
80%
Ambition
8 years to 2026
Deliver £150 million
of permanent savings
Ambition
5 years to 2026
Maintain at around 85%
ITV Studios total revenue
This is the key profitability
Total high-end scripted hours is
The Studios business is focused
measures the scale and success
measure used across the ITV
an important measure of the
on maximising unscripted
of our global studios business.
Studios business. The profile of
success of our strategy to grow
value by both protecting and
It includes revenues from
programmes sold to M&E,
adjusted EBITA margin differs
our global scripted business.
expanding existing formats and
for production and distribution
High-end scripted hours include
creating new formats that travel
which as an integrated producer
activities, and further varies with
new commissions or returning
internationally. A good measure
broadcaster, is an important part
each production due to genre,
franchises that have a higher cost
of international success is when
of our business.
Performance
ITV Studios total revenue grew
28% to £1,760 million, despite
ongoing COVID-19 challenges in
the production of both scripted
and unscripted content.
Total organic revenue at
constant currency (which
excludes acquisitions and
assumes exchange rates remain
consistent with 2020) was up
31%. There was a £40 million
unfavourable currency impact
in the year.
customer type and maturity.
per hour than continuing drama.
a format is commissioned in
Adjusted earnings before
These high-end scripted hours
three or more countries in the
interest, tax and amortisation
are sold to global streamers, pay
year. Spin-offs such as Beat
(EBITA) is calculated by adding
platforms or free-to-air
the Chasers are considered
back exceptional items and
broadcasters, where they are
distinct to the original format
including high-end production
expected to perform well with
(i.e. The Chase) for the purpose
tax credits2. It reflects the
viewers in their domestic market,
of this indicator.
underlying performance of the
as well as having international
business and provides a more
distribution appeal.
meaningful comparison of how
the business is managed and
measured on a day-to-day basis.
The margin is calculated based
on ITV Studios total revenue.
Performance
Performance
The number of high-end scripted
increased to 15 formats. Recent
hours produced by ITV Studios
formats that have sold in three
increased by 56% to 175 hours
or more countries include Let
driven by growth in UK high-end
Love Rule, The Voice Generations
scripted hours, with for example
and Beat the Chasers.
Performance
The number of formats sold
in three or more countries
ITV Studios adjusted EBITA
Grace and The Tower; and new
margin was 12% (2020: 11%) and
US titles such as Physical and Ten
Year Old Tom.
continues to be impacted by
incremental costs associated
with social distancing guidelines
and health and safety protocols
in productions.
2021
£1,760m
+28% on 2020
Ambition
5 years to 2026
Grow on average at least
5% per annum from 2022
2021
12%
+1% point on 2020
Ambition
Return to 13% to 15% range
from 2023 onwards
2021
175hrs
+56% on 2020
Ambition
5 years to 2026
2021
15 formats
+1 format on 2020
Ambition
5 years to 2026
Grow to 400 hours
Grow to 20 formats
2018
2019
2020
2021
15.4
13.9
15.3
10.9
2018
2019
2020
2021
88
87
80
138
2018
2019
2020
2021
1,678
1,830
1,760
1,375
2018
2019
2020
2021
15
15
11
12
2018
2019
2020
2021
223
112
163
175
2018
2019
2020
2021
14
14
15
15
1. A full reconciliation between our adjusted and statutory results is provided in the APMs on page 59.
2. A full reconciliation between our adjusted and statutory results is provided in the APMs.
26
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
ITV Group
Expand
UK and global production
Adjusted EPS1
Cost savings
Profit to cash conversion1
ITV Studios total
revenue growth2
ITV Studios adjusted
EBITA margin %2
Total high-end scripted
hours
Number of formats sold in
three or more countries
Definition
Definition
Definition
Definition
Definition
Definition
Definition
Adjusted EPS represents the
Cost savings are permanent
This is our measure of our
adjusted profit for the year
savings to the business. In 2020
effectiveness of cash generation
attributable to each equity share.
and 2021, this also includes
used for working capital
Adjusted profit is defined as
temporary savings as a result of
management. It is calculated
as our adjusted cash flow as a
proportion of adjusted EBITA1.
Adjusted cash flow1, which
reflects the cash generation
of our underlying business, is
calculated on our statutory cash
generated from operations and
adjusted for exceptional items,
net of capex on property, plant
and equipment and intangible
assets, and including the cash
impact of high-end production
tax credits.
profit for the year attributable to
the COVID-19 pandemic.
equity shareholders after adding
Managing our cost base is key as
back exceptional items and
we aim to run our business as
including high-end production
efficiently as possible and fund
tax credits. Further adjustments
investments in line with our
include amortisation and
strategic priorities.
impairment of assets acquired
through business combinations,
net financing costs and the tax
effects relating to these items.
It reflects the business
performance of the Group in
a consistent manner and in
line with how the business is
managed and measured on
a day-to-day basis.
Performance
Performance
We delivered £48 million of cost
savings in 2021. Of the cost
savings achieved, £37 million are
permanent and £11 million are
temporary savings. This was
ahead of the target of £30
million permanent cost savings,
Performance
which is due to phasing.
Profit to cash conversion was
Since 2019, we have delivered
80% in the year. This was due to
a cumulative £83 million of
record advertising revenues in
2021 and tight working capital
Adjusted EPS increased by 40%
permanent cost savings. In 2022,
from 10.9p to 15.3p. This was
we will deliver around £17 million
management. This was partly
driven by strong growth in total
of permanent cost savings, with
offset by the unwinding of the
advertising revenues (TAR) up
total cumulative cost savings
24%, and ITV Studios adjusted
of around £100 million.
EBITA up 41% as a result of the
recovery from the COVID-19
impact in 2020.
We will deliver an additional
£50 million of permanent cost
savings by 2026. In total, we
will deliver £150 million of
permanent cost savings
between 2019 and 2026.
working capital benefit from
2020, which had a significant
working capital inflow arising
from a reduction in programme
stock (where we delivered
programmes but were unable
to continue producing due to
the COVID-19 pandemic) and
the timing of VAT payments
which were deferred to the
first half of 2021.
2021
80%
2021
15.3p
+40% on 2020
Ambition
8 years to 2026
Deliver £150 million
of permanent savings
Ambition
5 years to 2026
Maintain at around 85%
ITV Studios total revenue
measures the scale and success
of our global studios business.
It includes revenues from
programmes sold to M&E,
which as an integrated producer
broadcaster, is an important part
of our business.
Performance
ITV Studios total revenue grew
28% to £1,760 million, despite
ongoing COVID-19 challenges in
the production of both scripted
and unscripted content.
Total organic revenue at
constant currency (which
excludes acquisitions and
assumes exchange rates remain
consistent with 2020) was up
31%. There was a £40 million
unfavourable currency impact
in the year.
This is the key profitability
measure used across the ITV
Studios business. The profile of
adjusted EBITA margin differs
for production and distribution
activities, and further varies with
each production due to genre,
customer type and maturity.
Adjusted earnings before
interest, tax and amortisation
(EBITA) is calculated by adding
back exceptional items and
including high-end production
tax credits2. It reflects the
underlying performance of the
business and provides a more
meaningful comparison of how
the business is managed and
measured on a day-to-day basis.
The margin is calculated based
on ITV Studios total revenue.
Performance
ITV Studios adjusted EBITA
margin was 12% (2020: 11%) and
continues to be impacted by
incremental costs associated
with social distancing guidelines
and health and safety protocols
in productions.
Total high-end scripted hours is
an important measure of the
success of our strategy to grow
our global scripted business.
High-end scripted hours include
new commissions or returning
franchises that have a higher cost
per hour than continuing drama.
These high-end scripted hours
are sold to global streamers, pay
platforms or free-to-air
broadcasters, where they are
expected to perform well with
viewers in their domestic market,
as well as having international
distribution appeal.
Performance
The number of high-end scripted
hours produced by ITV Studios
increased by 56% to 175 hours
driven by growth in UK high-end
scripted hours, with for example
Grace and The Tower; and new
US titles such as Physical and Ten
Year Old Tom.
The Studios business is focused
on maximising unscripted
value by both protecting and
expanding existing formats and
creating new formats that travel
internationally. A good measure
of international success is when
a format is commissioned in
three or more countries in the
year. Spin-offs such as Beat
the Chasers are considered
distinct to the original format
(i.e. The Chase) for the purpose
of this indicator.
Performance
The number of formats sold
in three or more countries
increased to 15 formats. Recent
formats that have sold in three
or more countries include Let
Love Rule, The Voice Generations
and Beat the Chasers.
2021
£1,760m
+28% on 2020
Ambition
5 years to 2026
Grow on average at least
5% per annum from 2022
2021
12%
+1% point on 2020
2021
175hrs
+56% on 2020
2021
15 formats
+1 format on 2020
Ambition
Return to 13% to 15% range
from 2023 onwards
Ambition
5 years to 2026
Grow to 400 hours
Ambition
5 years to 2026
Grow to 20 formats
2018
2019
2020
2021
15.4
13.9
15.3
10.9
2018
2019
2020
2021
88
87
80
138
2018
2019
2020
2021
1,678
1,830
1,760
1,375
2018
2019
2020
2021
15
15
11
12
2018
2019
2020
2021
163
175
112
223
2018
2019
2020
2021
1. A full reconciliation between our adjusted and statutory results is provided in the APMs on page 59.
2. A full reconciliation between our adjusted and statutory results is provided in the APMs.
14
14
15
15
27
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) continued
Expand
UK and global production
M&E
Supercharge streaming and
optimise broadcast
BritBox International
% of ITV Studios total
revenue from streaming
platforms
Total digital revenue
UK subscribers
Total streaming hours
Monthly active users
TV programmes
viewing
Total subscribers
Share of top 1,000
commercial broadcast
Share of commercial
Definition
Definition
Definition
Definition
Definition
Definition
Definition
UK subscribers captures total UK
subscriptions to ITV streaming
platforms and services (including
free trials). It is an important
measure of how successfully we
provide a clear, compelling and
differentiated SVOD offering.
Performance
Total UK subscribers grew 33%
to 1.2 million. Growth came from
both BritBox UK subscribers and
the ITV Hub+ platform.
Total digital revenue is an
important measure of the
acceleration of our digital
strategy and our digital first
approach. It includes AVOD
advertising revenue and SVOD
subscription revenue as well
as linear addressable revenue,
digital sponsorship and
partnership revenue, ITV Win
and any other revenues from
digital business ventures.
Performance
Total digital revenue grew 40%
to £347 million. The growth was
largely driven by AVOD revenue,
which grew 41%, and the growth
in BritBox subscriptions.
Over the next five years, the key
driver of growth across the
overall content market will
be significant investment by
streamers. The percentage
of ITV Studios total revenue
from streaming platforms is
an important measure to
demonstrate the extent to
which the business is further
diversifying its customer base
and pivoting to streamers
around the world. See earlier
KPIs for definition of ITV Studios
total revenue.
Performance
The percentage of ITV Studios
total revenue from streaming
platforms grew to 13%.
Notable deliveries on streaming
platforms in 2021 include
Physical (Apple TV+), Cowboy
Bebop (Netflix) and Ten Year
Old Tom (HBO Max).
2021
13%
+3% points on 2020
2021
£347m
+40% on 2020
Ambition
5 years to 2026
Grow to 25% of ITV Studios
total revenue
Ambition
5 years to 2026
More than double to at
least £750m
2021
1.2m
+33% on 2020
Ambition
5 years to 2026
Double to 2.5m
6
6
2018
2019
2020
2021
10
13
2018
2019
2020
2021
164
202
2018
0.3
2019
0.5
248
2020
2021
347
0.9
1.2
28
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Driving digital viewing and
enticing our viewers to watch
more ITV content is key to our
digital first strategy. Total
streaming hours measures the
total number of hours viewers
spent watching ITV across all
streaming platforms. This
figure includes both AVOD
and SVOD viewing.
Performance
Total streaming hours increased
22% to 1,048 million hours. The
growth was driven by our focus
on strengthening our content
offering. On ITV Hub and ITV
Hub+, we extended the catch-up
window, increased the number
of drama series available in full
when the first episode launched
on linear and improved the
curation of content using our
vast archive. In addition, during
the Euro 2020 Football
Championships, for the first time,
we put all episodes of the soaps
for the week ahead on ITV Hub.
On BritBox UK, we launched five
new and exclusive originals in
2021 including Secrets of the
Krays and Crime.
2021
1,048m hrs
+22% on 2020
Ambition
5 years to 2026
Double to 2bn hours
2018
2019
2020
2021
746
839
856
1,048
As part of our digital first
Continuing to deliver meaningful
Keeping our free-to-air
strategy, it is important that we
audience scale is important to
proposition strong with
measure the number of viewers
M&E’s overall success. This
unrivalled commercial audiences
captures total global
that engage with our content
measure indicates ITV’s
is vital for the M&E business and
subscriptions (excluding UK).
digitally. Monthly active users
proportion of the top 1,000
ITV Family share of commercial
It is an important measure of
captures the average number
commercial broadcast TV
viewing is how we measure this.
the scale and reach of our
of registered users throughout
programmes. This includes TV
ITV Family share of commercial
international SVOD offering.
the year who accessed our
viewing from transmission and
viewing is the total viewing of
BritBox International is a joint
owned and operated on demand
seven days post-transmission on
audiences over the year achieved
venture between BBC Studios
Definition
The number of BritBox
International subscribers
catch up, as well as six weeks
by ITV’s family of channels as a
and ITV.
prior to the transmission window.
proportion of all ad-supported
It excludes programmes with a
commercial broadcaster viewing
duration of £13 million
was raised (40% uplift on
2020)1
£60 million
has been raised since Soccer
Aid for UNICEF began2
50
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Volunteering
ITV encourages colleagues
to use three paid days a year
to volunteer. In 2021, we
introduced two new schemes
to enable volunteering that
also support our Diversity
and Inclusion objectives.
We started a new mentoring
scheme with long-term ITV
partner Creative Access, which
focuses on encouraging people
from underrepresented groups
in their early careers.
ITV also encouraged colleagues
to help students think about
a career in media through a
partnership with access charity
Education and Employers.
The results
150 mentoring
partnerships began through the
Creative Access x ITV scheme3
79 schools
had visits from ITV
colleagues, reaching
over 19,000 students4
1. Source: Amount reported via:
www.socceraid.org.uk
2. Source: UNICEF reporting of total
raised since 2006
3. Source: Data provided by
Creative Access
4. Source: Based on ITV sign-ups
and schools data
Our priorities
Climate Action
Creating programmes
with the biggest impact
on the audience and
the smallest impact
on the planet.
Our goals
• Net Zero1: Reducing
emissions we control (scope
1&2) by 46.2% and those we
can influence (scope 3) by
28% by 2030
• Zero Waste by 2030
• 100% sustainable supply
chain by 2030
• 100% albert certified
and trained
• Increase on-screen Climate
Action content
Sustainable Development
Goals
1. Net Zero is a state when no incremental
emissions are released into the
atmosphere. It is achieved when
absolute emissions are reduced in line
with science based targets to as close
to zero as possible, and any remaining
emissions are taken out of the
atmosphere through carbon
sequestration such as tree planting.
2021 was a pivotal year for
Climate Action, and ITV’s
ambition has grown with
the scale of the challenge
we face. We made progress
across all business areas –
from engaging commercial
partners with innovative
ways to showcase sustainable
products, to creating a
dedicated Climate Action
Week on-screen to engage
our audiences. We are
transforming so that ITV is
fit to thrive in a changing
world, playing a leading
role in the transition to
a sustainable society.
In 2021, ITV achieved a
Carbon Disclosure Project
(CDP global disclosure
system for environmental
reporting) rating of A-,
putting us in the top 10%
of companies who disclose.
We demonstrated our
commitment to our Climate
Action targets by announcing
that from 2022 performance
against these targets will be
linked to the remuneration
of ITV’s senior team. We have
also recently agreed our new
Revolving Credit Facility which
will be linked to the delivery
of our carbon emissions
targets, with ITV benefiting
from a lower interest rate if
it delivers emissions
reductions in line with its Net
Zero roadmap. This will be
assessed on an annual basis
and verified through
independent assurance.
We have brought together
expertise from across the
business for Climate Scenario
Analysis, to understand the
risks ITV may be exposed to.
This is part of our alignment
with the recommendations
of the Task Force on
Climate-related Financial
Disclosure (TCFD).
See further detail in the TCFD
section, pages 88 to 93.
Collaboration on Climate
Change is vital, and ITV is part
of several initiatives including:
Ad Net Zero, albert, Business
Ambition for 1.5c, DIMPACT,
Media Climate Pact, and the
Climate Content Pledge.
Energy
Net Zero: Reducing
emissions we control
by 46.2% and those
we can influence by
28% by 2030
To progress to Net Zero, ITV
has committed to emissions
reductions targets that have
been validated by the Science
Based Targets initiative: a
46.2% reduction of our scope
1&2 emissions (such as fuel
and electricity we use
directly), and a 28% reduction
of our scope 3 emissions (such
as business travel and the
products and services that
we purchase) by 2030.
To help us achieve the
targets, we have introduced
a new software platform to
get a more accurate view of
our emissions. In 2022, our
emissions data will be subject
to independent verification,
which will form part of our
year end reporting disclosure
from 2022 onwards. Refer
to TCFD on page 88 for
further detail.
Reducing scope 1&2
emissions (controlled
by ITV)
81% of ITV’s global electricity
use now comes from
renewable energy tariffs.
We are working on the
remaining non-renewable
sites, alongside trials of new
low-emission vehicles and
modernising of our buildings.
Refer to the Streamlined
Energy and Carbon Reporting
(SECR) table on page 52 for
detail on our Energy Savings
Opportunities Scheme (ESOS)
review during the year.
Reducing scope 3 emissions
(influenced by ITV)
ITV’s Procurement team has
rolled out a new global
Supplier Code of Conduct and
is working with our highest-
impact suppliers to ensure
they meet our sustainable
supply chain targets. We are
also working closely with
the production community
and other broadcasters as
part of the BAFTA albert
consortium, supporting the
creative sector in transitioning
to low-carbon production.
ITV’s Technology and
Procurement teams ensure
that the delivery of content to
audiences is as sustainable as
possible. The DIMPACT project,
in collaboration with other
media organisations, allows us to
better understand the footprint
of our content distribution and
consumption, and the impact of
different technologies.
The results
In 2021, our Scope 1&2 emissions
decreased by
44% and our Scope 3
emissions decreased by
6%
Refer to page 52 for further
detail on our Scope 1&2 and
Scope 3 emissions in the year.
51
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Strategic Report | Social Purpose continued
Energy continued
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) – based on data for year ended 31 December
Scope
Description
1
2
Location-based
Market-based
1&2
Location-based
Market-based
1&2
Location-based
Market-based
Emissions from gas, refrigerants and
owned vehicles
Electricity emissions using geographical
location
Electricity emissions using purchased
electricity factor
Total emissions
Direct & Indirect Energy Consumption
Total revenue
Unit
tCO2e
tCO2e
tCO2e
kWh
£m
Normalised emissions to revenue
tCO2e/£m
2021
UK
2021 Global
(excl UK)
2020
UK
2020 Global
(excl UK)
1,967
439
1,631
8,185
1,050
9,118
1,391
771
4,954
923
774
595
10,153
3,359
33,532,542
1,489
1,210
5,735,172
10,749
6,585
44,290,976
1,698
1,518
3,060,668
4,402
3,260
2.3064
0.7630
0.3383
0.2748
3.2971
2.0198
0.5208
0.4657
3
3
Total Scope 1, 2 & 3 (market-based)
Purchased Goods and Services
Business travel
tCO2e
tCO2e
tCO2e
318,418
17,177
340,164
345,097
13,650
366,850
Methodology
2021 emissions data covers global operations for which
we have operational control. We use the Greenhouse
Gases (GHG) Protocol Corporate Accounting and
Reporting Standard and the latest conversion factors
from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial
Strategy to calculate Scope 1 emissions, and the latest
conversion factors from the International Energy Agency
to calculate Scope 2 emissions in tonnes of carbon dioxide
equivalents. 20% of our data set is based on estimated
data. Estimates are calculated from previous consumption
trends and published benchmarks.
As part of our review of the operational control of
reporting emissions, we expect that in 2022 the
emissions for three transmission towers, which are
currently included in Scope 2, will be reclassified to Scope 3.
We will ensure all comparatives and our 2019 baseline will
be restated to reflect this reclassification. We expect to
remain ahead of our targets even with the reclassification.
Scope 1&2 and Scope 3 emissions
Scope 1&2 emissions reduced by 44% in 2021 compared
to 2020. The decrease was predominantly driven by an
increase in the uptake of renewable energy across our
sites, along with remote working continuing across
most of our sites during the year. We remain ahead of
our targets for Scope 1&2 emissions reductions.
2021 Energy efficiency initiatives
•
In Leeds we replaced our district heating and cooling
system with localised packages, which are more
controllable and flexible allowing us to vary our
heating depending on the weather. We also continued
installing LED lighting in our Emmerdale studios in the
UK, which had been delayed due to the pandemic.
Scope 3 emissions reduced by 6% compared to 2020.
Despite an increase in production and travel as
COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, we are firmly ahead
of our target. Refer to the data section in the 2021
Social Purpose Impact report for our footprint across
all Scope 3 categories.
The Board made the decision to consolidate ITV’s London
offices into one location from 2022. It is estimated this will
reduce workplace emissions by up to 40% compared to
the previous site arrangements.
• We reduced energy usage by up to 50% in four central
apparatus rooms in Leeds, London and Manchester by
making small adjustments to lighting and heating to
increase efficiency.
•
In our Media City office in Salford, we reduced our floor
space by 25% due to hybrid working following the
pandemic, making better use of the remaining space
and reducing energy usage.
• We have started to test electric vehicles on some
productions with the aim of making changes to our
vehicle fleet during 2022.
Waste
Zero waste by 2030
ITV’s commitment to zero waste
by 2030 is initially focused on
the UK. It pledges at least 90%
of our waste in the UK will be
reused or recycled.
We can now monitor waste
across all sites through a
centralised digital platform.
We are also tackling the waste
generated through productions
by ensuring that all ITV content
achieves albert certification
standard, and by supporting
waste free-innovative working
practices. For example,
Emmerdale has introduced
a composter that can process
the food waste generated on
and off-screen, and turn it back
into compost for the allotment.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Sourcing
100% sustainable supply
chain by 2030
ITV’s target is to make sure all
our highest environmental
risk suppliers align with our
enhanced sustainability criteria
by 2025, and we will work with
suppliers to improve their
impact by 2030.
Our new global Supplier Code
of Conduct sets out the
expectations for all ITV suppliers
in helping to deliver our 2030
climate action targets. The
new ‘Procuring with Social
Purpose’ framework helps
weigh up decision-making
factors, including cost, service,
social and environmental factors.
Climate action on-screen
Driving climate action
on-screen
In 2021, ITV continued to
normalise climate action
and sustainable living across
a range of programmes.
ITV marked COP26 in November
with Climate Action Week, a
whole week focused on telling
the stories of climate change
and the transition to a more
sustainable world across a range
of our daily programming. Our
marketing campaign encouraged
2.2 million people to consider
sustainable behaviours and 1.2
million sustainable swaps1.
During COP26, ITV joined 11 other
international broadcasters and
streamers in creating and
signing a global pledge to
ensure that our content helps
audiences understand what
tackling climate change means
for them, as well as inspiring and
informing sustainable choices.
For more information see:
www.itv.com/footprint/
ITV Home Planet is our
Commercial initiative to
help brands with sustainable
products and services to
showcase the changes that
audiences can make to live
more sustainably. In 2021 it
included partnerships between
Co-Op and Coronation Street
and a collaboration with eBay
during COP26.
1. Source: Extrapolated from YouGov,
Nov 2021, Sample: 2,020 UK adults
Culture
100% environmentally
trained and certified
ITV mandates that all of our
programmes produced and
commissioned in the UK
achieve the BAFTA albert
certification standard.2
In 2021, 84% of ITV produced
programmes in the UK
(including sport and
Regional News programming),
achieved albert certification.
Internationally, Nurses,
a documentary series
produced by ITV Studios
Australia, became the
first-ever Australian TV show
to receive albert certification,
and marked a milestone for
our international roll-out of
the standard.
We have some progress to
make on programmes we
commission for ITV channels,
with around 57% being albert
certified. We are improving
internal processes and
working with suppliers to
increase this to 100% in 2022.
ITV colleagues globally
completed mandatory
Climate Action training
during 2021.
2. albert certification standard is
a certification for a television
production’s efforts to reduce
its carbon footprint. Productions
are rewarded with one, two or
three stars for reducing the impact
of their production.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Social Purpose continued
Our priorities
Diversity
& Inclusion
Fostering creativity
by championing
diversity and
driving inclusion
Our goals
Improve gender, ethnicity,
disability and LGBT+
representation on-screen,
off-screen, and within our
workforce to meet our
targets by the end of 2022.
Sustainable
Development Goals
Overview
As the UK’s largest commercial
broadcaster, we recognise
the power and reach of our
programming, and our Public
Service responsibility to ensure
that we authentically represent
and reflect the whole of the
UK on-screen, off-screen in our
production teams, and within
our workforce. We want to
appeal to all of our audiences –
ITV is for everyone, no matter
who they are.
We can change the hearts and
minds of our viewers, helping to
shape the way our society views
the world. Within our workforce,
we want everyone to feel
equal, included and able to be
themselves. By championing
diversity across ITV, including
in ways of thinking and working,
we can generate the very best
creative ideas.
In 2021, ITV was ranked first
for Equality in the Tortoise
Responsibility100 index, which
ranks FTSE 100 companies
on social, environmental and
ethical objectives. ITV was also
named the Best Place to Work
for People of Colour by the
TV Collective, and a Top 10
Inclusive Employer by the
British LGBT Awards.
In July 2021, one year on from
its launch, we published our
first Diversity Acceleration Plan
Report, having already made
some notable progress:
• We saw a 33% increase in lead
roles filled by Black, Asian and
Minority Ethnic (B.A.M.E.)
talent on-screen
• Through ITV’s Step Up 60
initiative, 62 opportunities
were created for B.A.M.E.
production talent to gain
more senior experience and
step up to their next role
• We launched ITV’s Rise
Programme, for B.A.M.E.
colleagues working towards
their first line management
role. Over 25% of the first
cohort have moved into
more senior roles
We will continue to focus on
delivering on our Diversity
Acceleration Plan commitments
alongside a deeper focus on
addressing disability inclusion.
We are working to create
long-term positive cultural
change both internally and
for our audiences. This will be
achieved through our five
commitments:
1. Increasing representation
of disabled people in senior
editorial positions at ITV
2. Commissioning to ensure
ITV better reflects the
lives of disabled people
on screen
3. Improving the career
opportunities for disabled
talent working on ITV
programmes
4. Ensuring disabled people
have entry-level career
opportunities at ITV
5. Educating ourselves about
disability and disabled
people’s experiences and
ensuring accessibility is
in-built into everything
we do at ITV
We have continued to work with
other broadcasters on Diversity
& Inclusion (D&I), for example,
we collaborated on research
from the Sir Lenny Henry
Centre for Media Diversity
reviewing B.A.M.E. terminology.
We have appointed members
to ITV’s Cultural Advisory
Council, a group of independent
external advisers from a range
of industries and specialisms
who meet quarterly to
challenge and provide counsel
on our D&I activities.
On-screen
Our Production Principles are
integral to our commissioning
process and are helping to
encourage greater diversity
on and off-screen. At the point
of commission, programme
makers are asked to commit
to principles around D&I
(e.g. working to achieve a
representative crew and cast),
climate action, social impact,
and preventing bullying and
Targets
Improve representation
on-screen, off-screen, and
within our workforce, achieving
targets by the end of 2022.
Gender
50%
female
Ethnicity
15%
Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic
Disability
12%
disabled or with a long-term
health condition
LGBT+
7%
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
and Transgender
These targets are for our UK
workforce (the Senior Leadership
Team, managers, and all colleagues),
on-screen representation, and
off-screen representation in
production teams.
On-screen and off-screen
representation is measured
using Diamond, an industry-wide
data collection system for
monitoring and reporting
diversity in broadcasting.
More information about
Diamond can be found on
the Creative Diversity
Network website: www.
creativediversitynetwork.com/
diamond
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
UK workforce diversity data
(based on disclosed population at 31 December 2021)
Characteristic
Age 50+
Black, Asian & Minority Ethnic
Disabled or with a long-term health condition
Female
LGB+2
Transgender3
Professional socio-economic background4
Intermediate socio-economic background4
Working class socio-economic background4
Senior
Leadership
Team
(SLT)1 Managers
All
colleagues
2021
42.0%
11.8%
10.8%
45.6%
4.4%
–
42.0%
13.0%
21.7%
2021
20.3%
10.5%
9.0%
49.2%
7.8%
–
37.9%
14.2%
24.1%
2021
16.6%
14.3%
10.4%
52.6%
8.2%
0.3%
37.5%
13.3%
22.0%
Target
2022
–
15.0%
12.0%
50.0%
7.0%2
–
–
–
–
1.
2.
3.
4.
The SLT is a defined group of 335 senior leaders within the business which includes the Management Board. For the purpose of
this table, we have only included the 156 SLT members based in the UK. There is no separate target for the Management Board
as the numbers are too small, however, there is an expectation that this will also be representative.
Our LGBT+ target combines sexual orientation and gender identity, but we measure and report these separately. Our target is
based on estimated working population data in these communities. In Diamond: The Fourth Cut report, benchmarks are 6.4%
LGB+ and 0.8% transgender representation.
We have not broken down data on transgender and non-binary staff by management level due to low numbers.
We have followed guidance from the Social Mobility Commission and categorised responses based on the NS-SEC category
of the main wage earner’s occupation when respondent was 14.
Note: Under the Companies Act 2006, we are required to report on the gender breakdown of our senior managers – this statutory
definition is broader than our definition of members of the global SLT (a defined group of 335 senior leaders within the business). Of
our global workforce of 5,987 and disclosed population (2,696 male, 3,218 female), 376 were senior managers (191 male, 160 female),
which includes members of the SLT and directors on the Boards of undertakings of the Group (to the extent there are additional
individuals), but exclude individuals who sit as directors on the Board of the Company.
See page 105 for the gender split of the Board of Directors.
harassment. Our D&I team
actively supports producers
through the process. Since the
relaunch in March 2021, over 90
productions across all genres
have signed up to our principles.
On-screen highlights in 2021
included; Peckham’s Finest,
The Long Call, Christmas Comedy
Club With Lost Voice Guy, and
Katie Piper joining Loose Women
as regular panellist.
ITV celebrated Black History
Month in October with high
profile documentaries; will.i.am:
The Blackprint, Ashley Banjo:
Britain in Black and White,
and Charlene White: Empire’s
Child, the return of Sorry,
I Didn’t Know, TV’s first comedy
panel show about Black History,
as well as engaging and
awareness-raising strands across
ITV’s daytime programmes.
Off-screen
As part of our work to create
an inclusive culture and
further develop colleagues’
understanding around D&I, we
have a range of training and
development programmes.
We have continued inclusive
leadership training and race
fluency training, and the
Management Board continues
to participate in race fluency
coaching circles.
We launched Creating Disability
Inclusion training for leaders
and managers, which educated
colleagues about the social
model of disability, helping
ensure accessibility is in-built
into everything we do at ITV.
See Our People section for
further detail.
To better support disabled
staff and new joiners, we
introduced Disability Access
Passports to help colleagues
discuss their access
requirements, adjustments
and personalisations with
their managers and colleagues.
Behind the camera, of the
scripted writers we put into
development in 2021, 40%
were women and 13% were
Black, Asian and Minority
Ethnic writers.
ITV has published its Gender
and Ethnicity Pay Gap Report:
www.itvplc.com/investors/
governance
For more information on our
Diversity Acceleration Plan,
refer to: www.itv.com/inclusion/
articles/diversity-acceleration-
plan
Our priorities
Ethnicity
We have surpassed our on-screen
target for Black, Asian and Minority
Ethnic (B.A.M.E.) talent with 17.5%
representation and increased
off-screen representation in
production teams to 14.2%.
We have increased representation
of B.A.M.E. staff at all levels over
the last three years to 14.3% of
all colleagues, 10.5% of managers
and 11.8% of the Senior Leadership
Team (SLT).
LGBT+
We have surpassed most of our
targets for LGBT+ representation
on-screen, with 17.2% LGB+ and
1.1% trans, along with off-screen
in our production teams with
21.3% LGB+, and in our workforce
at all colleague and manager
levels being 8.2% and 7.8% LGB+
respectively. We have further to
go to improve LGB+ representation
at SLT which is 4.4% and trans
representation off-screen and
in our workforce.
Gender
We have 49.6% female
representation on-screen and
46.9% representation off-screen
in production teams. In our
workforce, 52.6% of all colleagues
are female, 49.2% of managers
and 45.6% of SLT. We are
continuing to work towards 50%
female representation across ITV.
The 2021 Hampton-Alexander
report ranked ITV fifth in the FTSE
250 for female representation
in our combined Executive
Committee and direct report roles
(in 2020, ITV ranked tenth).
Disability
We have 9.6% representation of
disabled people on-screen and
4.5% representation off-screen
in production teams. In our
workforce, representation of
disabled staff and those with
a long-term health condition is
at 10.4% of all colleagues, 9% of
managers and 10.8% of SLT. We
do have further to go to meet our
target, and our new commitments
in our Diversity Acceleration Plan
set out how we are prioritising
disability inclusion.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Our People
Our People
Our people are pivotal to the success of ITV. Our people
development offering is designed to drive our inclusive
culture, where everybody can perform at their best,
realise their potential and thrive. Our ambition is to be
an employer of choice across Media and Entertainment
and to make ITV a destination of choice for careers in
digital, data and technology.
Composition of our workforce
Our workforce consists of permanent and
fixed term employees, freelancers (an
individual who provides their services on
a specific project or programme for a finite
period of time); and contractors (companies
or suppliers which provide a service to ITV).
At ITV we call these our colleagues.
Investing in and rewarding
our people
We are committed to investing in and
building a high performing, creative
and diverse workforce. We adopt a
comprehensive and inclusive approach
to investing in and rewarding our
workforce, including apprenticeship
and mentoring programmes.
Our apprentice programme continues to
provide a diverse pipeline of entry level
talent into ITV, developing individuals at
the beginning of their career in the
media industry. This year we welcomed
44 apprentices recruited across our
business and regions.
We invest in the development of our
workforce through a range of online
workshops, as well as access to our
online development portal ‘My Academy’.
Through the workshops and access to My
Academy, we continue to build leadership
and line manager capability and support
personal skills development, wellbeing
and resilience for all colleagues. During
2021, we focused our development
offering across these key areas:
1. Agile Leadership Labs for our leaders
and managers, which brought to life
and reinforced the application of a set
of ITV Agile principles co-created with
the Executive Leadership Team (ELT);
these are:
– Define outcomes, not solutions
– Start with needs
– Trust extraordinary teams
– Start small, test early, learn fast
– Work in the open
2. To support the transition to a hybrid
working environment, we have offered
development for leaders, managers
and colleagues to equip them with the
resources and skills to lead and work
in this ever changing environment. This
included sessions with an external partner
designed to support colleagues to return
to the workplace ‘psychologically fit’,
with strategies to maintain a healthy
mind, balance and build resilience.
3. Our Talking Performance (performance
review) approach continues to drive high
performance and regular, good quality
performance conversations, with a focus
on equipping managers and colleagues
with the skills and tools to set goals,
discuss progress, review outcomes and
provide candid feedback.
4. Working with an external partner we have
designed and launched a series of career
development sessions and materials.
Events included workshops, videos,
podcasts and reading materials to
support annual career conversations
and to continue to increase awareness of
opportunities and the role each individual
plays in owning and driving their careers.
The ITV Way
The ITV Way provides all
colleagues with the guiding
principles of how we like to
work at ITV in order to deliver
our strategy
Make it brilliant
Creativity for everyone
Make it new
Openness to change, with
no barriers
Make it together
Collaborating and
embracing differences
Aligned with the ITV Way, we have
designed a set of behavioural
expectations for our people to embed
our digital cultural transformation and
ensure that all employees, regardless
of their level, have a clear understanding
of the behaviours we expect of them.
They underpin all recruitment and
selection activities and work is underway
to embed them across our people
development offering and within our
performance management approach,
which focuses on having regular, quality
conversations about performance as well
as more regular check-ins.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
At ITV, we understand the need to stay
competitive to attract and retain our
talent. In 2021 the increasingly competitive
landscape (particularly in skill sets such
as technology and data) put additional
pressure on the business to attract and
retain its talent. The business adapted
to ensure we have the required skills to
accelerate into Phase Two of our More
Than TV strategy. For example, through
investment in additional resource,
continued evolution of our total reward
offering and a focus on targeted
development and capability building.
Our approach to attracting and retaining
talent through pay, and information on
the Remuneration Committee’s
consideration of workforce remuneration
and related policies, are set out on pages
144 and 145. Our successful and popular
Save As You Earn scheme gives our
workforce the opportunity to engage with
and celebrate ITV’s success, and encourages
voluntary investment in ITV shares.
Building an inclusive culture
At ITV, we understand and value the
creativity that diversity brings to our
business and strive for an inclusive
environment where everyone can be
their authentic self. Our aim is to reflect
the diversity of modern society both on
and off-screen. In support of our Diversity
Acceleration Plan (see page 54 for further
details) there are a number of workforce
initiatives in place.
Leaders and managers attend a tripartite
programme of diversity & inclusion
workshops, designed to equip them with
education, insights and tools for building
an inclusive culture. These programmes
focus on being an inclusive leader, race
fluency and inclusive hiring.
Our Senior Leadership Team participated in
an Inclusion Summit, which provided them
with the opportunity to come together to
drive inclusion at ITV, commit to actions
and demonstrate their commitment to
an inclusive environment where everyone
can reach their potential and be their
authentic self.
In 2021 we designed and launched our
inclusion insight series for all colleagues.
This consisted of a series of bite-size
learning of on demand video content,
providing insight and recommended
actions to drive understanding and
knowledge around the role we all play
in making ITV a place where everyone
can reach their potential.
The delivery of ITV Rise, our holistic
12-month culture change programme,
has concluded with 132 colleagues, line
managers and senior leader advocates
taking part. ITV Rise was designed to build
race confidence, promote minority ethnic
talent progression and accelerate inclusive
culture change.
We have continued to position ITV as
an inclusive employer of choice by
strengthening and broadening our
talent attraction strategy, including:
• Expanding our reach through specialist
job board partners, for example
Evenbreak, a specialist disability job
board with extensive reach
• Running career guidance sessions with
new partner organisations such as The
Care Leaver Covenant, a government
funded scheme to support care leavers
aged 16-25 in their transition from care
to independence
• Hosting a series of virtual CV workshops
and clinics for blind graduates and
school leavers through the charity Blind
in Business
• Running a Masterclass with the charity
Working Options in Education who
support the most deprived 16-19 year
old students to achieve their potential
in the world of work
ITV’s Able network group continues to
champion the disability agenda throughout
the organisation, supported by our
Group Chief Technology Officer at the
Management Board level. ITV’s continued
commitment to recruiting, retaining and
developing disabled people is recognised
by the Department for Work and Pensions
with Disability Confident Leader
accreditation. The Company gives full
and fair consideration to the employment
of people with a disability or health
condition, and guarantees an interview
to any candidate with a disability
who meets the minimum requirement
for a role.
We continue to work with specialist
providers who advise and support
colleagues and managers regarding
workplace adjustments as well as any
adjustments candidates need through
the application and hiring process.
We are committed to ensuring that
all training, career development and
promotion opportunities are accessible
and inclusive to all colleagues with
a disability and that they have equal
career opportunities for growth and
progression. For example, we have
introduced Disability Access Passports
(see page 55). For any employee who
becomes disabled whilst in employment
ITV Colleague Networks.
Ahmed Mudawi on the set of This
is Deaf.
57
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Our People continued
we ensure the right support is in place to
enable them to return to work. This may
include an occupational health assessment,
a phased return to work and reasonable
adjustments as required, supported by
our specialist partners. We are members
of the global disability inclusion group,
Valuable 500, and as a member we are
committed to putting disability inclusion
on the leadership agenda.
See pages 116 to 119 for our culture, and how
the Board monitors and assesses culture
See pages 54 and 55 for our Diversity and
Inclusion strategy, including our gender
and B.A.M.E. workforce metrics
See pages 124 and 125 for the Nomination
Committee’s work in Diversity and Inclusion
and the Board Diversity Policy
Engagement
We continue to connect and engage with
our workforce, providing a forum for
colleagues to have their views heard and
this year ran a full engagement survey for
all permanent and fixed term employees
globally. Globally, 76% of our employees
shared their views and the survey allowed
us to get an updated measurement of
engagement. Our overall engagement
result is 67%, when compared with our 2019
score this is broadly flat. The UK is slightly
ahead at 69% and the international teams
(including the US) are slightly behind at 66%.
These results demonstrate the work that
has been done to support our colleagues
during 2021 as they navigate the changing
ways of working and the impact of the
pandemic. For further details of our
engagement survey, including survey
results and insights, please see page 117.
The following areas have been identified as
the key opportunities to that will have the
biggest impact on overall engagement:
• The Management Board at ITV has
communicated a vision that inspires
me – 53%
•
•
•
I believe action will take place as a result
of this survey – 48%
I am given tools to help me manage my
career – 52%
I believe there are good career
opportunities for me at ITV – 53%
All colleagues, including freelancers, are able
to raise concerns through our Speaking Up
framework (see pages 119 and 133).
For further information on how the Board
and management engage with the workforce,
please see pages 113 to 115.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Drag queen, The Vivienne, at Emmerdale
Pride 2021
Cutting Edge Climate Innovations
with Chris Ramsey presented by ITV
Fast Forward.
Naomi Bharwani holds up the ‘Proud To
Be African’ message.
Mental health, wellbeing and
duty of care
Supporting the mental and physical health
of colleagues remains a key priority,
particularly in light of the changing ways
of working, which the pandemic has
accelerated. The move to a hybrid working
environment has been supported with
the use of specific online workshops and
curation of resources each focused on
building personal resilience, psychological
fitness and managing high performing
teams in a hybrid world. Additionally, our
ITV Feel Good offering continues to provide
advice, support and tools for inspiring and
enabling colleagues to look after their own
wellbeing and have a balanced and healthy
working lifestyle.
The Duty of Care Operating Board and
Mental Health Advisory Group (comprising
external subject matter experts as well
as relevant ITV leaders) meet regularly to
provide practical guidance and support on
all aspects of our approach to the mental
health and wellbeing of our colleagues,
programme participants, and viewing public.
Their advice includes best existing practice
and evolving new thinking on mental health,
which in turn is reflected in our policies and
decision-making, for example in 2021 this
included further focus on freelancer support
and welfare.
ITV’s duty of care processes continue to
evolve and during 2021 included a refresh
of the Duty of Care Framework, which
will continue into 2022. This will also align
closely with a review of ITV’s Speaking Up
framework to ensure that, where colleagues
may have concerns relating to duty of care
matters, they understand the appropriate
channels for reporting. The review focused
on initiatives to empower those working on
productions and throughout the business
to effectively and confidently manage duty
of care issues and on the alignment of
comprehensive duty of care guidelines and
processes across the business. In addition,
our Independent Chief Psychological Officer,
who reports to the Duty of Care Operating
Board and works closely with the Duty
of Care team, took on a broader role in
advising the Company on the strategic
design and delivery of ITV’s global mental
health and wellbeing strategy across
multiple business areas.
Please refer to page 70 for information on
our policies in relation to our colleagues’
health and safety.
Alternative
Performance
Measures
The Annual Report and Accounts includes both
statutory and adjusted measures (Alternative
Performance Measures or APMs), the latter of
which, in management’s view, reflect the underlying
performance of the business and provide a more
meaningful comparison of how the business is
managed and measured on a day-to-day basis.
Our APMs and KPIs are aligned with
our strategy and business segments
and together are used to measure
the performance of our business and
form the basis of the performance
measures for remuneration. Adjusted
results exclude certain items because,
if included, they could distort the
understanding of our performance
for the period and the comparability
between periods. APMs are not
defined terms under IFRS and may
not be comparable with similarly titled
measures reported by other companies.
As adjusted results exclude certain
items (such as significant legal, major
restructuring and transaction items),
they should not be regarded as a
complete picture of the Group’s
financial performance. The exclusion
of other adjusting items may result
in adjusted earnings being materially
higher or lower than statutory
earnings. In particular, when
significant impairments, restructuring
charges and legal costs are excluded,
adjusted earnings will be higher than
statutory earnings.
The Audit and Risk Committee has
oversight of ITV’s APMs and actively
reviews, revises and approves the
policy for classifying adjustments
and exceptional items. Further detail
is included in the following section.
Key adjustments for EBITA, adjusted
EBITA, profit before tax and EPS
EBITA is calculated by adjusting operating
profit for operating exceptional items and
amortisation and impairment. Adjusted
EBITA is calculated by adding back high-end
production tax credits to EBITA. Further
adjustments, which include the gain/loss
on the sale of non-current assets,
amortisation and impairment of assets
acquired through business combinations
and investments, and certain net financing
costs, are made to remove their effect from
adjusted profit before tax and adjusted EPS.
The tax effects of all these adjustments are
reflected in the adjusted tax charge. These
adjustments are detailed below.
Production tax credits
The ability to access tax credits, which
are rebates based on production spend,
is fundamental to our ITV Studios business
when assessing the viability of investment
in decisions, especially with regards to
high-end drama. ITV reports tax credits
generated in the US and other countries
(e.g. Italy, Canada and Spain) within cost
of sales, whereas in the UK tax credits for
high-end drama must be classified as a
corporation tax item. However, in our
view all tax credits relate directly to the
production of programmes. Therefore,
to align treatment, regardless of production
location, and to reflect the way the business
is managed and measured on a day-to-day
basis, these are recognised in adjusted
EBITA. Our cash measures, including profit
to cash conversion and free cash flow are
also adjusted for the impact of production
tax credits.
Exceptional items
These items are excluded to reflect
performance in a consistent manner and
are in line with how the business is managed
and measured on a day-to-day basis. They
are typically material amounts related to
costs, gains or losses arising from events
that are not considered part of the core
operations of the business, though they
may cross several accounting periods. These
include, but are not limited to, costs directly
related to acquisitions, costs related to
major reorganisation and restructuring
programmes, material onerous contracts,
significant impairment of sports rights, the
impact of COVID-19 in 2020, and other items
such as non-routine legal costs (e.g. legal
costs related to items which are themselves
considered to be exceptional items). We also
adjust for the tax effect of these items.
Further detail is included in note 2.2 to
the Financial Statements.
Acquisition-related costs
We structure our acquisitions with earnouts
or put and call options, to allow part of the
consideration to be based on the future
performance of the business as well as
to lock in and incentivise creative talent.
Where consideration paid or contingent
consideration payable in the future is
employment-linked, it is treated as an
expense (under accounting rules) and
therefore part of our statutory results.
However, we exclude all consideration of
this type from adjusted EBITA, adjusted
profit after tax and adjusted EPS as, in our
view, these items are part of the capital
transaction and do not form part of the
Group’s core operations. The Finance Review
explains this further. Acquisition-related
costs, including legal and advisory fees on
completed deals or significant deals that
do not complete, are also treated as an
expense (under accounting rules) and
therefore on a statutory basis form part
59
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Alternative Performance Measures continued
Reconciliation between statutory and adjusted results
2021
Statutory
£m
784
2021
Adjustments
£m
29
2021
Adjusted
£m
813
2020
Statutory
£m
561
2020
Adjustments
£m
12
2020
Adjusted
£m
573
Twelve months to 31 December
EBITA1
Exceptional items
(operating)2
Amortisation and
impairment3
Operating profit
Net financing costs4
Share of profits on JVs
and associates
(Loss)/Gain on sale of
non-current assets,
subsidiaries and
investments
Profit before tax
Tax5
Profit after tax
Non-controlling interests
Earnings
Shares (million), weighted
average
EPS (p)
Diluted EPS (p)6
(196)
196
–
(118)
(69)
519
(50)
49
274
19
(20)
793
(31)
(87)
356
(44)
12
–
12
9
1
294
(61)
233
–
233
–
774
(153)
621
(10)
611
4
325
(44)
281
4
285
(1)
480
(92)
388
(10)
378
4,005
9.4p
9.3p
4,005
15.3p
15.1p
4,002
7.1p
7.1p
–
–
–
4,002
10.9p
10.8p
118
68
198
8
–
(4)
202
(51)
151
–
151
–
(19)
554
(36)
9
–
527
(95)
432
4
436
1. £29 million (2020: £12 million) adjustment relates to production tax credits which we consider to be a contribution to
production costs and working capital in nature rather than a corporate tax item. EBITA is not a statutory measure.
2. Exceptional items of £196 million (2020: £118 million) largely relate to acquisition-related costs and includes a
£108 million adjustment to the earnout payment in relation to Talpa following the final determination. Refer to
the Finance Review.
3. £49 million (2020: £68 million) adjustment relates to amortisation and impairment of assets acquired through
business combinations and investments. We include only amortisation on purchased intangibles, such as software,
within adjusted profit before tax.
4. £19 million (2020: £8 million) adjustment is £9 million for non-cash interest cost and £10 million exceptional interest
payable on the Talpa exceptional acquisition-related expense. This provides a more meaningful comparison of how
the business is managed and funded on a day-to-day basis.
5. Tax adjustments are the tax effects of the adjustments made to reconcile profit before tax and adjusted profit before
tax. A full reconciliation is included in the Finance Review.
6. Weighted average diluted number of shares in the period was 4,051 million (2020: 4,025 million).
of our statutory results. In our view, these
items also form part of the capital
transaction or are one-off and material
in nature and are therefore excluded
from our adjusted measures.
Major restructuring and reorganisation
programme costs
Where there has been a material change
in the organisational structure of a business
area or a material initiative, these costs
are highlighted and are excluded from our
adjusted measures. These costs arise from
significant initiatives to reduce the ongoing
cost base and improve efficiency in the
business to enable the delivery of our
strategic priorities. We consider each project
individually to determine whether its size
and nature warrant separate disclosure.
Material onerous contracts
A contract is considered onerous when the
unavoidable costs of the contract exceed
the revenues associated with it. In 2021
and 2020, we have had material onerous
transmission contract provisions relating
to committed costs of transmission
capacity on satellite transponders that
are no longer used in the M&E business.
There are no revenues associated with
this capacity as there are no channels on
the relevant satellite transponders.
Impairment of sports rights
COVID-19 impacted our planned 2020-21
sporting schedule. This combined with
the consequential impact on TAR, changing
forecasts of audience mix and revenues
for certain sporting events resulted in a
material impairment to our sports rights
in 2020. Further adjustments to the
provisions to reflect updated forecasts
have been made in 2021.
COVID-19 related costs
These are direct incremental costs incurred
exclusively in 2020 as a result of COVID-19
and include: costs associated with the
closure of ITV Studios productions and their
subsequent restart in a safe environment,
and additional costs incurred to maintain
the production of daytime and news
programming during the government
imposed lockdown. We incurred no costs
directly related to COVID-19 in 2021.
60
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Net pension deficit/surplus
This is our defined benefit pension scheme
surplus or deficit under IAS 19 adjusted for
other pension assets, mainly gilts, which
are held by the Group as security for future
unfunded pension payments for four
Granada executives and over which the
unfunded pension scheme holds a charge.
See note 3.6 to the Financial Statements.
Profit to cash conversion
This is the measure of our effectiveness
of cash generation used for working capital
management. It is calculated as our adjusted
cash flow as a proportion of adjusted EBITA.
Adjusted cash flow, which reflects the cash
generation of our underlying business,
is calculated on our statutory cash
generated from operations and adjusted
for exceptional items, net of capex on
property, plant and equipment and
intangible assets, and including the cash
impact of high-end production tax credits.
Adjusted free cash flow
This is our measure of adjusted free cash
flow after we have met our financial
obligations. It takes our adjusted cash
flow and removes the impact of net
interest, adjusted cash tax (which is the
total tax paid adjusted to exclude the
receipt of production tax credits) and
pension funding. A full reconciliation is
included in the Finance Review.
Covenant net debt and covenant liquidity
Covenant net debt is our leverage as defined
in the revolving credit facility (RCF)
agreement, which existed at 31 December
2021 (and has since been redeemed and
replaced). This calculation is materially
different to how we define net debt and
is relevant in demonstrating we have met
the required RCF financial covenants at
our reporting date.
31
December
2021
£m
31
December
2020
£m
Net debt (including IFRS
16 lease liabilities)
Impact of IFRS 16 lease
liabilities
Long-term trade
payables
Other pension asset
Covenant net debt
Covenant net debt to
adjusted EBITDA*
Cash and cash
equivalents
Undrawn RCF
Undrawn CDS facility
Covenant liquidity**
(414)
(545)
92
105
(18)
62
(278)
(54)
62
(432)
0.3x
0.7x
736
630
148
1,514
668
630
199
1,497
*
Adjusted EBITDA is defined per the facility
agreement. The Finance Review includes
further detail on our covenant ratios.
** Covenant liquidity is defined as cash and cash
equivalents (including restricted cash) plus
undrawn committed facilities.
Amortisation and impairment
Amortisation and any initial impairment
of assets acquired through business
combinations and investments are not
included within adjusted earnings. As these
costs are acquisition-related, and in line
with our treatment of other acquisition-
related costs, we consider them to be
capital in nature as they do not reflect
the underlying trading performance of the
Group. Amortisation of software licences
and development is included within our
adjusted profit before tax as management
consider these assets to be core to
supporting the operations of the business.
Net financing costs
Net financing costs are adjusted to reflect
the underlying cash cost of interest for
the business, providing a more meaningful
comparison of how the business is managed
and funded on a day-to-day basis. The
adjustments made remove the impact of
mark-to-market gains or losses on swaps
and foreign exchange, one-off fees and
premiums relating to the buyback of
bonds, exceptional interest on acquisitions,
imputed pension interest and other financial
gains and losses that do not reflect the
relevant interest cash cost to the business
and are not yet realised balances.
Other Alternative Performance
Measures
Total revenue
As an integrated producer broadcaster, we
look at the total revenue generated by the
business including internal revenue, which
is the sale of ITV Studios programmes to
M&E. ITV Studios selling programmes
to the M&E business is an important part
of our strategy as an integrated producer
broadcaster and it ensures we own all the
rights to the content.
A reconciliation between external revenue
and total revenue is provided below.
Twelve months to 31 December
External revenue
(Reported)
Internal supply
Total revenue
(Adjusted)
2021
£m
2020
£m
3,453
589
2,781
479
4,042
3,260
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Strategic Report | Finance Review
Finance Review
This Finance Review focuses on the
more technical aspects of our financial
results while the operating and financial
performance of the Group, M&E and ITV
Studios has been discussed within the
Operating and Financial Performance
Review. Our Alternative Performance
Measures (APMs) section, explains the
adjustments we make to our statutory
results. This enables focus on the key
measures that we report on and use
as KPIs across the business. See earlier
sections for further detail.
Chris Kennedy, Group CFO and COO
Group financial performance
Twelve months to 31 December
2021
£m
ITV Studios total revenue*
1,760
Total advertising revenue
M&E non-advertising
revenue
M&E total revenue*
Total non-advertising
revenue
Total group revenue
Internal supply
Group external revenue
Group adjusted EBITA
Group adjusted EBITA
margin
Operating profit
Adjusted EPS
Statutory EPS
Dividend per share
Net debt as at
31 December
Change
£m
Change
%
2020
£m
1,375
1,577
308
1,885
1,957
325
2,282
2,085
4,042
(589)
3,453
1,683
3,260
(479)
2,781
385
380
17
397
402
782
(110)
672
813
573
240
24%
519
15.3p
9.4p
3.3p
21%
356
10.9p
7.1p
–
163
4.4p
2.3p
3.3p
(414)
(545)
131
28
24
6
21
24
24
23
24
42
46
40
32
–
24
* 2020 comparatives for M&E have been restated to reflect the reclassification of
gaming, live events and merchandising revenues to ITV Studios. The impact is a
£5 million decrease to 2020 M&E revenue and a £5 million increase to ITV Studios
revenue, there is no impact on adjusted EBITA.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Exceptional items
Twelve months to 31 December
Acquisition-related expenses
Restructuring, reorganisation and property costs
COVID-19 related costs
Sports rights impairment
Pension-related costs
Transponder onerous contract
Employee-related tax provision
Other costs
Operating exceptional items
Exceptional finance costs
Total exceptional items
2021
£m
(109)
(16)
–
(1)
(21)
(16)
(22)
(11)
(196)
(10)
(206)
2020
£m
(13)
(11)
(11)
(23)
(37)
(19)
–
(4)
(118)
–
(118)
Total exceptional items in the period were £206 million (2020:
£118 million). Acquisition-related expenses of £109 million
are predominantly performance based, employment-linked
consideration to former owners. The increase year-on-year reflects
an additional amount paid to Talpa of £108 million following the
final independent determination of the second earnout.
Restructuring and reorganisation costs of £16 million relate to
one-off restructuring projects stemming from the Group-wide
commitment to reduce the overhead cost base and reorganisation
costs to deliver the strategy. In 2021 these costs largely relate to
the M&E restructure and other business transformation projects
and costs related to the head office move to Broadcast Centre
in early 2022.
COVID-19 related costs are direct incremental costs incurred
exclusively as a result of the pandemic. In 2020 the £11 million
of costs incurred was due to the closure of ITV Studios productions
and the subsequent restart in a safe environment along with
additional costs incurred to maintain the production of daytime
programming during the government imposed lockdown.
Impairment of sports rights relates to the impact of COVID-19
on the planned sporting schedule across 2020 and 2021, and the
consequential impact on TAR, along with changing forecasts of
audience mix and revenues for certain sporting events. During 2020,
as the provision left at 31 December 2020 was £18m, the Group
recognised a provision for these sporting events of £23 million.
The £1 million net charge in 2021 adjusts the remaining exceptional
provision for changes in the expected scheduling of the remaining
games and the related TAR forecasts in the period under review.
Pension-related costs in 2021 represent an increase to the provision
in respect of the settlement of the Box Clever case of £21 million
(2020: initial provision of £31 million). The total exceptional
provision held is £52 million, and reflects management’s best
estimate of the provision required. Further detail is included in
note 3.5 to the Financial Statements.
Transponder onerous contract relates to satellite transponder
capacity no longer required. In 2020, we commenced a review
of the efficiency of our satellite transponder capacity usage,
aimed at reducing our capacity requirements. This allowed us
to reorganise and clear all channels from one transponder in the
second half of 2020 that we were no longer utilising in our M&E
business. In 2021 we cleared a second transponder and, as such,
we are recognising a £16 million (2020: £19 million) increase in
the onerous contract provision.
Employee-related tax provisions of £22 million reflects management’s
best estimate of potential employment taxes due to HMRC in relation
to the employment status of individuals contracted by the Group.
Further detail is included in note 2.2 to the Financial Statements.
Other costs include legal matters which are considered to be
outside the normal course of business. In 2021, this relates to
a provision made to cover the committed costs for The Voice
of Holland which was suspended mid-season in early 2022 due
to allegations of inappropriate behaviour. Further detail is
included in note 2.2 to the Financial Statements.
Exceptional finance costs of £10 million is principally interest
accrued on exceptional acquisition-related expenses.
Net financing costs
Twelve months to 31 December
Financing costs directly attributable to loans
and bonds
Cash-related net financing costs
Amortisation on bonds and gilts
Adjusted financing costs
Imputed pension interest
Exceptional interest
Other net financial losses and unrealised
foreign exchange
Net financing costs
2021
£m
2020
£m
(26)
(4)
(1)
(31)
–
(10)
(9)
(50)
(27)
(9)
–
(36)
(2)
–
(6)
(44)
Adjusted financing costs were down £5 million year-on-year at
£31 million (2020: £36 million) reflecting lower levels of net debt
in the year. Net financing costs were £50 million, which was up
£6 million year-on-year (2020: £44 million) and largely due to
interest payable on exceptional earnout costs relating to
acquisition-related expenses.
JVs and associates
Our share of profits from JVs and associates in the period was
£12 million (2020: £9 million). This was our share of the net profit
arising from our investments, such as BritBox US and Canada,
Bedrock Entertainment and Blumhouse Television.
Profit before tax
Statutory profit before tax increased significantly year-on-year to
£480 million (2020: £325 million). Production tax credits increased
to £29 million (2020: £12 million) as a result of more high-value
dramas compared to the same period in 2020 when productions
were paused. Adjusted profit before tax was up 47% to £774
million (2020: £527 million).
Profit before tax (PBT)
Twelve months to 31 December
Profit before tax
Production tax credits
Exceptional items (excluding exceptional
finance costs)
Loss/(Gain) on sale of non-current assets
Amortisation and impairment*
Adjustments to net financing costs
Adjusted profit before tax
2021
£m
480
29
196
1
49
19
774
2020
£m
325
12
118
(4)
68
8
527
* In respect of assets arising from business combinations and investments.
Tax
Adjusted tax charge
The total adjusted tax charge for the period was £153 million
(2020: £95 million), corresponding to an effective tax rate on
adjusted PBT of 19.9% (2020: 18.0%), which is higher than the
standard UK corporation tax rate of 19% (2020: 19%). We expect
the adjusted effective tax rate to be around 20% in 2022, and
then move to around 25% over the medium term as a result of
the increase in the UK statutory rate to 25% from April 2023.
On a statutory basis, the tax charge is £92 million (2020: £44 million)
and corresponds to an effective tax rate of 19.2% (2020: 13.5%).
This rate in 2021 is higher than in previous years due to the
exceptional Talpa earnout cost and prior-year tax adjustments.
The adjustments made to reconcile the tax charge with the
adjusted tax charge are the tax effects of the adjustments made
to reconcile PBT and adjusted PBT, as detailed in the table above.
Twelve months to 31 December
Tax charge
Production tax credits
Charge for exceptional items
Charge in respect of amortisation and
impairment*
Charge in respect of adjustments to net
financing costs
Adjusted tax charge
Effective tax rate on adjusted profits
2021
£m
2020
£m
92
29
16
12
44
12
21
16
4
153
2
95
19.9% 18.0%
* In respect of intangible assets arising from business combinations and investments.
Also reflects the cash tax benefit of tax deductions for US goodwill.
Cash tax
Cash tax paid in the period was £119 million (2020: £88 million)
and is net of £13 million of production tax credits received (2020:
£22 million). The majority of the cash tax payments were made
in the UK. The cash tax paid is higher compared to the previous
year due to the increase in our 2021 forecasted taxable profit.
A reconciliation between the tax charge for the year and the
cash tax paid in the year is shown below.
63
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Finance Review continued
Twelve months to 31 December
Tax charge
Temporary differences recognised through
deferred tax
Prior year adjustments to current tax
Current tax, current year
Phasing of tax payments (including in respect of
pension contribution benefits)
Production tax credits – timing of receipt
Cash tax paid
2021
£m
(92)
(12)
7
(97)
(6)
(16)
(119)
2020
£m
(44)
(1)
(7)
(52)
(46)
10
(88)
Tax strategy
ITV is a responsible business, and we take a responsible attitude
to tax, recognising that it affects all of our stakeholders. To allow
those stakeholders to understand our approach to tax, we have
published our Global Tax Strategy, which is available on our
corporate website.
www.itvplc.com/investors/governance/policies
We have four key strategic tax objectives:
1. Engage with tax authorities in an open and transparent way
to minimise uncertainty
2. Proactively partner with the business to provide clear, timely,
relevant and business focused advice across all aspects of tax
3. Take an appropriate and balanced approach when considering
how to structure tax sensitive transactions
4. Manage ITV’s tax risk by operating effective tax governance
and understanding our tax control framework with a view to
continuously adjusting our approach to be compliant with
our tax obligations
Our tax strategy is aligned with that of the business and its
commercial activities and establishes a clear Group-wide approach
based on openness and transparency in all aspects of tax reporting
and compliance, wherever the Company and its subsidiaries operate.
The strategy confirms that ITV does not engage in or condone tax
evasion or the facilitation of tax evasion in any form and that we
have in place reasonable procedures to prevent the facilitation of
tax evasion. Within our overall governance structure, the governance
of tax and tax risk is given a high priority by the Board and Audit and
Risk Committee (ARC). The ITV Global Tax Strategy, approved by
the Board and ARC in September 2021, and as published on the
ITV plc website, is compliant with the UK tax strategy publication
requirement set out in Part 2 Schedule 19 of the Finance Act 2016.
EPS – adjusted and statutory
Overall, adjusted profit after tax was up 44% to £621 million
(2020: £432 million). Non-controlling interest was a share of
profit of £12 million (2020: £4 million share of losses) which is
the net result from the non-ITV owned share in entities such
as Tomorrow Studios, Cattleya, Tetra Media and BritBox UK.
Adjusted basic EPS was up 40% to 15.3p in the year (2020: 10.9p),
this compares to 13.9p in 2019. The weighted average number
of shares increased to 4,005 million (2020: 4,002 million, 2019:
4,000 million). Diluted adjusted EPS was 15.1p (2020: 10.8p)
reflecting a weighted average diluted number of shares of
4,051 million (2020: 4,025 million).
Statutory EPS increased by 32% to 9.4p (2020: 7.1p). Compared
to the same period in 2019, statutory EPS declined by 20%
(2019: 11.8p) due to higher operating exceptional costs in 2021.
A full reconciliation between statutory and adjusted EPS is
included within the Alternative Performance Measures section.
Dividend per share
Reflecting ITV’s strong operational and financial performance in
the year, and in line with previous guidance, the Board intends to
propose a final dividend of 3.3p for the full year 2021, based on
two-thirds of a notional full year dividend of 5.0p. The Board
intends to pay a full year ordinary dividend of at least 5.0p for
2022 which it expects to grow over time whilst balancing further
investment behind our strategy and our commitment to
investment grade metrics over the medium term.
Dividends are distributed based on the realised distributable
reserves (within retained earnings) of ITV plc (the Company)
and not based on the Group’s retained earnings. The 2021
full year dividend will be paid on 26 May 2022.
Acquisitions
Since 2012, we have acquired a number of content businesses in the
UK, US and locations across Europe, developing a strong portfolio
of programmes that return and travel. As we have grown in size and
expanded our network relationships and distribution capability, this
has helped to renew and strengthen our creative talent and build
our reputation as a leading global creator, producer and distributor.
As part of our strategy, we will consider selective value-creating
M&A and talent deals in both scripted and unscripted to obtain
further creative talent and IP.
We have strict criteria for evaluating potential acquisitions. Financially,
we assess ownership of IP, earnings growth and valuation based on
return on capital employed and discounted cash flow. Strategically,
we ensure an acquisition target has a strong creative track record and
pipeline in content genres that return and travel, namely drama,
entertainment and factual, as well as retention and succession
planning for key individuals in the business.
We generally structure our deals with earnouts or with put and
call options in place for the remainder of the equity, capping the
maximum consideration payable by basing a significant part of
the consideration on future performance. In this way, not only can
we lock in creative talent and ensure our incentives are aligned, but
we also reduce our risk by only paying for the actual, not expected,
performance delivered over time. We believe this is the right way
to structure our deals as we should not pay upfront for future
performance and should incentivise and reward delivery by the
business over time.
The majority of earnouts or put and call options are dependent on
the seller remaining within the business. Where future payments
are directly related to the seller remaining with the business, these
payments are treated as employment costs and, therefore, are part
of our statutory results. However, we exclude these payments from
adjusted profits and adjusted EPS as an exceptional item, as in our
view, for the reasons set out above, these items are part of the
capital consideration reflecting how we structure our transactions
and do not form part of the core operations.
The table on page 65 sets out the initial consideration payable
on our acquisitions, additional consideration subsequently paid,
our expected future payments based on our current view of
performance and the total expected consideration payable, which is
only payable if exceptional compound earnings growth is delivered.
Acquisition-related liabilities or performance-based employment-
linked earnouts are amounts estimated to be payable to previous
owners. The estimated future payments of £79 million are sensitive
to forecast profits as they are based on a multiple of earnings.
The range of reasonably possible outcomes for the liability is
between £66 million and £143 million. The estimated future
payments, treated as employment costs, are accrued over the
64
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Acquisitions – between 2012 and 2021 (undiscounted)
Company
Geography
Initial
consideration
£m
Genre
Additional
consideration
paid
£m
Expected future
payments*
£m
Total expected
consideration**
£m
Expected
payment
period***
Total for 2012–2021
Various
Content & Broadcast TV
959
479
79
1,517
2022-2026
* Undiscounted and adjusted for foreign exchange. All future payments are performance related.
**
Undiscounted and adjusted for foreign exchange, including the initial cash consideration and excluding working capital adjustments. Total maximum consideration which was
potentially payable at the time of acquisition was £2.4 billion.
*** £26 million is expected to be paid in 2022.
period the sellers are required to remain with the business, and
those not linked to employment are recognised at acquisition at
their time discounted value.
We closely monitor the forecast performance of each acquisition
and, where there has been a change in expectations, we adjust our
view of potential future commitments. Expected future payments
of £79 million have decreased by £148 million since 31 December
2020, mainly due to the payment made on the final Talpa
earnout following the determination of the final payment by an
independent arbiter, and the associated impact of foreign exchange.
As at 31 December 2021, £64 million of expected future payments
had been recorded on the balance sheet, with the balance of
£15 million to be accrued over the period in which the sellers are
required to remain with the business.
Cash generated from operations is reconciled to the adjusted cash
flow as follows:
Twelve months to 31 December
Cash generated from operations
Cash outflow from exceptional items
Cash generated from operations excluding
exceptional items
Removal of Receivables Purchase Agreement
Adjustment for production tax credits
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment
and intangible assets
Lease liability payments (including lease interest)
Adjusted cash flow
2021
£m
407
307
714
–
13
(45)
(29)
653
2020
£m
693
68
761
100
22
(66)
(26)
791
Following the determination of the second and final earnout
payable on the Talpa acquisition by the independent arbiter,
€298 million (c.£256 million) was paid during August 2021 and
is included within additional consideration paid.
There were no material acquisitions in 2021. However, during
the period we agreed several talent deals within ITV Studios
to strengthen our creative talent pool.
Cash generation
Profit to cash conversion
Twelve months to 31 December
Adjusted EBITA
Working capital movement
Adjustment for production tax credits
Depreciation
Share-based compensation
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment
and intangible assets*
Lease liability payments (including lease interest)
Adjusted cash flow
Profit to cash ratio
2021
£m
813
(141)
(16)
59
12
(45)
(29)
653
80%
2020
£m
573
237
10
57
6
(66)
(26)
791
138%
* Except where disclosed, management views the acquisition of property, plant and
equipment and intangibles as business as usual capex, necessary to the ongoing
investment in the business.
One of ITV’s strengths is its cash generation reflecting our ongoing
tight management of working capital balances. We manage risk
when making all investment decisions, particularly in scripted content
and BritBox UK, through having a disciplined approach to cash and
costs. This has been particularly important during the COVID-19
pandemic. Remaining focused on cash and costs means we are in
a good position to continue to invest across the business in line with
our strategic priorities, an important focus of which going forward
includes a step up in our content investment for ITVX, our new
integrated AVOD/SVOD streaming platform which will launch in 2022.
In the year, we generated £653 million of operational cash (2020:
£791 million) from £813 million of adjusted EBITA (2020: £573
million), resulting in a profit to cash ratio of 80% (2020: 138%). The
year-on-year movement is the unwind of the working capital benefit
from 2020, which had a large working capital inflow arising from a
reduction in programme stock (where we delivered programmes but
were unable to continue producing due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
and the timing of VAT payments which were deferred to the first half
of 2021 (see further detail below). This was offset by our strong TAR
revenues in 2021 and tight working capital management.
Free cash flow
Twelve months to 31 December
Adjusted cash flow
Net interest paid (excluding lease interest)
Adjusted cash tax*
Pension funding
Free cash flow
2021
£m
653
(40)
(132)
(74)
407
2020
£m
791
(17)
(110)
(59)
605
* Adjusted cash tax of £132 million is total cash tax paid of £119 million plus receipt of
production tax credits of £13 million, which are included within adjusted cash flow from
operations, as these production tax credits relate directly to the production of
programmes.
Our free cash flow after payments for interest, cash tax and
pension funding was £407 million (2020: £605 million). As agreed
with the tax authorities and our pension trustees in 2020, we
deferred £90 million of payments out of 2020, being £75 million
of VAT payments which was paid in the first half of 2021 and
£15 million of pension contributions payable across 2022 to 2025.
65
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Finance Review continued
Funding and liquidity
Debt structure and liquidity
The Group’s financing policy is to manage its liquidity and funding risk
for the medium to long term. ITV uses debt instruments with a range
of maturities and has access to appropriate short-term borrowing
facilities and a policy to maintain a minimum of £250 million of cash
and undrawn committed facilities available at all times. As at 31
December 2021, we had two committed facilities in place to maintain
our financial flexibility including a £630 million Revolving Credit
Facility (RCF) due to mature in December 2023. Following the year
end, this was subsequently refinanced to a new syndicated £500
million RCF maturing in January 2027, with the opportunity to renew
for one or two years from the expiry date, and therefore potentially
providing funding until 2029. The financial covenants in the new RCF
remain unchanged (refer to APMs for further detail), requiring us to
maintain a covenant net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of below 3.5x
and interest cover (adjusted EBITDA to net finance charges) above
3.0x. The new RCF is also linked to the delivery of ITV’s science-based
carbon emissions targets. Under the terms, ITV will benefit from a
lower interest rate if it delivers emissions reductions in line with its
Net Zero roadmap, which will be assessed on an annual basis and
verified through independent assurance.
As at 31 December 2021, ITV’s financial position was well within its
covenants and the RCF was undrawn – and had been throughout 2021.
We also have a bilateral financing facility of £300 million, which is
free of financial covenants and matures on 30 June 2026. These
two committed facilities (including the new RCF), provides us with
sufficient liquidity to meet the requirements of the business in
the short to medium term under a variety of scenarios, including
a severe but plausible downside scenario. At 31 December 2021,
the £630 million RCF was undrawn and £148 million of the £300
million bilateral facility was available, which with cash of £736
million (including restricted cash of £50 million), provided total
liquidity of £1,514 million (31 December 2020: £1,497 million).
After acquisitions and acquisition-related costs, pension and
tax payments, we ended 2021 with net debt of £414 million
(31 December 2020: £545 million).
Net debt
At 31 December
Gross cash*
Gross debt (including IFRS 16 lease liabilities)
Net debt
2021
£m
736
(1,150)
(414)
2020
£m
668
(1,213)
(545)
* Gross cash includes £50 million of restricted cash in relation to the LTVC Pension
Funding Partnership (2020: £50 million of restricted cash).
Net debt tracker
£m
0
(100)
(200)
(300)
(400)
(500)
(600)
(545)
407
(30)
(307)
53
8
(414)
Dec 20
Free cash
flow
Acquisition
of
investments
and NCI
Exceptional
items
Revaluation
of hedged
bonds
Other
Dec 21
66
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Financing – gross debt
We are financed using debt instruments and facilities with a range
of maturities. Borrowings at 31 December 2021 were repayable
as follows:
Amount repayable as at 31 December 2021
£630 million Revolving Credit Facility
€600 million Eurobond*
€335 million Eurobond
€259 million Eurobond
Other loans
Total debt repayable on maturity**
* Includes £36 million cross-currency interest rate swaps
** Excludes £92 million of IFRS 16 lease liabilities.
£m
Maturity
– Dec 2023
540 Sep 2026
281 Sep 2022
218 Dec 2023
Various
19
1,058
Capital allocation and leverage
Our objective is to run an efficient balance sheet and manage our
financial metrics appropriately, consistent with our commitment
to investment grade metrics over the medium term. At 31
December 2021 our leverage, or net debt to adjusted EBITDA was
0.5x (31 December 2020: 0.9x). Our priorities remain as follows:
to invest organically in our key assets and value drivers in line
with our strategic priorities; maintain an investment-grade balance
sheet; sustain a regular ordinary dividend that can grow over
the medium term; continue to consider value creating inorganic
investment against strict financial and strategic criteria, and any
surplus capital will be returned to shareholders.
Credit ratings
We continue to be rated investment grade by both ratings agencies.
Our current ratings are BBB- (stable outlook) by Standard and Poor’s
and Baa3 (stable outlook) by Moody’s Investor Services. The factors
that are taken into account in assessing our credit rating include our
degree of operational gearing and exposure to the economic cycle,
as well as business and geographical diversity.
Foreign exchange
As ITV continues to grow internationally, we are increasingly exposed
to foreign exchange on our overseas operations. We do not hedge
our exposure to revenues and profits generated overseas, as this is
seen as an inherent risk. We may elect to hedge our overseas net
assets, where material. To date, we have hedged a significant portion
of the euro net assets arising from the Talpa Media acquisition.
ITV is also exposed to foreign exchange risk on transactions we
undertake in a foreign currency. Our policy is to hedge a portion of
any known or forecast transaction where there is an underlying cash
exposure for the full tenor of that exposure, to a maximum of five
years forward, where the portion hedged depends on the level of
certainty we have on the final size of the transaction.
Finally, ITV is exposed to foreign exchange risk on the retranslation
of foreign currency loans and deposits. Our policy is to hedge such
exposures where there is an expectation that any changes in the
value of these items will result in a realised cash movement over
the short to medium term. The foreign exchange and interest
rate hedging strategy is set out in our Treasury policies which are
approved by the ITV plc Board.
Contract assets and liabilities
In 2021, contract assets increased by £133 million and contract
liabilities increased by £88 million compared to 31 December 2020.
Both increases were predominantly driven by ITV Studios, where
contract assets rose by £126 million reflecting higher production
volumes during the year. ITV Studios contract liabilities increased
by £91 million primarily for the same reason and, where applicable,
reflects production milestone payments received in advance of
delivery from our customers.
Pensions
The net pension deficit for the defined benefit schemes at
31 December 2021 was £8 million (31 December 2020: £26 million
deficit). The decrease in the year was principally due to the Scheme’s
liabilities reducing in the year from higher bond yields and deficit
funding contributions which were partly offset by an increase in
inflation assumptions.
• The translation impact of foreign exchange, assuming rates
remain at current levels, could have a favourable impact of
around £6 million on revenue and £nil impact on EBITA
• Exceptional items are expected to be around £60 million,
mainly due to costs associated with our digital transformation
and our London property move
Cash impact
• Total capex is expected to be around £70 million as we further
invest in our digital acceleration
• The cash cost of exceptionals is expected to be around £50
million, largely relating to costs associated with our digital
transformation and our London property move
• Profit to cash conversion is expected to be around 80%
• Total pension deficit funding contribution for 2022 is not
expected to be materially different to 2021
• The Board intends to propose a final dividend of 3.3p for the full
year 2021, based on two-thirds of a notional full year dividend of
5.0p. This will be paid in the first half of 2022. Going forward, the
Board intends to pay a full year ordinary dividend of at least 5.0p
which it expects to grow over time
Foreign exchange sensitivity
The following table highlights ITV Studios sensitivity, on a full year
basis (using internal forecasts), to translation resulting from a 10%
appreciation/depreciation in sterling against the US dollar and
euro, assuming all other variables are held constant. An appreciation
in sterling has a negative effect on revenue and adjusted EBITA;
a depreciation has a positive effect.
Currency
US dollar
Euro
Revenue
£m
±47–57
±44–54
Adjusted
EBITA
£m
±5–7
±8–10
Post Balance Sheet Event
To give ITV greater control over BritBox UK and enable its
integration into ITVX, the BBC has ceased to be a shareholder in
BritBox UK. The BBC continues as a strong partner for BritBox UK
and BritBox International and we have agreed a new long term
content supply deal with the BBC. All PSB partners are committed
to BritBox UK which offers consumers a large library of the majority
of PSB British content in one place from the past and recent past.
As envisaged by the original shareholder agreement the BBC
has transferred its shares to ITV for nominal consideration. This
disclosure is being made in accordance with Listing Rule 11.1.10 R
due to the fact that the BBC is deemed to be a related party of
ITV plc under the Listing Rules.
Chris Kennedy
Group Chief Finance Officer & Chief Operating Officer
The net pension assets include £62 million of gilts, which are held by
the Group as security for future unfunded pension payments to four
former Granada executives, the liabilities of which are included in
our pension obligations. A full reconciliation is included within note
3.6 to the Financial Statements.
Actuarial valuation
We expect to agree the triennial actuarial valuation as at 1 January
2020 shortly, and will agree a new funding contribution plan based
on that. We do not expect the new funding profile to be materially
different from the current plan (1 January 2017: £470 million).
Deficit funding contributions
The accounting deficit does not drive the deficit funding contribution.
The Group’s deficit funding contributions in 2021 were £74 million
(2020: £59 million). For 2022, we do not expect the deficit funding
contribution to be materially different from 2021.Refer to note 3.6
to the Financial Statements for further detail.
SDN pension funding partnership
In 2010, ITV established a Pension Funding Partnership (PFP) with
the trustee backed by the asset of SDN which resulted in the assets
of Section A of the defined benefit pension scheme being increased
by £200 million. The Group is contracted to provide additional
collateral to support the original value of the structure at the
rate of £50.7 million each year from March 2019 to March 2022.
The contract provided that the cash collateral would not leave the
Group but would be maintained in a restricted bank account. The
trustee agreed to accept a letter of credit as an alternative to the
2019, 2020 and 2021 collateral instalments with the result that
£152 million cash collateral did not become due in March 2021.
The Scheme’s interest in these Partnerships reduces the deficit
on a funding basis but does not impact the deficit on an IAS 19 basis
as the Scheme’s interest is not a transferable financial instrument.
The PFP is currently being reviewed as we look to replace it with
an arrangement which is broadly equivalent in value, using a
combination of an alternative asset backed by SDN and cash
contributions to the scheme. There may be a short delay in
implementing this alternative, in which case we may have to
arrange an additional £50 million of collateral for the trustee.
Planning assumptions for full year 2022
Profit and Loss impact
• Total content costs are expected to be around £1.23 billion which
includes BritBox UK content costs
• Total investment of around £55 million in 2022, which includes:
investment associated with ITVX in data, technology and
streaming of £25 million and one-off launch costs of £20 million;
along with investment of £10 million in our digital capabilities
including Planet V, and our digital innovations business,
Studio 55 Ventures
• Permanent overhead cost savings are expected to be around
£17 million in 2022. We will deliver around £100 million of
annualised permanent overhead cost savings by the end of 2022.
• Adjusted financing costs are expected to be around £36 million,
which is in line with 2021
• The adjusted effective tax rate is expected to be around 20%
2022, and then move to around 25% over the medium term due
to the increase in the UK corporation tax rate from April 2023
67
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | Our Commitment to Section 172(1)
Our Commitment
to Section 172(1)
The Directors consider that they have acted,
in good faith, in a way that is most likely to
promote the success of the Company for
the benefit of its members and stakeholders
as a whole, having regard (among other
matters) to the matters set out in section
172(1)(a-f) of the Companies Act 2006.
As the Chairman makes clear in his
introduction, the Board regularly considers
stakeholder groups and their most
significant issues, views and interests as
well as the financial and long-term impact
of key actions throughout its decision-
making process. The Board also undertakes
a formal assessment on an annual basis of
whether the key stakeholders identified
remain appropriate.
Examples of some of the key strategic issues
considered and decisions made by the Board
during the year and an explanation of how
the Board has had regard to the matters in
section 172(1) (a-f) in reaching decisions are
set out in the table below.
See pages 107 to 112 to read more
on Stakeholder Engagement
See pages 113 to 115 to read more
on Workforce Engagement
See pages 48 to 55 to read more
on Social Purpose
See pages 56 to 58 to read more
on Our People
See pages 6 and 7 to read the
Chairman’s Statement
Long-term impact
Interests of colleagues
Fostering business
relationships
Impact on community
and environment
Maintaining reputation
for high standards of
business conduct
Acting fairly
between members
Supercharging ITV’s streaming strategy, including the launch of its new integrated AVOD/SVOD platform
with radical evolution of its content strategy with accelerated investment in AVOD
Directors’ consideration of key factors set out in section 172(1)
Outcomes of Board decision-making and other key strategic decisions
Long-term impact: The Board believes that supercharging ITV’s streaming
strategy to grow digital viewing and revenues will ensure that ITV’s offering
to viewers will better reflect and serve shifting viewing habits in the longer
term and accelerate delivery of ITV’s strategic priorities and long-term
value. In reaching its conclusions the Board considered briefings on the UK
streaming market and competitors, M&E financials, and proposed content
spend for Phase Two of the More than TV strategy. The Board also assessed
both qualitatively and quantitatively a wide range of scenarios, recognising
a need to balance scale of investment in the proposition with shareholders’
and other stakeholders’ interests.
Shareholders: The Board was mindful of shareholders’ concerns regarding
the impact of Phase Two of the strategy on ITV’s financial performance
and the acceleration of ITV’s existing digital strategy (which is a critical
component of the supercharged streaming strategy). The Board reviewed
the implications of the streaming strategy on EBITDA, EPS and revenue
versus consensus, and recognised the need to give shareholders the
opportunity to further understand the Studios and M&E businesses
and the impact the strategy would have on bolstering their propositions.
Regulators and legislators: An important input into ITV’s future
strategic direction is ITV’s status as a PSB. ITV is engaging with Ofcom
and the government to seek reform of the PSB framework in which it
operates. The Board was briefed on the implications for ITV and the
accelerated streaming strategy in light of a range of scenarios arising
from the PSB review.
• Following careful analysis and modelling, the Board concluded that the
accelerating into Phase Two of the More than TV strategy would be in
the long-term interests of the Company (and therefore all stakeholders,
including shareholders)
• Ongoing monitoring of viewing and subscription figures and impact of
the supercharged streaming strategy and competitor actions on revenue
and profits
• Investment in product, content, distribution, data, tech and analytics to
supercharge streaming
• Having discussed in detail the impact of the proposals on the investment
case, including discussions with the Company’s financial advisers and
brokers, the Board felt that the strategic and long-term financial benefits
of ITV’s streaming strategy were in the best interests of shareholders
• Investor seminars were held with shareholders (also attended by Board
members) on Commercial (in November) and Studios (in December)
to give investors deep dives into those business divisions. An investor
seminar on the M&E business in March 2022 will provide detailed insight
into ITV’s streaming ambitions
• Ongoing appraisal of ITV’s commercial and strategic interests in
remaining a PSB
• The Board continues to be updated on progress as the government
considers its PSB review. The Chairman met with the Ofcom Chair on
a wide range of policy and regulatory issues and the Chief Executive
regularly meets with Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport
(DCMS) ministers and the Chief Executive of Ofcom on matters, including
the future of PSB, and other key issues of concern to the TV industry
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Supercharging ITV’s streaming strategy, including the launch of its new integrated AVOD/SVOD platform with radical evolution
of its content strategy with accelerated investment in AVOD continued
Colleagues: The Board considered the impact that this strategy would
have on colleagues, notably the new teams and additional capabilities
needed to bolster current teams to deliver Phase Two of our strategy,
through an assessment of the business’ current bench strength, capabilities
and skills with particular focus on the Technology and Product teams. There
was also a need to continue to transform internal systems, processes and
behaviours to support an increasingly streaming-focused business. It was
recognised that ITV’s culture is key in having the right mindset and ways
of working to achieve this strategy at pace. The Board also considered the
people impact of re-prioritising resources across the business to refocus
resources on the delivery of ITV’s streaming ambitions.
• Board approval of the ITV Together programme, a global programme
focused on digital transformation of Finance and HR in four key areas –
how ITV is organised, our processes, our systems, and our culture
• Deep dive session for Audit and Risk Committee members on the ITV
Together programme
• Board’s endorsement of investment in additional resource to ensure
the business has the required skills to deliver the supercharged
streaming strategy. For example, the Board supported the use of
outsourced resource (at higher financial cost) whilst the internal
Technology team builds its capabilities to the required strength,
rather than lose strategic momentum
Partners, customers and business relationships: The Board considered
the increasing amount of engagement and collaboration the strategy would
require with platform owners, distribution partners, technology partners
and other PSBs (for content) – fostering business relationships with these key
partners and ITV maintaining high standards of business conduct would be
critical to the successful delivery of Phase Two of our More Than TV strategy.
The strategy would provide advertisers with a more targeted offering at
scale through a compelling streaming service. Strengthening our streaming
proposition would provide viewers with a seamless experience, with a much
stronger content offering. The Board assessed how the supercharged
streaming proposition would be structured for consumers and how the
proposition would be positioned and received within the streaming market,
as well as other aspects of the strategy such as consumer branding.
Moving ITV’s two London offices to Broadcast Centre
• The Board will continue to monitor the technology and product plans
to build and roll-out the new service, including the role that ITV’s
partners play in distribution of Phase Two of our strategy
• Board support for management to supercharge ITV’s streaming
proposition
• Board support for the progression of, and investment in, innovative,
addressable advertising products
• Increased engagement with partners, customers and business
relationships to ensure they understand what the supercharged
streaming strategy will mean for the business
Directors’ consideration of key factors set out in section 172(1)
Outcomes of Board decision-making and other key strategic decisions
Long-term impact: The Board considered whether the new proposed
office space would continue to fulfil ITV’s requirements over the long-term,
both in delivering run-rate cost savings and in giving the business
flexibility over future London office space, while also considering market
uncertainties. The Board reviewed the key commercial terms of the lease,
and the financials and accounting treatment to understand the financial
impact of the new lease and the phased move away from the current
offices. The environment and options to increase and decrease floorspace
in the future to determine flexibility in the long term were also considered.
• Following these analyses, the Board concluded that the move to
Broadcast Centre would be in the long-term interests of the Company
• Consideration of property relocation cost savings as part of the 2022
budget and five year plan decision
• Ongoing monitoring of the status of the property relocation project
and lease negotiations through regular Group CFO & COO Board updates
Colleagues: The Board believes the move to the new office space is in the best
interests of colleagues as a collective group. Bringing ITV’s London-based staff
together into one location will help foster ITV’s culture allowing face-to-face
collaboration crucial for creativity and innovation, and being close to where ITV
creates and broadcasts many of its biggest shows. Directors took account of
the impact on their colleagues, and reviewed the mapping of staff journey
times, discussed the potential impact of higher rates of attrition and possible
difficulties with recruitment but the Board also recognised the consistent
feedback from colleagues that the new hybrid working style, balancing office
based and remote working, was favoured by the majority of colleagues who
could work remotely. In considering this decision, Board members asked
further questions related to communications to colleagues regarding the
move and the hybrid working practices which ITV was already adopting.
• The Directors plan to visit Broadcast Centre in early 2022 to meet with
colleagues and see the new London office environment (prior to all
colleagues relocating)
• The Directors are kept appraised of management’s communication and
engagement plans to help London colleagues with this change to their
working practices and location
• Ongoing two-way communication between the Ambassador Network
and Board, through the Workforce Engagement Director, for example
on colleagues’ views on preferred working patterns and changes in office
space and location
• Endorsement of the move included integrating London-based
independent production labels and delivering network connectivity
and tech infrastructure to support production
Community, environment, viewers and subscribers: The Board
considered whether ITV should consider reducing the size of its London
presence further and move more of its operations outside of London.
However, given that London remains the primary commissioning and
production centre for all UK channels and SVOD players, and the major sales
agencies and advertisers are predominantly based in London, a substantial
ITV presence in London was appropriate. The sustainability of our sites and
buildings is now a key consideration when making decisions on office moves
and closures. The Board noted that the reduction in UK office capacity as a
result of this move would help facilitate our net zero transition.
• Continued efforts to reduce our carbon emissions and increase our use
of renewable energy in our properties both in the UK and internationally.
The move to the new office is estimated to reduce workplace carbon
emissions by around 40% compared to the previous site arrangement
• Discussions with suppliers to ensure they are well placed to support ITV
at Broadcast Centre
• Continued efforts to ensure sustainable practices and minimise waste,
for example reusing furniture and equipment from current offices,
and efficient waste collection to maximise recycling and help meet
our Zero Waste target
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Strategic Report | Non-Financial Information Statement (NFIS)
Non-Financial Information
Statement (NFIS)
The table below, and the information it refers to,
sets out our compliance with the non-financial
reporting requirements in accordance with sections
414CA and 414CB of the Companies Act 2006.
The description of Our Business
Model can be found on pages 24
and 25
Environment
Policies
Due diligence and implementation
Outcomes of policies and related
KPIs
Related principal risks
(pages 72 to 87)
• Our Environmental Management Policy
sets out our commitment to Net Zero
Carbon, zero waste and a sustainable
supply chain by 2030
• We are a signatory to the Task Force
on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
(TCFD), which provides a framework for
assessing our exposure to climate-
related risks and processes to mitigate
against these risks
• Our Supplier Code of Conduct sets out
our expectation of our suppliers to align
with our 2030 environmental targets
• We evaluate and monitor climate
change risks and progress against our
environmental targets through our
governance structure, which includes
the Climate Action Delivery Group,
and is referenced in further detail in
our TCFD report (see pages 88 to 96)
• Progress against our environmental
targets are reported to the Studios,
Media & Entertainment, and
Management Boards up to four times a
year, and annually to the Board. The Audit
and Risk Committee also has oversight of
environmental matters (see page 134)
• All colleagues are required to complete
mandatory training on climate action
• Reducing our impact on the
environment is one of the
priorities of ITV’s Social
Purpose strategy (see pages
48 to 55)
• Refer to page 52 for our
greenhouse gas emissions
data
• We are members of the
albert directorate and
consortium, and committed
to reducing the impact of
production by ensuring all
the programmes produced
or commissioned in the UK
are albert certified
• Climate change is not
currently recognised as
a principal risk, but is
categorised as an emerging
risk and kept under regular
review through our risk
management framework.
In 2021 we performed
climate scenario analysis
in order to identify specific
climate risks for ITV. The
result of this assessment is
detailed in our TCFD report
on pages 89 to 92
Colleagues
Policies
Due diligence and implementation
Outcomes of policies and related
KPIs
Related principal risks
(pages 72 to 87)
• Our Code of Ethics and Conduct (Our
• All colleagues complete annual
• In 2021 an all colleague
• Non-compliance with laws
Code) promotes the highest standards
of ethical business, underpinning
our values and corporate culture
• Adherence is a key requirement of
our overall compliance framework
• Our Diversity and Inclusion strategy
is aligned with and supports our
business strategy
mandatory training aligned with
Our Code, which Board members
also completed in 2021
• Our Code is reviewed regularly
• Our Inclusion and Diversity Council,
chaired by the Chief Executive, drives
the organisation’s diversity and inclusion
agenda (see pages 54 and 55)
• Our employment and recruitment
• Progress against our diversity targets
policies are based on equal
opportunities and non-discrimination,
and set out our commitment to an
open and inclusive culture
• ITV’s Duty of Care Charter sets out
our commitment to the physical and
mental health and safety of employees,
participants and others we work with
• ITV has a ‘Speaking Up’ framework for
anyone working for or with ITV to raise
concerns and grievances in confidence
(and if they wish anonymously), as well
as a freelancer complaints procedure
• We also have policies on bullying,
harassment and dignity at work,
and grievances
are reported to the Studios and Media &
Entertainment Boards biannually, the
Management Board four times a year,
the Nominations Committee regularly,
and annually to the Board
• The Audit and Risk Committee reviews
the Group’s health and safety
procedures at least annually, and
receives regular reports from the Duty
of Care Operating Board, the meetings
of which the Chair of the Audit and Risk
Committee attends
• Our Speaking Up framework is
monitored and reviewed by the Audit
and Risk Committee biannually.
Statistics on concerns raised are
reviewed at each Board meeting
engagement survey was
carried out, allowing us
to measure engagement
across the organisation,
as well as providing insights
in areas such as wellbeing,
inclusion and our strategy.
The results will inform
ongoing Board discussions
• In 2021 we launched a new
Speaking Up framework,
making it easier to raise
concerns and enhance ITV’s
open culture (see pages 119
and 133)
• Diversity and Inclusion is one
of the four priorities of ITV’s
Social Purpose strategy (see
pages 48 to 55)
• In 2021 we published our
Diversity Acceleration Plan
Report, one year on from
the launch of the Diversity
Acceleration Plan. This
reported on our successes
and new areas of focus,
which aligns with and
supports our business
strategy (see page 54)
and regulation is recognised
as a principal risk with which
the Board has zero tolerance
for known and deliberate
non-compliance. We
regularly assess potential
risks associated with
employee conduct and
ethics as part of our
compliance processes
• Failure to deliver our
Diversity Acceleration Plan
is not recognised as a
standalone principal risk
but is recognised as an
important factor within the
recruitment and retention
of talent principal risk and
remains under review,
monitored by the
Nominations Committee
• Failure to create the right
organisational culture,
which allows colleagues to
speak up and deliver the
strategy (Risk 10), and failure
to extend an adequate duty
of care or a major health and
safety incident (Risk 11) are
recognised as principal risks
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Social impact
Policies
Due diligence and implementation
Outcomes of policies and related
KPIs
Related principal risks
(pages 72 to 87)
• Social Purpose is a core enabler in
• We evaluate and monitor all our Social
delivering part of ITV’s overall strategy.
We use ITV’s scale and creativity to
shape culture for good (not just within
ITV but across the UK and other markets
that we might impact). We have set and
published ambitious targets which align
to the United Nations Sustainable
Development Goals (UN SDGs)
Purpose campaigns and progress against
our goals. 2021 carbon emissions data will
be independently verified by a third party
• ITV’s Mental Health Advisory Group,
chaired by Ruth Davidson SMP, comprises
external expert advisers and ITV
representatives, and provides guidance on
best practice for looking after the welfare
of people, productions and campaigns
• ITV is a member of the Responsible
Media Forum
• Progress against our targets and the
impact of our campaigns are reported
to the Management Board four times
a year, and annually to the Board
Anti-corruption and anti-bribery
• Our Social Purpose strategy
has four priorities relating to
Better Health, Diversity and
Inclusion, Climate Action
and Giving Back (see pages
48 to 55)
• The Social Purpose strategy
is aligned to the UN SDGs.
ITV has identified SDGs 3, 5,
7, 10, 12, 13 as those where it
can have the most impact
• Social impact matters are
not considered to be a
standalone principal risk,
however social impact
matters which influence
other principal risks are
detailed in our Risks and
Uncertainties report on
page 75
Policies
Due diligence and implementation
Outcomes of policies and related
KPIs
Related principal risks
(pages 72 to 87)
• We take a zero-tolerance
approach to bribery and
corruption and are
committed to acting
professionally, fairly and with
integrity in all our business
dealings and relationships
wherever we operate, as
well as implementing
and enforcing effective
systems to counter bribery
and corruption
• Legal and regulatory
non-compliance (including
with the Bribery Act 2010)
is recognised as a principal
risk (Risk 12). We have a
compliance programme in
place to mitigate the risk of
bribery, which is articulated
in our Anti-Bribery Policy
• Our Code of Ethics and Conduct (Our
Code) promotes the highest standards
of ethical business and reinforces the
importance of awareness of compliance
requirements and maintaining high
ethical standards
• Our Anti-Bribery Policy sets out our
responsibilities and provides information
and guidance on what bribery is and
how to deal with bribery and corruption
issues. Those working for or with us
must observe and uphold the Policy
• Our Sanctions Policy ensures that the
business complies with all relevant
international and financial sanctions
in force at the time by the UN, EU or
UK government
• Our Supplier Code of Conduct sets out
our expectation of our suppliers to
comply with all anti-bribery laws
Human rights
• All colleagues are required to complete
annual mandatory training aligned with
Our Code, and systems are in place
through the Speaking Up framework to
enable employees to identify and raise
issues, including suspected wrongdoing,
fraud or malpractice in the workplace
• Bespoke training on the Anti-Bribery
Policy is provided to employees working
in roles or territories at higher risk of
bribery and corruption issues
• Compliance with the Anti-Bribery Policy
is kept under review and reported to the
Management Board and Audit and Risk
Committee biannually
• Bribery and corruption risks are
reviewed annually by the Audit and Risk
Committee, as is wider policy compliance
Policies
Due diligence and implementation
Outcomes of policies and related
KPIs
Related principal risks
(pages 72 to 87)
• ITV is fully committed to ensuring that
we do not participate in the violation
of human rights and expects the same
of our suppliers. We are a founding
member of the TV Industry and Human
Rights Forum set up to identify and
proactively address labour rights issues
in the television industry and raise
awareness beyond it
• ITV’s Modern Slavery Statement sets
out the steps taken to identify, address
and prevent modern slavery and
human trafficking in our business
and supply chain
• Our Supplier Code of Conduct sets
out our expectation of suppliers to
protect human rights of workers and
communities impacted by operations
and supply chains
• Ultimate oversight belongs to the Board
• ITV’s Modern Slavery Steering Group is
responsible for overseeing modern
slavery risk management for ITV in
a manner that places concerns for
potential victims at the centre. It agrees
strategies for addressing key risks
identified and raises awareness among
ITV’s decision-makers of labour rights
considerations and seeks their support
for appropriate initiatives
• Our Modern Slavery Statement is
reviewed by the Board on an annual basis
• Legal and regulatory
non-compliance (including
labour rights issues) is
recognised as a principal
risk (Risk 12) with the Board
having zero tolerance
for known and deliberate
non-compliance. We have
a compliance and risk
management framework in
place to identify potential
risks and mitigate these
• No incidences of human
rights abuse or modern
slavery have been identified
• In 2021 we evolved Our Code
of Ethics and Conduct,
explaining ITV’s aim to
address and identify risks of
modern slavery. We also
launched a procurement
process and Supplier Code
of Conduct which include
expectations of suppliers in
regards to human rights and
labour. Suppliers are
required to understand and
address the risk of modern
slavery in their operations
and supply chains
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Risks and Uncertainties
Risk management framework
The key objective of our risk management framework is to support the achievement of
our strategic goals. The framework seeks to drive clarity and proactivity and enable us to
respond to threats, by defining the required governance, process and enablers for effective
risk management at ITV.
Governance
Process
Enablers
Risk
Governance
Structure
Risk
Governance
Structure
Risk
Governance
Structure
Monitor
Monitor
Monitor
Report
Report
Report
Board and
Executive
sponsorship
Board and
Executive
sponsorship
Board and
Executive
sponsorship
Identify
Identify
Identify
Risk
Risk
Appetite
Appetite
Risk
Appetite
Risks
Risks
Risks
Risk culture
and
accountability
Risk culture
and
accountability
Risk culture
and
accountability
Manage
Manage
Manage
Assess
Assess
Assess
Risk
Risk
management
management
systems and
systems and
process
process
Risk
management
systems and
process
Principal
Principal
Risks
Risks
Principal
Risks
Emerging
Emerging
Risks
Risks
Emerging
Risks
Business
Business
Risks
Risks
Business
Risks
Three lines of
defence and
assurance
Three lines of
defence and
assurance
Three lines of
defence and
assurance
ITV operates in a rapidly changing
business environment. Viewer
behaviours, macroeconomic trends,
competitors and the broader industry
are evolving rapidly, creating an
increasingly complex risk landscape.
We understand that taking certain
risks is unavoidable, and necessary,
to enable us to continue to produce
and broadcast market-leading quality
content and achieve our strategic
goals. However, we must also
adequately manage and respond to
risks which represent a threat to our
reputation, operations, finances, and
the safety of our staff, contributors
and the environment. Our continued
success is dependent on striking the
right balance between risk-taking
and risk-mitigation.
At ITV the Board actively promotes
a culture where risk management is
not seen to be a process that stifles
creativity, but rather one in which risks
can, and should, be taken to achieve
our goals, providing they are justified,
actively managed and/or creating
opportunity. ITV’s risk management
framework is designed to support
strategic and operational decision-
making by providing ITV with the
tools to identify, manage and monitor
these risks.
Enhancing risk management
We are continually iterating and enhancing our risk management framework to respond
to developments inside and outside our business and meet our objectives.
Key enhancements in 2021
Building on these priorities in 2022
• Continued to embed risk management culture and awareness within and across
the business
• Refreshed the Code of Ethics and Conduct, and Speaking Up policies and
processes, to better communicate and monitor compliance and conduct matters
• Performed a number of deep dives with management, the Audit and Risk
Committee and the Board, to further scrutinise principal risk mitigation and
compliance with risk appetite (detail of the deep dives completed in 2021 are
outlined within each principal risk identified on pages 76 to 87)
• Developed quantitative risk appetite metrics for key operational risk areas to
better monitor compliance
• Building on the successes to date to further develop risk
management capability and processes within the newly
created Media and Entertainment division
• Enhancing compliance monitoring and reporting across the
business, in line with refreshed Code of Ethics and Conduct
• Increasing visibility and oversight over Studios International
operational risks and ongoing management of those risks
• Improving risk appetite reporting, including developing
quantitative risk metrics to monitor key strategic and
emerging risks
• Reviewed the existing crisis management framework, taking into consideration
• Reviewing business continuity and resilience measures in
learnings from COVID-19 and the M&E restructure
key operational and central functions areas
• Performed climate scenario analysis to better understand and quantify climate
• Developing the second line assurance over the financial
related risks and our resilience
and technology controls environment
• Initiated projects to further enhance our financial and technology controls
• Ensuring the smooth transition of Internal Audit to our
environment
new provider
• Performed a robust review of interconnectivity of data related risks, taking into
• Further enhancing the process to manage the
account strategic changes, security, data governance and privacy
interconnected data related risks
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Risk governance structure
The Board has overall responsibility for ensuring that ITV is appropriately identifying and managing the risks the business is exposed to. The Board
is supported by the Audit and Risk Committee, which oversees the effectiveness of the risk management and internal control environment, and
Management, who implement the necessary risk mitigation and internal control plans to ensure the Group is operating within the tolerances of
the Board determined risk appetite.
Board
• Sets strategic objectives
• Reviews and evaluates principal
risks and uncertainties
• Sets our strategy on risk and
establishes tolerance levels
and risk appetite
• Ensures the effective operation
of the risk management
framework and internal
control systems
Management Board
Has responsibility for:
• The development and operation
of the risk management
framework and systems of
internal control, including:
– Reviewing and monitoring
the effectiveness of internal
controls and putting in place
remedial plans where required.
Serious control weaknesses
(if any) are reported to the
Board and action is taken
as appropriate
• Routinely reviewing and
challenging risks, risk assessment
ratings and mitigations, including
relevant reports or other
performance indicators
• Continuously reviewing risk
exposure and ensuring that
decisions taken are in line
with the organisation’s risk
appetite and within the defined
tolerance levels
• Reviewing emerging risks
Divisional Boards and Central Functions
Have responsibility for ensuring
appropriate risk management
within their business area,
including:
• Routinely reviewing and
challenging risks and
Group Risk Function
Has responsibility for:
• Maintaining the risk
management framework,
systems and processes and
supporting management in
its adoption and embedding
Three lines of defence
mitigations, including relevant
reports or other performance
indicators
• Reviewing local policies and
monitoring the local
implementation of key group
policies and procedures
• Reviewing emerging risks
identified through the risk
management framework
• Coordinating all risk
• Supporting and advising the
identification, reporting and
governance forum activity,
ensuring consistency in approach
• Developing risk capability and
culture in the business
business on the development
of risk management solutions
Audit and Risk Committee
Has responsibility for:
• Overseeing and advising
the Board on risk exposures
and future mitigation strategy
• Reviewing the effectiveness
of the risk management
framework and internal
control systems
• Conducting in-depth reviews
of high-risk business areas
or processes
• Setting the internal audit
plan to gain assurance of
the effectiveness of key risk
controls and mitigations
• Reviewing implementation
of internal audit actions
• Overseeing and monitoring the
business’s compliance with the
risk appetite set by the Board
Details of risk reviews undertaken
during the year are set out in the
Audit and Risk Committee Report
within the Governance section of
the report.
Key
Direction and Management
Reporting and Escalation
Advice and Oversight
The three lines of
defence model is
a core enabler within
our risk management
framework and
provides ongoing
assurance over the
effectiveness of our
risk management
activities and
internal controls
environment.
The Board: Oversight over principal risks
Audit and Risk Committee: Oversight over risk management framework
Senior management: Oversight over all business risks
Reporting
Reporting
Reporting
Business Operations and
Divisions: Divisions and Central
Functions identify, assess and
manage risk on an ongoing basis,
including maintenance and
operation of the internal control
framework to mitigate key risks.
These risks are reported and
escalated through the risk
governance structure.
Risk
Group Risk and Central
Functions: Where relevant,
Group Risk and Central Functions
support the business in their risk
management activities. They are
responsible for setting policies
related to their remit, monitoring
application of policies within the
business and advising the business
on risk mitigations.
Risk
Internal Audit/Other assurance
providers: Provides independent
assurance over the effectiveness
of the Group’s internal control
systems and risk management
processes. The internal audit
plan is driven from ITV’s risk
management framework and
is aligned to auditable elements
of the Group’s principal risks.
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Strategic Report | Risks and Uncertainties continued
Risk appetite
The Board has developed statements that
define our risk appetite for each principal
risk and across other key areas, to better
focus risk management activities and help
the business strike the right balance
between risk taking and risk mitigation.
This includes, but is not limited to, liquidity,
acquisitions, data privacy, business
continuity and resilience, and people and
culture. Our risk appetite reflects ITV’s
willingness to be innovative and open
to new ideas as we pursue our strategy,
whilst maintaining our low tolerance in
operational areas such as compliance,
duty of care, cyber and data protection.
During 2021 we focused on educating
the business on the risk appetite and
developing quantitative metrics to help
us focus on areas of high risk that are
operating outside of appetite. In 2022, we
intend to build on this work by enhancing
our risk appetite reporting, to better
support the Board’s roles in monitoring
compliance against risk appetite.
Principal risks
As part of our risk management framework, we have a process to
oversee all risks which may threaten ITV, with particular Board scrutiny
over our principal and emerging risks. All risks are assigned a risk
owner responsible for monitoring and implementing mitigations, with
principal risks owned by a member of the Management Board, who is
responsible for monitoring and implementing mitigation on an ongoing
basis. The risk owner is also responsible for identifying any potential
opportunities associated with the risk and capitalising on those as
appropriate. The principal risks are reviewed on an ongoing basis
by senior management, subject to periodic deep dives at the Board,
Audit and Risk Committee, Management Board and Divisional Boards,
and are formally assessed by the Board twice a year.
COVID-19
Last year we included a new principal risk relating to
COVID-19, which reflected both the wide ranging impact
the pandemic had internally on our financial position
and operations, and the broader implications in the
macro-economic environment and viewing habits. Despite the
unprecedented challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic, we have recovered well with the highest Media and
Entertainment revenue in our history and Studios revenue set
to recover in 2022. We have focused on increasing the resilience
of our operations and developing innovative procedures to
continue filming during the pandemic.
Brexit
However, there is still some uncertainty and COVID-19 remains an
operational risk to our business. We provide an overview of the
operational risk factors related to the pandemic below, including,
where appropriate, additional context in each principal risk, to
reflect the acceleration of those risks as a result of COVID-19.
We continue to monitor the risks associated with the
UK’s withdrawal from the EU in 2020. Whilst the
development of a deal between the UK and the EU went
a considerable way to mitigating this risk, there remain
some uncertainties. There remain operational challenges
associated with the free movement of people and goods/services,
impacting both our productions and supply chains. These risks are
largely mitigated within ITV, however, we recognise that challenges
continue to impact our advertisers and contribute to broader
macroeconomic risks which may impact our Commercial revenue.
There has been renewed attention in some quarters in the EU on
the qualification of UK content as European works. There is a risk
that UK content might no longer qualify as European works (in
whole or in part) for the purposes of EU TV and Streaming quotas,
which may impact the demand for UK made content including
that made in the UK by ITV Studios. We are currently monitoring
developments in this area and engaging with the European
Commission, some EU governments and others on the topic.
Where relevant, we have provided Brexit commentary in each
of our principal risks below.
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The Board and Management are responsible for identifying emerging
risks and ITV’s Group strategy and Risk teams support this by
undertaking horizon scanning, maintaining ongoing dialogue with
the business and keeping up to date with wider market developments.
Emerging risks are tracked and escalated through the risk management
framework and are formally assessed by the Board twice a year. Our
key emerging risks fall into the Environmental, Social and Governance
categories. In addition, we closely monitor the technological
environment to understand how disruptive technology creates
emerging risk and opportunity for our business.
Governance
ITV is committed to implementing the highest standards of
corporate governance, in order to provide transparency to our
shareholders and wider stakeholders and to ensure we remain
compliant with laws and regulations. We recognise failure to
implement adequate corporate governance standards may result
in failure to attract investment and impact how our business is
valued. For further information, please refer to our Corporate
Governance report at page 104.
Overall, whilst we do not categorise ESG as a standalone principal
risk, which could materially threaten our viability or strategy, we
recognise that ESG matters need to be considered as part of our
everyday activities and are intrinsically linked to many of our risks.
These risks are identified and managed through our existing
bottom-up risk process, with escalation to the relevant board
as required. Importantly, all these emerging risks also present
opportunities for our business, therefore we manage them in
a way to enhance our brand and perception in the market.
Where relevant, we have provided ESG commentary on each
of our principal risks below.
Emerging risks
We define emerging risks as uncertainties which originate from
known or previously unconsidered sources, and which are not clearly
understood, visible or possible to fully assess. These risks could impact
ITV over a longer period and have the potential to significantly impact
our business model and/or operations.
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues
ESG matters underpin everything we do and are core to
our Social Purpose strategy. We understand that purpose
driven organisations are more resilient to external
threats and therefore we need to have strong risk
management processes around emerging ESG-related issues.
Environmental
We recognise the climate crisis and the risks and opportunities
it poses for ITV. In 2021, we significantly increased our focus on
environmental risks as part of our work on TCFD. We completed
climate scenario analysis, across high and low carbon scenarios,
and our assessment suggests our strategy remains resilient to
the risks posed by climate change and environmental changes.
However, we recognise there still remains uncertainty around
the potential significance, impact or timing of these risks and we
continue to categorise climate change as an emerging risk for ITV.
Further detail on the risks and opportunities specifically related to
climate change are provided in our TCFD report page 88 to 93.
Social
As a public company, ITV is particularly exposed to societal risks.
Conversely, we are uniquely positioned to use our scale and
visibility to increase awareness around social issues. Failure to
recognise and respond to social issues may impact the relevance
of our content and, in turn, our viewing. In addition, failure to
implement processes to address social inequality within our
business may result in ITV being perceived as a less attractive
employer and impact our ability to attract and retain talent.
Our Social Purpose strategy and internal values are centred
around using our platform to educate viewers, our colleagues
and the general public on social issues. Please refer to page 48
to 55 for further information on the work we are doing as part
of our Social Purpose.
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Principal risks and mitigations
Link to strategy
Risk direction of travel
(after current mitigations)
Principal and emerging risks
Expand
UK and global production
Risk is increasing
Supercharge
Streaming in Media and
Entertainment
Optimise
Broadcast in Media and
Entertainment
Risk is reducing
Risk remains static
Indicates where there
are COVID-19 related
factors, which may
influence the risk.
Indicates where there
are ESG related
factors, which may
influence the risk.
Indicates where there
are Brexit related
factors, which may
influence the risk.
N.B. – Risks are grouped by category and are not disclosed in order of importance or significance
Strategic/Financial, External risks
External business environment risks, including macroeconomic, socio-political or market changes, that may impact ITV’s financial position or
strategic vision
1. Changing viewing habits
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: Kevin Lygo
Risk
direction
2021
2020
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
A failure to
anticipate or
respond to fast
changing viewer
habits and
behaviours may
impact total
viewing and the
success of our
channels/services.
• Content is now available across many different
devices and platforms, which is impacting how
viewers consume video
• Viewers are watching less linear television and are
increasingly accessing content through Streaming
services
• Our advertising revenue and continued success is
dependent on being able to retain viewers and increase
the volume of content they consume on our services
Changes in direction of travel
COVID-19 accelerated some of the changes
in viewer habits that we had started to see
prior to the pandemic. The growing level of
competition for viewer attention, coupled
with the acceleration of video on demand viewing (even
amongst traditionally linear-skewed viewers) has resulted
in this risk continuing to trend upwards.
Our strategy is focused on enabling our audiences to
access our content wherever, whenever and however
they choose to watch. This involves continuing to
broadcast great content on our channels to encourage
mass simultaneous reach and focusing on accelerating
our Streaming strategy, with a new proposition, ITVX,
launching in 2022.
The new vision for Streaming will focus on developing
a leading VOD platform in the UK, driving greater value
for viewers, advertisers and ITV through a stronger
integrated proposition. We aim to do this by: capitalising
on the success of our ITV Hub, ITV Hub+ and BritBox UK;
increased digital-first content investment; strong user
experience; using data to drive viewing; investment
in marketing; and developing a brand which attracts
VOD-first viewers. Through this, we will offer advertisers
premium addressable audiences at scale in a trusted,
brand safe and measured environment through Planet V.
Our strategy also involves investing in alternative media
products to more effectively compete for non-viewing
time and allow viewers to engage with the ITV brands
and formats in different ways. This includes investing in
gaming, short form content and podcasts.
Board oversight
• Regular updates on viewing figures and evolving viewer
behaviours at the Board
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2. Advertising market changes
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: Kelly Williams
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
Ongoing changes
in the advertising
market may result
in reduced demand
for ITV’s
advertising
products and
a longer-term
decline in
advertising
revenue.
We have noted significant recovery in the
TV advertising market; however, significant
downturn in the economy, driven by Brexit,
COVID-19 and/or other macroeconomic factors
may impact advertiser spend.
• An increasing proportion of advertising budgets is being
spent on digital offerings and with media owners with
advanced features, such as audience attribution
Certain sectors are either already or may
become subject to regulatory advertising
restriction, impacting the advertising they can
place with ITV. Particular industries which are
at higher risk of advertising restrictions are: gambling,
and food and drink. In addition, we are monitoring the
potential for advertising restrictions on high-carbon
emitting products and services, for example air travel
and motor vehicles.
Changes in direction of travel
Continued uncertainty in the economic environment
means this risk is trending upwards.
We continue to closely monitor the economic
environment and track the potential financial impact
on advertising revenues.
Our Commercial strategy is focused on demonstrating
the benefits of advertising on ITV, whilst seeking to
increase awareness within growing sectors. We continue
to innovate our solutions to compete with digital
offerings, including by investing in enhanced
addressability. Our Planet V product provides advertisers
an easy to use, self-service platform to deliver highly
targeted ads on our Streaming products. Our new
Streaming strategy seeks to deliver a more compelling
proposition for advertisers seeking to reach an
addressable audience at scale.
In 2021, we also launched ITV AdLabs which seeks to
offer advertisers innovative products, such as metaverse
solutions. During 2022, this will also involve investigating
options to deliver linear addressable ads.
We monitor the regulatory landscape and engage with
the UK government to understand and limit the impact
of advertising restrictions on our revenues. Specifically,
in relation to the intended ban on advertising for high
fat, sugar and salt products, we are assessing the
potential financial impact and identifying approaches
to mitigate the loss of revenue while we wait for
further details on the scope of the ban and timing of
application. More broadly, we seek to use our content
to educate our viewers on social issues, such as healthy
foods and the environment.
Board oversight
• Strategy session with the Board on our Commercial
strategy, in light of this risk (July 2021)
Risk
direction
2021
2020
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3. Evolving demand in the content markets
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: Julian Bellamy
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
Fundamental
changes in the
content market
may result in
reduced
opportunities,
non-renewal
of premium
programmes, and/
or impact the
profitability of ITV
Studios content.
Production has now resumed globally, however,
it remains operationally challenging and more
expensive as a result of COVID-19.
The demand for content globally continues
to increase, in particular from SVOD buyers. However,
market competition is intensifying and recent large
mergers in the media market represent both a threat
and an opportunity to ITV.
• The profitability of the Studios business may continue to
be impacted by buyers seeking better terms on pricing
and rights and increased costs of production as a result
of limited resources and new ways of working during
COVID-19
ITV continues to implement COVID-19 secure protocols,
which allow us to continue producing during COVID-19
whilst protecting those involved on our programmes.
These protocols support our production resilience and
can be rapidly flexed to respond to the evolving situation.
We are also growing and maintaining relationships with
a diversified set of local and global customers, with
varied business models. Our strategy is focused on
growing the volume of drama hours we produce and
increasingly working with SVOD customers. We have
continued to invest in developing and attracting creative
talent in order to ensure we can continue to provide
quality content to these customers.
Risk
direction
2021
2020
Costs associated with carbon offsetting and
new technologies to reduce the environmental
impact of our productions may also impact
margins in the future.
There also continues to be some uncertainty
around the longer-term qualification of UK
made content as EU works for EU TV and
streaming quotas, which could result in
reduced demand for UK content.
Changes in direction of travel
The global demand for content remains high and we
are able to use our scale to support us manage the risk
associated with the rising cost of production, resulting
in this risk remaining static.
We believe that by taking action now to reduce the
environmental impact of our productions, we are
mitigating against longer-term increases in costs e.g.
arising from carbon taxation or higher prices of fossil
fuel. From a cost perspective, we are also continually
implementing new processes to drive efficiency in our
production and project margins. These include robust
procurement procedures, maximisation of tax credits
and technological approaches to optimise filming.
We are assessing the implications in relation to the
qualification of UK content as EU works, whilst we
await further detail on the potential measures.
Board oversight
• Strategy sessions focused on ITV Studios, and response
to risks and changes in the market
4. Platform relationship risk
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: Chris Kennedy
Risk
direction
2021
2020
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
An inability to
develop and
maintain adequate
relationships with
major platform
and distribution
providers may
result in viewers
being unable to
find our content
and lack of fair
value for that
content.
• Video content is viewed across a wide variety of
platforms and devices and ITV needs to work with
these platform providers to ensure viewers can
continue to find ITV content whenever and wherever
they choose to watch
• As a Public Service Broadcaster (PSB), we are guaranteed
prominence in the UK within the linear Electronic
Program Guide (EPG) grid. However, this prominence
is not guaranteed for digital viewing and other ways
viewers now or will choose to consume ITV content.
• The PSB ecology is integral to the broader society in the
UK and a lack of regulatory intervention to protect this
ecology may threaten this wider societal benefit. There
is a risk that global platforms may use their scale and
influence to limit the visibility and prominence of PSB
content and/or the value PSBs are able to take from
the content PSBs distribute on their platforms
Changes in direction of travel
During 2021 we finalised long-term deals with both
Sky and Virgin Media O2 which supports mitigation of
this risk in the medium term. However, as we develop
our Streaming proposition we need distribution
arrangements in place to ensure the product is available
on as many platforms as possible.
Our aim is to allow viewers to access our content,
wherever, whenever and however they choose to watch
and this is underpinned by a defined partnership and
distribution strategy, which has been further developed
throughout 2021. We will continue to focus on this as a
priority as we deliver our enhanced Streaming strategy.
We have a dedicated team that has developed
relationships and commercial arrangements with all
the major distribution providers and TV platform/device
manufacturers in the UK. This team is also responsible
for inputting into product and commercial decision-
making, to confirm ITV remains an attractive proposition
from a distribution perspective. We are therefore in a
position to negotiate the prominence and monetisation
of ITV’s content on their platform/devices.
We also continue to actively participate in dialogue
with Ofcom and the UK government regarding the
modernisation of the PSB regulatory regime and make
the case for addressing the key areas of inclusion,
prominence and fair value.
Board oversight
• Ad-hoc updates on partnership and platform
developments
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5. Pension deficit increase
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: Chris Kennedy
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
A financial crisis
or macroeconomic
change could
impact the value
of pension scheme
investments and
liabilities and
increase the
deficit.
• Changes in credit spreads could result in material
movements in the Group’s defined benefit pension
scheme liabilities
• A major change in longevity, investment values or in
the discount rate affecting the value of liabilities could
have a material impact on the net pension liability. ITV
may need to respond in such an event by increasing
future contributions
Changes in direction of travel
The pension scheme trustees’ approach has
always been focused on taking a conservative
approach to limit the impact of uncertainty.
Therefore, the wider implications of the
economy have not impacted the value of the scheme
significantly or our ability to meet liabilities.
The pension scheme assets are invested in a diversified
portfolio, with a significant proportion held in lower risk
bonds, with interest rate and inflation hedging in place,
designed to match the cash outflows of the scheme
liabilities as far as possible. We have worked with the
pension trustees to manage contributions to the pension
schemes through a series of asset backed arrangements.
Increased monitoring of the pensioner population and
mortality rates of the schemes has taken place to assess
the likely risk of a mortality shock as a result of COVID-19.
This would result in a requirement to increase collateral
in relation to the longevity swap and restrictions on the
preferred investment strategy. However, a mortality
shock would also reduce the scheme’s liabilities, partly
offsetting the risk of the deficit.
Board oversight
• Annual pension process and controls review at the
Audit and Risk Committee (September 2021)
Risk
direction
2021
2020
6. Regulatory policy changes
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: Magnus Brooke
Risk
direction
2021
2020
NEW
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
Changes to policy
and regulation, or
a failure by the
UK government to
regulate, may have
a negative impact
on the future of
public service
broadcast, our
business model
and/or the cost
of operations.
• Public service broadcasters (PSB) regulation needs
reform to respond to changes in viewer behaviours
and the increasing scale of digital media companies.
The outcome of the ongoing PSB regime review
presents both risks and opportunities for ITV’s
business model and strategy
Changes in advertising regulation for
certain sectors may have a negative impact
on the revenue we are able to generate from
these sectors.
The agreement of a deal between the UK
and EU has gone some way to managing Brexit
uncertainty. However, there continues to be
some uncertainty around the longer-term
qualification of UK made content as EU works for EU TV
and streaming quotas, which could result in reduced
demand for UK content.
Other areas of regulation and policy which
could have an impact on our business include
sustainability, child protection, broadcasting
regionality and longer-term regulation in
We have an experienced Policy and Regulatory Affairs
team that monitors for potential policy, legal and
regulatory developments. We have a systematic
approach to analysing the impact of potential
changes and are proactive in putting forward our
position during the development of new policies,
legislation and regulation.
We continue to engage with the government and
regulators on the PSB regime and many other topics
affecting our industry. This includes collaborating with
other organisations in the industry, where appropriate
in line with competition law and aligning objectives.
Our Social Purpose team works alongside the Policy and
Regulatory Affairs team to identify regulatory changes
related to the environment/sustainability and to
support the business implement processes to comply.
This included advising the business on requirements
for TCFD, of which we were an early signatory.
Board oversight
• Regular reports to the Board on PSB reform
• Regular updates on emerging regulation in light
relation to pandemic preparedness.
of COVID-19
Changes in direction of travel
Reform of the PSB regime remains a significant
uncertainty and critical component to ongoing protection
of the PSB ecology, resulting in this risk trending upwards.
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Strategic, Internal/Change risks
Internal risks, including culture and capability, that may impede the achievement of strategic and/or operational change goals
7. Content pipeline risk
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: Kevin Lygo
Risk
direction
2021
2020
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
Failure to sustain
a diversified
commissioning and
content strategy
that is resilient and
financially viable
may reduce
profitability.
• In order to protect viewing and, in turn, advertising
revenues, we must develop a content pipeline that
is both resilient to changes in viewer preferences
and is financially viable. In particular, we must
commission programmes with broad appeal that
attract younger audiences
• Our Streaming strategy requires us to invest in more
content and we must balance these rising costs with
the need to grow viewers on those products
The public response to the Black Lives Matter
movement has further highlighted the need
to respond to increasing scrutiny of on-screen
diversity. Furthermore, we also need to be
conscious of the environmental impact of our
programming and how environmental behaviours
are presented in our content.
Changes in direction of travel
The cost of content is increasing, as a result of increased
competition due to more players entering the market.
This, coupled with the need to secure greater numbers
of content hours for our Streaming proposition, results
in this risk increasing.
Within our Broadcast business unit, our commissioning
focus remains on mass simultaneous reach and
identifying programmes and formats which have
national appeal, led by our experienced Commissioning
team. In order to increase the resilience of our pipeline
and reduce our reliance on historically successful
programmes, we continue to invest in new premium
formats, live sports and high-end drama.
A Content approach has been developed as part of the
launch if ITVX, and will focus on implementing the
content strategy needed to attract and retain viewers
on ITVX, including content acquisitions, original
commissions and content windowing approaches.
We also have dedicated Research and Data teams, who
provide insight on audience preferences and in 2021,
we also invested in data products to provide enhanced
insight into our Streaming viewing that is used to inform
our content strategy. This data is supplemented with
BARB data, which captures linear, BVOD viewing and has
been extended to also cover SVOD viewing.
We have developed a Diversity Acceleration Plan which
aims to improve our on-screen diversity, develop a
representative talent pipeline and better represent
all communities in our programmes.
We are also committed to reducing our environmental
impact and communicating the need to respond to
climate change to our viewers. In 2021, we along with
other broadcasters signed the ‘Climate Content Pledge’,
which outlines principles that we will commit to in order
to help our audiences engage with this topic.
Board oversight
• Sessions on Content strategy in light of this risk
(December 2021)
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8. Insufficient growth in our Streaming products
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: Rufus Radcliffe
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
Our Streaming
products do
not grow at the
pace required
to deliver the
desired strategic
or financial
outcomes.
• The video Streaming market is a highly competitive
market, both in the UK and internationally
• We have launched a new Streaming strategy and the
success of that strategy is dependent on maximising the
number of viewers on our Streaming service, the volume
of content they view (consumption) and successfully
converting a proportion to paying subscribers and
subsequently retaining them
• We must also manage the significant delivery and
change risks associated with delivering the new product
on time and to the right quality
• We need to maintain strong relationships with platforms
and distributors to maximise the availability and reach of
our Streaming services
Changes in direction of travel
ITV is pursuing Streaming growth strategy in a competitive
market and recent mergers in this market have intensified
competition, resulting in this risk trending upwards.
We are significantly investing in supercharging our
Streaming strategy and have developed a robust
roadmap to deliver our integrated AVOD/SVOD service,
ITVX, to the market in Q4 2022.
ITVX content will reflect our digital-first strategy and
will be AVOD led, with a compelling SVOD proposition.
The new Streaming proposition will drive viewing
amongst younger and VOD-leaning audiences, that
may not otherwise engage with ITV content. We have
developed an extensive data-driven marketing plan,
to increase awareness of the product in the lead up to
launch in Q4 2022.
We will invest heavily in content through both
acquisitions and original commissions for Streaming.
Our content strategy for Streaming also includes
creative ways to deliver this content, including curated
collections, fast channels, streaming exclusive premieres
and simulcast/live viewing.
Risk
direction
2021
2020
We have developed a product and technology
workstream, to deliver a compelling user experience
and functionality. In addition, we continue to invest in
data to improve the user experience, drive viewing and
maximise revenues.
In order to extend our reach, we are developing
distribution deals to make our products available
on a growing number of major platforms and devices.
We have also aligned our Commercial and Streaming
strategies to ensure improvements for advertisers are
a central part of the strategy.
We have revised KPIs to track and evaluate the
performance of our Streaming strategy and will both
monitor these internally and report them externally.
Board oversight
• Board strategy sessions on Streaming, in light of this
risk (July and December 2021 and January 2022)
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9. Strategic and digital transformation risk
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: Daniel Colton
Risk
direction
2021
2020
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
Failure to
successfully
deliver key
components of
our strategy
and digital
transformation,
due to the speed
and extent of
change required,
may negatively
impact our
business.
• Digital transformation underpins all elements of our
strategy and is a key enabler for increasing operational
efficiency. Failure to effectively deliver digital
transformation projects could impact ITV’s ability to
keep pace with changes in the market and ultimately
future growth
• As we digitally transform the business, our exposure to
cyber security and data privacy risk increases. We need
to manage these risks in order to protect our viewer and
staff data and protect our operations. For further detail
on these risks and mitigations, refer to the cyber security
and data breach risk and the legal and regulatory
non-compliance risk below
COVID-19 has resulted in an acceleration of
previously observed viewer trends and the
need to increase the pace of strategic delivery.
This requires significant alignment and effort
across the whole group.
Changes in direction of travel
We have initiated a significant number of strategic and
digital change programmes within the year, which
increases the level of delivery and execution risks
resulting in this risk trending upwards.
Despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, we have
continued to successfully deliver against our strategy.
Our strategy is articulated through defined strategic
initiatives. Each initiative is sponsored by a Management
Board member and led day-to-day by a member of
the ITV Executive Leadership Team. We have formal
processes in place, led by the Group strategy team, to
report monthly on the performance of each of these
initiatives to the CEO and Group CFO & COO.
We have developed a Transformation Management
Office, reporting into the Group Strategy &
Transformation Director, that is responsible for
supporting transformation and monitoring the
associated delivery risks across the business. Forums
are in place to discuss risks associated with digital
transformation activity and support with managing
interdependencies, prioritisation and change
management to ensure we are committing to
a manageable level of change activity. Key actions
and risks from these meetings are also reported to
the CEO and Group CFO & COO.
Underpinning this, we have Management Board
sponsors and Steering Groups in place for each major
transformation programme, with responsibility for
reviewing the progress, challenges and delivery risks
associated with each programme.
Board oversight
• Deep dive session with the Board on execution
and delivery risks associated with the strategy
and transformation agenda (July 2021)
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10. Insufficient cultural change
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: David Osborn
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
Failure to evolve
the underlying
culture of the
business may
result in an
inability to deliver
the level of change
required to achieve
our strategic
objectives.
• We could be negatively impacted if we fail to create
the agile and collaborative culture required to deliver
our strategy
Our culture needs to support agility,
collaboration and openness to new initiatives.
During COVID-19, we have seen increased
adoption of digital tools in the business, which
demonstrates a positive shift towards moving to a digital
culture. However, there remains a risk that the protracted
period of home working may lead to siloed working and
impact collaboration.
• There is a risk that engagement and morale may be
negatively impacted by fatigue as a result of home
working and the level of change being pursued by
the business
Changes in direction of travel
We have taken many steps to move towards our cultural
vision, including the organisational restructure. As a result,
this risk remains static.
Regular meetings focused on cultural and strategic
topics take place with the senior leadership teams, who
are responsible for cascading key messages to their
teams. We also hold regular CEO-led vodcasts and online
events. In 2021 we held our first series of ‘Fast Forward’
events focused around digital transformation, which
aimed to inspire colleagues and also improve
understanding around what digital transformation
means for ITV. Feedback from these events was very
positive and we intend to hold further events in the
future. All of these initiatives are focused on ensuring
that the culture we are aiming to create remains visible
to, and resonates with, our colleagues.
In 2021 we completed a full Engagement Survey.
Learnings from this have fed into short-term actions
and longer-term improvement plans.
The Board undertakes a formal programme of employee
engagement (led by a Non-executive Director), in order
to obtain insight into our culture. We also continue to
positively reinforce desired behaviours and attributes
through direct links to reward and recognition. In 2021,
we also began developing a set of enhanced metrics to
support the Board in monitoring our culture and will
begin formally reporting on these in 2022.
Board oversight
• Regular updates to the Board from the Non-Executive
Director on employee engagement and HR on culture
topics, and Internal Audit report to the Board on culture
(refer to page 116 in the Values in Action section for
further detail)
Risk
direction
2021
2020
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Operational risks
Risks that could impact our operational and business as usual activities
11. Duty of care and health & safety incident
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: Carolyn McCall
Risk
direction
2021
2020
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
Failure to extend
an adequate duty
of care, the
occurrence of a
major health and
safety incident or
a global pandemic,
could result in
physical and
mental harm, loss
of human life and
reputational
damage.
• We have a duty of care (DoC) to our staff, cast, crew,
programme participants and the general public
COVID-19 has resulted in increased risks to
health and safety (H&S), both in our offices
and on our productions.
• As we continue to increase production hours, our risks
in relation to H&S continue to increase. We need to
consider the DoC across all aspects of productions,
taking into account the physical health and safety
risks posed by COVID-19 and broader aspects of
mental wellbeing
Changes in direction of travel
Whilst we have improved the robustness of our
mitigations in this area, as we increase our production
hours and the volume of content we commission, our
exposure increases, resulting in this risk increasing.
We have a central team with responsibility for
implementing controls and processes for DoC and
H&S. During the pandemic, we have leveraged existing
controls and implemented new processes in order to
further protect our staff and individuals involved on
our productions. This has included implementing
a new mental health peer-to-peer platform for
staff (employees, contractors and freelancers),
implementation of home working for the majority
of staff and the development of robust office and
production safety protocols, which have been agreed
with the UK government and the industry.
We have also enhanced our existing DoC processes,
which encompass procedures relating to both physical
and mental health and safety. This has included engaging
two medical professionals (a former Chief Medical
Officer and a clinical psychologist) on an advisory basis,
to provide ongoing support and challenge to our DoC
activities. We have a Duty of Care Operating Board
(DoC Board) in place, with responsibility for monitoring
implementation and continuous improvement of our
DoC framework and policies. This DoC Board is chaired
by the Chief Executive (CEO) and includes senior
representation from our Studios, Media & Entertainment,
Legal, HR and Risk areas of the business. The DoC Board
meetings are also attended by the Chair of the Audit and
Risk Committee on behalf of the Board.
Board oversight
• Deep dive on DoC risk with the Audit and Risk
Committee (July 2021)
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12. Legal and regulatory non-compliance
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: Kyla Mullins
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
Failure to comply
with applicable
laws and
regulation could
result in
reputational
damage, financial
penalties or
suspension of
our licences to
operate.
• We are a global business and are therefore subject to
multiple local and international legal and regulatory
regimes. These cover a range of areas including:
broadcasting and media regulations; anti-trust and
competition law; anti-bribery and corruption; data
privacy; and health and safety
We have a Group Legal and Business Affairs team in
place, which consists of subject matter experts who
oversee, and are responsible for, ensuring business
compliance with all elements of regulatory and legal
requirements. Where appropriate, we also engage
specialist external legal advisers to support.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the scope of
laws and regulations has increased and we
have needed to respond to various government
guidelines and restrictions across all the
territories in which we operate.
• As we develop our data and digital strategy, and evolve
the way we use personal data to deliver transformation
in our Media and Entertainment business, we need to
confirm that we remain in compliance with data
protection and privacy regulation at all times
Changes in direction of travel
This risk is trending upwards, due a potential broadening of
our data privacy compliance obligations as a result of our
digital and data strategy.
We operate a compliance programme which is
embedded within our internal policy framework.
Internal policies are owned by business leaders, regularly
reviewed and approved by the Management Board and
the Audit and Risk Committee. The Group Legal and
Business Affairs team works with the business to support
the adoption and implementation of these policies.
During 2021, the Data Protection team has enhanced the
Group’s data protection framework, which has included
working closely with the Chief Data Officer to implement
effective data mitigations to ensure ITV is able to
leverage data in an appropriate way when delivering its
data strategy. A key enhancement by the team has been
to embed data privacy and cyber specialists into the
data transformation programme, to support designing
privacy and security into new processes and activities
from the outset.
We also have a suite of mandatory compliance training
and learning in place, which helps drive positive attitudes
to compliance across the whole business.
Board oversight
• Deep dives on compliance framework and risk with
the Audit and Risk Committee (January and July 2021)
• Data protection deep dive with the Audit and Risk
Committee (December 2021)
Risk
direction
2021
2020
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13. Cyber attack or data breach incident
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: Mark Smith
Risk
direction
2021
2020
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
A cyber attack may
result in major
operational
disruption, critical
system outage or
loss of IP, customer
or business data
and potentially
lead to material
financial fines/
penalties and
reputational
damage.
• We operate in a highly public environment and, due to
our reputation, we are at greater risk of attack (than
the norm) from well organised threat groups
• As technology becomes increasingly more complex and
we transition to a digitally led business, we are required
to evolve our cyber security procedures in order to
effectively protect against and respond to evolving
cyber threats
Remote working results in increasing activity
occurring outside the enterprise network and
increases cyber and data breach risk.
• As we continue to grow our digital product offerings,
we work increasingly with third-party partners and
suppliers. A failure by these partners to implement
suitable security processes may result in increased
risk to ITV
Changes in direction of travel
The increasing activity of threat actors and the increases
in the level of technological change in the business,
results in this risk continuing to increase.
We have implemented a robust cyber security risk
management framework across the organisation to
address the evolving nature of the cyber security threats.
Our framework incorporates a variety of technical
preventative and detective measures to mitigate the
risk of an incident, as well as an extensive training and
awareness programme. We have strengthened and
accelerated previously planned enhancements to our
controls and technical measures in response to the
increased risk caused by remote working.
We actively manage cyber and data security in our supply
chain and undertake due diligence assessments on key
suppliers as part of procurement activities. We also have
an incident response and notification process in place,
which are to be followed in the event a cyber or data
breach incident occurs.
The strength of our control environment is tested on
an ongoing basis by independent security experts and
recommendations are implemented in a prioritised
manner. We also work with our security partners to
undertake cyber simulation exercises at all levels of
the organisation to continuously improve our response
to cyber or data attacks.
Board oversight
• Update on cyber risk with the Board and Audit and Risk
Committee (January 2022)
14. Recruitment and retention of talent risk
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: David Osborn
Risk
direction
2021
2020
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
An inability to
attract, develop
and retain
key creative,
commercial,
technical and
managerial talent
could adversely
affect our
business.
• The market for talent is extremely competitive, with
salary expectations materially increasing in areas of
key talent (e.g. technology)
• We must be able to attract, develop and retain the best
creative, technological, commercial and managerial
talent in order to successfully grow our business
There is increasing scrutiny in relation to
diversity and inclusion. We must commit to
improving inclusivity and diversity across our
business (across all aspects, including race,
gender and disability) through both our recruitment
and retention processes.
Changes in direction of travel
Activity in the job market has increased. This, coupled with
challenges in sourcing skilled technologists and ability to
offer remuneration packages that are comparable with
our competitors, has resulted in this risk increasing.
There is a deep understanding of the skills and capability
required to deliver our strategic objectives and our HR
department works closely with the business to ensure
those needs are met.
We also continue to strengthen our existing capability,
through a combination of learning, development and
performance. The Board Nominations Committee is
responsible for reviewing the skills and capability of
senior leadership and the whole Board joins a Committee
meeting annually to undertake a deep dive on senior
management succession planning and bench strength.
We have developed a Diversity Acceleration Plan, which
aims to improve diversity and inclusion within the ITV
workforce, through a combination of development,
training and recruitment initiatives.
Whilst a certain level of attrition is inevitable, we
evaluate root causes through exit interviews and
declared reasons for leaving. Furthermore, succession
plans have been developed and implemented for
business critical and management roles (which
includes nominated deputies).
Board oversight
• Ongoing updates to and succession planning reviews
with the Nominations Committee
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15. COVID-19 pandemic
Link to strategy
Management Board owner: Carolyn McCall
Description
Context
Mitigating activities
The COVID-19
pandemic and
the resulting
government
interventions may
have longer-term
implications on
our operational
continuity, safety
of our people and
cost base.
• We have recategorised COVID-19 as an operational risk
(previously strategic risk), with the acknowledgement
that managing the risks associated with the pandemic
is now a business as usual requirement and we have
significantly increased our resilience to the potential
strategic impacts
• We are continuing to observe operational challenges
associated with the pandemic, including:
– The potential for high employee absence, resulting
in challenges in operational and production delivery.
– Increased costs of operating, as a result of ongoing
implementation of COVID-19 safety protocols in our
offices and on our productions.
– Challenges associated with international travel,
resulting in some impact to productions.
Changes in direction of travel
Whilst we acknowledge COVID-19 will remain
an ongoing uncertainty, and have operational
impact on our business, our increased resilience
to this risk, as a result of our mitigations, means
this risk is static.
We have developed a COVID-19 response governance
structure, with responsibility for managing the risks
associated with the crisis. This is supported by a Project
Management Office function, which regularly reports
into the Management Board and the Board.
Our focus is on managing the risks associated with
COVID-19 across five fronts:
• Situational Analysis: Regular conversations with
government and external advisers to understand
how the crisis is playing out medically, politically
and economically
• Cash and Costs: Modelling our financial position across
a range of scenarios (informed by situational analysis),
developing cost mitigations (with defined trigger
points), and cash monitoring and management
• Revenue: Developing and implementing plans to
continue identifying opportunities and mitigate
against negative sales impacts
• Technology and Operations: Invoking existing business
continuity plans to ensure critical operations can
continue through the crisis
• People and Comms: Putting in place processes and
responses that protect the health and wellbeing of
our people, cast, crew, participants and support the
wider community
We also continue to make improvements to our crisis
management and business continuity approach across
the Group, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We
have identified further activities to protect our critical
services and have implemented these activities into
business as usual. This has included implementing
additional security measures on our enterprise systems,
improving efficiency and resilience in production
through technology and remote editing and increasing
the adoption of tools to facilitate remote working.
Board oversight
• Monthly reports to the Board on the emerging
COVID-19 situation and impact to ITV
Risk
direction
2021
2020
NEW
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Strategic Report | Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
Task Force on
Climate-related
Financial Disclosures
(TCFD)
We recognise the climate crisis and the
potential impact it may have on both
the wider world and the success of
our business. The threat continues
to evolve and we believe businesses
globally have a responsibility to take
meaningful action to mitigate and
prevent further climate change.
We are committed to reducing the
impact of our business on the
environment and this is demonstrated
by the climate action targets we have
set. This includes emission reduction
by 2030, our commitment to set an
additional long-term target to meet
the Science Based Targets Initiative’s
new standard for Net Zero, as well as
our ongoing reporting on the progress
we are making to meet these targets.
In January 2022 we agreed a new
Revolving Credit Facility (RCF), which is
linked to the delivery of ITV’s science-
based carbon emissions targets. Under
the terms, ITV will benefit from a lower
interest rate if it delivers emissions
reductions in line with its Net Zero
TCFD progress roadmap
roadmap, which will be assessed on
an annual basis and verified through
independent assurance.
Alongside this we are committed to
providing greater transparency to our
investors and stakeholders regarding
ITV’s exposure to climate-related risk,
the mitigating actions we are taking
against these risks and the potential
to take advantage of climate-related
opportunities. This TCFD report has
undergone rigorous internal review by
the Audit and Risk Committee and has
also been subject to review by external
advisers. Our disclosure now meets the
minimum requirements outlined within
the TCFD framework and from 2022
we intend to build on this disclosure,
including obtaining independent
verification over our emissions data.
Governance
To successfully evaluate and respond to
the challenges and opportunities posed
by climate change, we must embed an
understanding and awareness of climate
change issues across the business,
supported by effective governance.
In 2020 we implemented our Climate
Action Governance Structure, which is
aligned to our broader business and risk
management governance structures
(see page 104 and 132).
Within this governance structure, the
Board has ultimate accountability for all
risks, including climate-related risks and
opportunities, and the delivery of our
environmental targets. The Board fulfils this
accountability through ongoing review of
principal and emerging risks, and through
specific sessions on climate related topics.
In 2021 the Board held various sessions on
the climate agenda, including reports from
Social Purpose and Risk teams on progress
to meet our climate science based targets
and a deep dive session into climate related
ITV has supported TCFD and made disclosures structured around the TCFD framework since 2019. We have built on this throughout 2021,
making significant improvements in how we manage our environmental targets and climate-related risks and opportunities. However, we
recognise that we can build on these priorities further, to continue enhancing our approach and strengthen the quality of our reporting.
2020
2021
2022
• Updated Environmental Governance
• Established CADG1
• Launched environmental targets
• Achieved a B+ CDP rating
• Began climate risk and opportunity
identification
• Obtained SBTi2 validation for environmental
• Align environmental targets to new SBTi
targets
Net Zero standard
• Launched new global environmental data
• Link management remuneration to
platform
• Achieved an A- CDP rating
• Completed first stage of climate scenario
analysis on key areas of our business
• Started developing offsetting strategy
• Signed the Climate Content Pledge
• Signed Business Ambition for 1.5C
committing to making 2050 targets
in addition to 2030 targets
• New RCF, linked to the delivery of emissions
reduction targets
environmental targets
• Obtain independent assurance over
emissions data
• Build on climate scenario analysis
• Continue developing emissions reduction
plans
• Enhance and consider further relevant
climate-related metrics
• Finalise editorial commitments, aligned
to the Climate Content Pledge3 to increase
on-air content on the climate crisis and
how to address it
1. Climate Action Delivery Group, please see Governance section for further detail
2. Science Based Targets Initiative
3. Please see our Social Purpose report for further detail
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Climate Action Governance structure
PLC Board
Audit and Risk Committee
Cadence
At minimum, annual consideration of (i)
climate related targets and (ii) climate risks
and opportunities
Cadence
At minimum, annual scrutiny of TCFD and
other climate related reporting
Management Board and Divisional Boards
Cadence
Twice yearly consideration of (i) climate related targets and (ii) climate risks and opportunities
Climate Action Delivery Group
Cadence
Quarterly meetings focused on (i) climate related targets and (ii) climate risks and opps
Green Teams
Cadence
Monthly meetings focused on identifying innovative ideas to reduce emissions and meet
environmental targets
risks and opportunities, including the results
of our climate scenario analysis. Climate-
related topics were also considered as part
of broader conversations, around topics
such as corporate strategy and risk. These
discussions resulted in enhancements to
our Social Purpose strategy, including ITV’s
signatory to the Climate Content Pledge.
The Board is supported by the Audit and
Risk Committee, who oversee climate
related external reporting and alignment
to TCFD recommendations.
included a ‘deep dive’ session on the results
of our risk and climate scenario analysis
work in the September 2021 meeting.
On a quarterly basis, the Group also reviews
reports from our environmental data
platform to monitor progress against our
environmental targets and considers what
improvements are required. Refer to page
93, for further detail of our environmental
data platform. This Group reports into the
Divisional and Management Boards, who
oversee delivery.
The management sponsor and risk owner
for this topic is Chris Kennedy, the Group
CFO & COO. In 2020, we established ITV’s
Climate Action Delivery Group (CADG),
chaired by Chris and consisting of senior
management representation across the
business, including Finance, Technology,
Regulatory Affairs and Policy, Risk and
Social Purpose teams. The CADG have
received ITV’s climate action training and
bespoke training with regards to TCFD
and emissions reporting. The CADG is
responsible for day-to-day delivery of the
climate action agenda and environmental
targets, ensuring business activities align
to our climate action agenda, and for
implementing strategies to respond with
climate-related risks and opportunities. In
the CADG meetings we monitor the status
of climate-related risk and opportunities,
through a combination of ongoing updates
of activities from the Group Risk function
and the business representatives. This
Risk management
Climate-related risks have been identified
by the Board as an emerging business risk.
Climate-related risks are identified, assessed,
managed and monitored in line with the risk
management framework set out in the risks
and uncertainties section on page 72 and are
reported in line with the governance section
above (which is aligned to the overall risk
management approach).
In 2020, ITV began climate scenario analysis
supported by the Group Risk team and
external environmental consultants. This
started with a detailed identification of
climate-related risks and opportunities in
the short, medium and long term and in
both a 2°C and 4°C warming scenario.
Following the SBTi publication of new
guidance on Net Zero in October 2021,
this was supplemented with a high level
assessment to determine which of the
identified risks would also be relevant in
a 1.5°C warming scenario. Members of the
Climate Action Delivery Group performed
an initial assessment of these risks and
opportunities, using the existing risk
assessment methodology, and made a
decision on which risks and opportunities
should be prioritised. The primary factors
considered to assess the risks were the
likelihood of the risk materialising and the
potential significance across the following
impact categories:
• Strategic/Financial, external –
reputational impact, revenue
and expenditure impact
• Strategic, internal – strategic change
impact; revenue and expenditure impact
• Operational – operational impact;
balance sheet impact
When reviewing the opportunities we
assessed the alignment and relevance
to our corporate strategy of commercial
opportunity, cost savings and importance to
our Social Purpose to shape culture for good.
Ownership is a key component of the overall
risk management process, and Executive
Leadership Team owners were assigned
to each climate risk and opportunity
identified as part of this process. Risk
owners have responsibility for actively
monitoring the risks and opportunities,
including defining and implementing
appropriate management strategies
with support and advice provided by
the Risk and Social Purpose teams.
These risks and opportunities were formally
reviewed at the CADG and subject to an
emerging risk deep dive with the Board
in 2021, in line with our overarching risk
reporting processes.
Strategy
Risks
Our initial assessment identified three key
risk themes, which have been subject to
further modelling to understand whether
the potential impact is material to our
financial position and strategy.
For each of these key risk themes we
conducted quantitative modelling and
qualitative assessment of the potential
impact both physical and transitional risks
may have on our business in a 1.5°C, 2°C
and 4°C warming scenario, as at 2030. The
modelling assumed that our business model
and activities remain the same as today.
Our overall assessment of the risks,
although based on a number of key
assumptions, indicates that as a business
ITV is not significantly exposed to physical
or transition climate risks in our operations
and our strategy remains relevant even in
light of evolving climate risks. The risks
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(individually or collectively) do not represent
a threat to our long-term viability, liquidity
or ability to operate and no risks were
identified which suggested we need to
impair balance sheet assets.
We have developed plans to deliver our net
zero targets and in 2022, we will continue
to develop these further, with a focus on
the changes needed to deliver our waste
targets. Our net zero plans involve taking
incremental steps to deliver our ambition,
including replacing our buildings with
renewable energy buildings as leases
renew and replacing our fleet with
renewable energy vehicles as vehicles
are written off. Our initial assessment
indicates this will not require significant
additional financial investment to achieve,
however we will continue to monitor this
as our plans develop.
Given the evolving nature of climate change
and the future policy changes governments
globally are considering, there remains a
number of uncertainties in our modelling.
We will continue to review our risks to
understand what adjustments need to
be made to our mitigation measures or
strategy and we intend to continue
building on this climate scenario analysis
by modelling further risks and opportunities,
as they are identified.
Detailed risks
Temperature scenarios
High carbon scenario
(‘business as usual’/4oC/
RCP 8.5)
This is where physical
impacts of climate
change are likely to be
most impactful, for
example with higher sea
level rise, higher
temperatures and
extreme weather events
Low carbon scenario
(‘acceptable limit’/2oC/
RCP 2.6)
This is where the impacts
of transitioning to a low
carbon economy are
likely to be observed as
governments worldwide
commit to driving down
emissions; this could be
manifested as higher
carbon prices and
greater regulation
Very low carbon
scenario
(‘net zero
transition’/1.5oC/RCP 1.9)
ITV has committed to
targets to reduce
emissions in line with
a 1.5oC science based
emission scenario. This
scenario would require
significant investment on
the part of governments
and industry to achieve
and is where the impacts
of transitioning to a
low carbon economy
are likely to be most
impactful
Impact time
horizon
From
(years)
To
(years)
Aligned to
Short term
start
2022
Medium term
2023
end
2022
end
2024
ITV annual reporting
period
ITV long-term viability
assessment period and
strategic planning cycle
Long term
2025
end
2030
ITV science-based and
Net Zero targets
We intend to extend
the lookout horizon to
2050 from next year
to align with our
additional 2050
emissions
commitments
1. Carbon pricing
Context
As governments increasingly
intervene to limit the impact
of climate change, we may see
an increase in carbon pricing/
taxations on organisations to
encourage carbon reduction.
As a result, we may be exposed
to some additional costs of
operating in all areas of our
business. This may include
direct pricing on our Scope 1&2
emissions or an increase in the
cost of procured goods and
services, as a result of suppliers
passing through their direct
carbon pricing costs (e.g.
travel providers).
Time horizon
Medium
Impact area
Expenditure increase
High carbon
scenario impact
Low carbon
scenario impact
Very low carbon
scenario impact
How we are responding
Expenditure
increase – not
applicable
Based on climate
scenario models,
we have assumed
that government
intervention on climate
change is limited and
further carbon pricing
is not introduced.
Expenditure
increase – minimal
We have assumed
that we meet our
environmental targets,
which includes limiting
our carbon emissions
and increasingly
procure from
suppliers with similar
sustainability targets.
Therefore we would
be less exposed to
carbon pricing.
Expenditure
increase – moderate
We have assumed
that we meet our
environmental targets,
which includes limiting
our carbon emissions in
our direct operations.
However, we recognise
that government
intervention may be
significant and in
particular may result in
increasing costs in our
supply chain, resulting
in a moderate exposure.
By committing to our net zero
carbon target we are actively
seeking to limit the amount of
carbon we use in our business,
including in our direct operations,
through the suppliers we work with
and through our activities, such as
travel. As we reduce our carbon
emissions and increase our use of
renewable energy to deliver against
this target, our exposure to this risk
will be reduced.
The sustainability of our sites and
buildings is now a key consideration
when making decisions on office
moves and closures. In 2021, we
made the decision to reduce our
UK office capacity, which will help
facilitate our net zero transition.
Link to existing principal risk
N/A
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2. Extreme weather events
Context
High carbon
scenario impact
Low carbon
scenario impact
Very low carbon
scenario impact
How we are responding
Expenditure
increase – minimal
We have assumed there
is an increase in the
frequency and severity
of extreme weather
events, however as our
production operations
are globally diversified
and we are able to
make choices around
where and how we film
this impact is minimal.
Expenditure
increase – minimal
As the world is already
experiencing the
impacts of extreme
weather events
globally, the increase in
frequency and severity
of these events under
this scenario is assumed
to be manageable
within ITV’s existing
business continuity
procedures.
Expenditure
increase – minimal
As the world is already
experiencing the
impacts of extreme
weather events
globally, the increase in
frequency and severity
of these events in this
scenario is assumed to
be manageable within
ITV’s existing business
continuity procedures.
If governments and organisations
fail to adequately respond to
climate change, we are likely to
see an increase in physical climate
risks, such as extreme weather
events causing floods, wildfires
and acute heat waves.
Extreme weather events have the
capacity to result in operational
interruption on our international
productions, which may result in
unforeseen costs. An immediate
example is the high risk of
wildfires in Australia, which is the
location for one of our high value
productions, I’m A Celebrity...Get
Me Out Of Here!
Time horizon
Medium
Impact area
Expenditure Increase
Within the international Studios
business, the environment and
potential weather events are now
a key consideration when making
decisions on filming locations.
Should a situation arise we would
respond on a case-by-case basis,
supported by our existing business
continuity measures, which include
insurance, evacuation protocols to
ensure we keep talent and crew
safe, and sourcing alternative
filming locations. This resilience and
agility has been tested during the
COVID-19 pandemic, for example
changing the I’m A Celebrity...Get
Me Out Of Here! filming location
from Australia to a castle in Wales.
We were impacted by an extreme
weather event on our filming set
in Wales and were able to address
this within three days in order to
resume production, with minimal
financial impact.
Link to existing principal risk
N/A
3. Advertising restrictions
Context
High carbon
scenario impact
Low carbon
scenario impact
Very low carbon
scenario impact
How we are responding
Many governments globally have
announced their commitments to
changing consumer behaviour in
response to climate change.
We may be impacted by changing
regulations in the area of
advertising, for example
restrictions or bans on
advertising high carbon
products and services (e.g.
fossil fuel and travel companies).
Time horizon
Medium to Longer term
Impact area
Revenue loss
Revenue loss –
not applicable
Based on existing
climate scenario
studies, we have
assumed that
government
intervention on climate
change is limited in a
high carbon scenario
and advertising
restrictions are
not introduced.
Revenue loss –
minimal
We have assumed that
limited categories of
our advertising clients
are subject to such a
ban (flights and cruises)
and we are unable to
show their advertising,
however we are able to
replace a portion of this
revenue through clients
advertising low carbon
alternative products.
Revenue loss –
minimal
We have assumed that
a higher proportion of
our advertising clients
are subject to such a
ban (including flights,
travel, fast fashion and
some retail brands) and
we are unable to show
their advertising,
however, we are able to
replace a portion of this
revenue through clients
advertising low carbon
alternative products.
No proposals for advertising
restrictions have been put forward
by the UK government to date and
details of such a ban, including
scope and timing are difficult to
predict. Should proposals be made
to introduce advertising restrictions
in this area, we would engage with
the government and regulators and
participate in any relevant
consultations to limit their potential
impact on ITV and continue to work
with advertisers to seek out
alternative options to replace
potential lost revenue.
Link to existing principal risk
Advertising market
Detailed opportunities
Our More than TV strategy, and our history
of being a climate leader in our sector, puts
us in a good position to benefit from the
opportunities that exist as we transition
to a sustainable world. We see a number of
opportunities taking shape which are linked
to our relationship with audiences and
advertisers, and to the operational changes
we are making. Whilst these opportunities
are not significant to our financial success,
we believe it is important to capitalise on
these in order to ensure ITV continues
shaping culture for good; remains attractive
to talent, customers and partners; and is
resilient to risk.
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1. Audiences
Context
Our social purpose agenda of shaping culture for good
is core to ITV’s strategy. We have a strong track record
in using our brand, reach, talent and programming to
engage a mass audience on climate related themes
and solutions.
By reflecting the challenges that people are facing in
modern Britain, we can remain relevant and attractive
to a mass audience, supporting brand perceptions and
helping to maintain our reach in the market. 80% of
audiences think reducing impact on the environment
is a sign of modernity (YouGov survey commissioned
by ITV).
Time horizon
Short- Medium term
2. Commercial
Context
We expect to see growth in the volume of advertising
for brands, products and services aligned to the net
zero transition over the coming years.
By developing advertising solutions focused around
climate action, including sponsorships and Advertiser
Funded Programmes, we can provide advertisers
a reputable and trusted environment to showcase
their sustainability credentials.
By developing this market positioning, we can grow the
volume of advertising with existing clients undergoing
a sustainability transition and can also become a good
partner for emerging low carbon businesses.
Time horizon
Short to Medium term
3. Operational
Context
By developing targets to reduce emissions involved in
the production of our content, we have an opportunity
to develop innovative ways to produce and deliver our
content. Beyond the reduction of our footprint, these
changes can improve our resilience and reduce costs,
as well as opening new creative opportunities and
redefining what is possible.
Time horizon
Short to Longer term
Opportunity impact
How we are capitalising
Alignment to corporate
strategy – high
Importance to social
purpose of shaping culture
for good – high
We continue to broadcast a wide range of climate-relevant
programming throughout the year. In 2021 we broadcast a full
week of content during COP26, which included new factual
commissions and featuring climate related topics in existing
shows across daytime, soaps, quizzes and more (please refer
to page x of our Social Purpose report for more information).
In November 2021, ITV was a founding signatory to the
Climate Content Pledge, organised by BAFTA’s albert
consortium. Working alongside other UK and international
broadcasters, we will formalise our collective ambition to
increase the level of editorial content around the climate crisis
and the possible solutions to address it. We will publish our
company specific commitments in 2022.
High carbon
scenario impact
Alignment to corporate
strategy – high
Commercial opportunity –
moderate
How we are responding
‘ITV Home Planet’, an initiative led by the ITV Commercial
team provides a platform for advertisers to communicate
their sustainable message in partnership with ITV, helping
increase environmentally conscious purchasing among
consumers and helping grow our advertising revenue with
sustainable brands.
During Climate Action Week in November 2021, ITV Home
Planet drove new partnerships with three brands (refer to our
Social Purpose section), and incremental sales of advertising
spots in Climate Action related shows.
High carbon
scenario impact
Alignment to corporate
strategy – high
Cost saving – minimal/
moderate*
* We plan to conduct further
analysis in 2022, to assess
this opportunity.
How we are responding
Remote production technology is increasingly used in Sport
(UEFA Euros) or on Entertainment (Love Island) formats, and
we are currently testing virtual XR technology for scripted
productions. These innovations can reduce the number of
people who need to travel to filming locations, and support
meeting our environmental targets, whilst potentially
reducing costs. We are now looking to upscale the number
of programmes produced in this way to amplify the benefits
and gain efficiencies of scale.
Metrics and targets
Data collection and quality
Since January 2021, ITV has been using the
Ecometrica platform to gather and monitor
our global environmental data related to
emissions from Scope 1 & 2 and Business
Travel. Remaining Scope 3 categories are
calculated annually outside of the system.
The data collection process and the quality
assurance process are now in place, with
results reviewed quarterly at the CADG
meetings. From Q4 2021, we have started
to collect waste data through Ecometrica,
and will be monitoring the results at the
quarterly CADG meetings from 2022.
In addition, we will introduce verification of
our emissions data which will be done in
time for our CDP submission in July 2022.
We are progressing work to improve the
quality of the data used across all scopes.
This includes working with BAFTA albert
(refer to the Social Purpose report on pages
48 to 55 for further detail on albert) to
improve the robustness of their footprint
measuring tool for TV production activities,
exploring solutions to gather more timely
data from suppliers and involvement in the
Dimpact project to improve the accuracy
of the data for emissions related to
transmission, distribution and consumption
of our content and products (refer to the
Social Purpose report for more detail on
the Dimpact project and its aims).
Metrics and Targets
In August 2020, ITV announced the
commitment to be a Net Zero business by
2030, having set a Scope 1&2 emissions
target aligned to the Paris Agreement’s
1.5oC warming limit, and a Scope 3 target
aligned to well below 2oC, using 2019 as the
baseline. These targets were validated by
the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)
and equate to 46.2% absolute reduction for
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Scope 1 &2, and 28% absolute reduction
for Scope 3 against 2019 levels (purchased
goods and services and business travel).
Following the SBTi publication of new
guidance on Net Zero in October 2021, we
have committed to aligning ourselves with
best practice and will be setting additional
long-term targets for 90 to 95% emission
reduction across all scopes by 2050. We
aim to have these new targets submitted
to SBTi in 2022.
Our footprints from the last three years
(including our Streamlined Energy and
Carbon Reporting data) and further detail
of our climate action targets can be found
in our Social Purpose section. They
demonstrate a clear downward trend, in line
with or overachieving our targets. COVID-19
has had a significant impact in reducing our
emissions, especially those related to
business travel and production activities.
We do expect emissions from these areas
to increase slightly as restrictions are lifted,
however, we are developing robust plans
to address this and achieve our targets.
Other key metrics relevant to the risks
and opportunities we have identified are
summarised below. From 2022 we intend
to obtain independent assurance over our
emissions and metrics data, refer to the
table below.
BAFTA albert figures indicate that the 2020
UK average production footprint per hour of
content produced dropped to 4.4tCO2e/hr
from 9.2tCO2e/hr in 2019. While this is
largely due to the impact of COVID-19 on the
production activities across the sector, we
anticipate that the industry trend is going
downwards. Lockdowns have forced our
industry to innovate and have accelerated
the development of new production
methods, such as remote production which
offer significant carbon reductions. We are
monitoring the evolution of the average ITV
footprint and are working actively with
BAFTA albert to review these numbers.
better understand our current position
and the range of opportunities we have
to engage audiences on the climate crisis
and sustainability transition across all
genres. We will then explore setting more
formal metrics for 2023 based on the
insights gained.
We are not currently able to set formal
targets on the revenue we are earning from
sustainable brands, products and services,
although it is an area we are actively
monitoring. The main challenge involves
clearly defining the criteria and categories
of advertising that would be considered
sustainable. We are working with the
industry, and notably the Advertising
Association’s Ad Net Zero programme,
to ensure that we are aligning with best
practices in this area, and we anticipate
that our editorial strategy will contribute
to attracting commercial opportunities.
As part of our Climate Content Pledge
commitment, we are now developing
an internal set of metrics and will pilot
a monitoring process through 2022 to
Key metrics relevant to the risks and opportunities we have identified
Target
Deadline
Progress
Link to risk or opportunity
Power the business with 100%
renewable energy
2025
78% of Scope 2 electricity comes
from renewable tariffs
Reduction of our emissions is a key mitigation for ‘Carbon
pricing’ risk
On track
Achieving this target also supports the ‘Audience’ and
‘Operational’ opportunities
100% suppliers aligned to
our climate action goals
2030
Addressing top spend suppliers in
the first wave
Reduction of our emissions is a key mitigation for ‘Carbon
pricing’ risk
On track
Achieving this target also supports the ‘Audience’ opportunity
Zero Waste business
2030
albert certification for 100%
of programmes produced and
commissioned in the UK
2021
onwards
Roll-out of albert to international
teams in ITV Studios
Ongoing
Achieving this target also supports the ‘Audience’ opportunity
Reduction of our emissions is a key mitigation for ‘Carbon
pricing’ risk
Achieving this target also supports the ‘Audience’ and
‘Operational’ opportunities
Reduction of our emissions is a key mitigation for ‘Carbon
pricing’ risk
Achieving this target also supports the ‘Audience’ and
‘Operational’ opportunities
Developing robust baseline and
roadmap for reduction
On track
57% of the productions shown
on ITV channels were certified
in 2021, as well as 84% of the
programmes produced by
ITV Studios
Productions in Australia, Italy,
USA and the Netherlands have
taken their shows through the
albert process. We are gathering
feedback and providing training
and support to upscale the use
of albert into 2022. This toolkit
serves as a data gathering
platform as well as helping to
change culture in production
teams via the Certification scheme.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | External Viability Statement
External Viability Statement
How we assess prospects and risk
How we assess viability
When assessing the longer-term viability of ITV, we considered (i) ITV’s
strategy and business plan (page 22 to 25); (ii) the principal risks and
uncertainties (page 72); (iii) the Group’s financing facilities including
covenant tests and future funding plans (page 66); (iv) the long range
financial plan and cash forecast; and (v) other sensitivity factors or risks
which have the potential to materially impact liquidity and cash in the
assessment period.
Based on this review a set of hypothetical and downside scenarios were
developed. We then modelled these scenarios against the long range
financial plan and cash forecast both individually and in parallel, in order
to assess viability.
Whilst all the risks identified, could have an impact on ITV’s performance,
the scenarios reflect the specific risks which could potentially impact the
Group’s financial position and long-term viability.
The output from this work was reviewed and approved by the Board
and the Audit & Risk Committee. In reaching its view, the Board and
Committee also considered external views, including; analyst
commentary, to understand the wider market and views on the Group’s
future prospects; and the external auditor’s findings and conclusions
on this matter. Further detail of the work performed by the Audit & Risk
Committee to consider assumptions applied in the assessment viability
is set out from page 128.
The Board continually assesses ITV’s prospects and risks at its meetings,
including the following:
• Holding “Strategy Days” twice a year, to oversee the delivery of the
Strategy and consider changes to or new initiatives to further improve
the ITV Strategy. Further detail can be found in the overview of Board
meetings in 2021, refer to page 128
• Considering ad-hoc topics on strategic areas at the periodic Board
meetings. Further detail can be found in the overview of Board
meetings in 2021, refer to page 128
• Performing a full review of the principal and emerging risks twice a year.
Further detail can be found earlier within the Principal Risks and
Uncertainties report, page 72
• Performing periodic deep dives on specific risk areas, to further
scrutinise the effectiveness of risk mitigation approaches and confirm
operation within risk appetite. Further detail can be found earlier
within the Principal Risks and Uncertainties report, page 72
As part of the assessment of prospects and risks the Board and
management routinely cover topics related to changing audience
behaviours, new market entrants and competitor strategies, and broader
advertising and studios market developments globally. Specific sessions
have also been held on our new Streaming strategy and how that
supports our longer term prospects; the global content market and
ITV Studios longer term prospects and position within this market;
business resilience to environmental and climate related risks;
technological advancements in the areas of addressable advertising
and how the ITV Strategy responds to these; and sessions led by
external analysts on the market perception of the ITV business.
Underpinning this the Board and management continued to closely
scrutinise the impact of COVID-19 on the business. This included
developing a range of COVID-19 scenarios for 2021 and beyond
and modelling their potential financial impact; identifying cost
interventions/mitigations to respond to severe downside scenarios;
and increasing the level of financial performance reviews and
reforecasting to track performance against these scenarios.
Assessment period for viability
The Board reviewed the long range financial
and strategic planning horizon and is of the
view that a three year assessment period
(this year, to 31 December 2024) continues
to be most appropriate. The factors the
Board considered in adopting this
timeframe were as follows:
• The commissioning process and life cycle
of programming gives the ITV Studios
division a more medium-term outlook.
However, while non-returning brands are
replaced with new commissions, over
time there is less visibility as programmes
can experience changes in viewer demand
or come to a natural expiration
• Technology and innovation in the media
industry continues to change the demand
for content and also how it is consumed
• Pension funding, which is one of ITV’s key
funding obligations, is agreed triennially
with the Trustees of the pension schemes
•
ITV’s business model does not necessitate
investment in long term capital projects
that would require a longer-term horizon
assessment or returns
• The situation with respect to the
COVID-19 pandemic remains uncertain
and is likely to continue impacting ITV
in the medium term. We are closely
monitoring the external environment and
continue to manage the risks associated
with the pandemic to support us in
returning to pre-Covid performance
levels. Further detail of our response to
COVID-19 is provided within the COVID-19
principal risk mitigations, page 87
• Visibility over ITV’s broadcast advertising
business is relatively short term.
Advertising remains cyclical and closely
linked to the UK economic growth,
which may continue to be impacted
by the COVID-19 pandemic, Brexit
and other uncertainties in the UK
macroeconomic climate.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Assumptions applied
We applied the following assumptions when
assessing viability:
• There is the possibility of local lockdowns
during this period, but unlikely to be
further national lockdowns in the UK
• There will be ongoing additional
production costs associated with
COVID-19 protocols and health and
safety measures
• The total content costs in 2022 will be
around £1.23 billion increasing to £1.35
billion in 2023, in order to fund additional
content for ITVX, and is expected to
continue at around this level
• To truly further stress test viability we
have included a downside scenario that
includes failure to meet the remainder
of our publicly disclosed incremental
financial cost savings targets £17 million
by the end of 2022
• We have ongoing access to the UK bond
market, but with an increased interest rate
on bonds renewed in the period to reflect
a potential decrease in credit rating
Taking into account current operational and financial performance, the Board has in particular analysed the impact of the following
hypothetical scenarios. These scenarios were assessed in isolation, as combinations of two or three, and all in parallel to further stress
test viability:
Refer to Principal Risks (page 72) or Accounting judgements and estimates within the Financial Statements
Scenario 1
Scenario modelled
A significant and sustained downturn in the advertising revenue
from 2021, as a result of audience and/or market decline, driven by
COVID-19, Brexit or other macro economic factors. In this scenario
we also fail to replace the advertising revenue lost as a result of the
confirmed restrictions on HFSS (announced to come into effect from
start of 2023) & potential restrictions on other advertising
categories (e.g. gambling and high carbon products)
Advertising revenues (2022 vs 2021 – (2%); 2023 vs 2022 – (6%); 2024 vs
2023 – 2%)
Business area impacted
Media & Entertainment
Scenario 2
Scenario modelled
A number of key programme brands within the ITV Studios division
are not recommissioned and new format growth does not materialise.
Although 2022 would typically be too imminent for commissioners to
make a decision to cancel a show, we have included the scenario from 2022
onwards to reflect ongoing risk of decreased production activity / delivery
due to COVID-19. The scenario assumes key shows come to an end from
2022 (2022 impact: c. £11 million; 2023 impact c. £36 million and 2024
impact: c. £65 million pa)
Business area impacted
ITV Studios
Scenario 3
Principal risks
Changing viewing habits – A failure to anticipate or respond to fast
changing viewer habits and behaviours may impact total viewing and
the success of our channels.
Advertising market changes: Continued changes in the advertising
market may result in a decline in ITV’s advertising revenue.
Policy and regulatory changes: Changes
to policy and regulation or a failure by the Government to regulate may
have a negative impact on the future of public service broadcast, our
business model and/or the cost of operation.
COVID-19 pandemic: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the
resulting government interventions may have longer term implications
on the macro-economic environment and our ability to deliver
our strategy, which could negatively impact our business.
Further detail of how we are mitigating these risks is provided in the
principal risk and uncertainties section
Principal risks
Evolving demand in the content market: Fundamental changes in the
content market may result in reduced opportunities for and/or profitability
of ITV Studios content.
COVID-19 pandemic: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the
resulting government interventions may have longer term implications
on the macro-economic environment and our ability to deliver
our strategy, which could negatively impact our business.
Further detail of how we are mitigating these risks is provided in the
principal risk and uncertainties section
Scenario modelled
A significant change in ITV’s pension funding obligations, following
the triennial valuation in 2022 resulting in a significant increase in
pension deficit funding payments.
This scenario assumes that pension funding payments increase to £115
million p.a. in 2022 and remain flat in the following two years.
Principal risks
Pension deficit increases: A financial crisis or macroeconomic change
could impact the value of pension scheme investments and increase
the deficit.
Further detail of how we are mitigating these risks is provided in the
principal risk and uncertainties section
Business area impacted
Group
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportStrategic Report | External Viability Statement continued
Scenario 4
Scenario modelled
Settlements for ongoing litigation are significantly higher than
estimated, resulting in large one-off cash payments.
This scenario assumes a higher than provisioned payment in 2023 in
respect of ongoing litigation for Box Clever (see note 3.5 to the
Financial Statements).
Business area impacted
Group
Scenario 5
Principal risks
Accounting judgements and estimates: The complexity and potential
scale of the ongoing litigation settlements and earnout negotiations,
results in a lack of certainty in the final liabilities and payments
Further detail of the accounting judgements and estimates applied
to ongoing litigation and earnouts are provided in Section 1 to the
Financial Statements. An overview of the assessments performed
by the Audit & Risk Committee with respect to these accounting
judgements is provided within the Audit & Risk Committee report,
page 126.
Scenario modelled
Our Streaming strategy fails to fully deliver the expected
advertising revenue (for the AVOD element) or subscriber growth
(for the SVOD element), impacting growth
This scenario assumes we under-deliver against our viewing and subscriber
growth plans for ITVX (resulting in EBITA reductions of £78 million in 2023
& £84 million in 2024)
Principal risks
Insufficient Streaming growth: Our Streaming products do not grow at
the pace required to deliver the desired strategic or financial outcomes.
Further detail of how we are mitigating these risks is provided in the
principal risk and uncertainties section
Viability statement
Based on the above, the Board has a
reasonable expectation that ITV will remain
viable and be able to continue in operation
and meet its liabilities as they fall due over
the three year-period ending 31 December
2024. The assessment has been made with
reference to ITV’s strategy and the current
position and prospects and risks.
The Strategic Report was approved by the
Board and signed on its behalf by:
Chris Kennedy
Group Chief Finance Officer & Chief
Operating Officer
3 March 2022
Potential mitigations
There are reasonable options at the disposal
of the Board to avoid breaching facilities
covenants and maintain sufficient liquidity
to continue operations. These include but
are not limited to, reducing capital and
investment expenditure, suspending
payment of discretionary bonuses,
reducing the programming budget, further
reductions in operational and overhead
costs, suspending payment of an annual
dividend and refinancing the pension asset.
In the improbable event that all scenarios
were to impact ITV concurrently and in
order to avoid breaching our covenants,
we would need to take actions to maintain
85% profit to cash conversion, deliver the
remainder of our incremental cost savings
target (£17 million) and replace the SDN
pension asset, resulting in £120 million
reduction in cash outflow in 2023. These
mitigations are within ITV’s control and
could be delivered within a reasonable
timeframe, and could be supplemented with
any of the other mitigation measures noted
above to avoid covenant breaches.
Business area impacted
Media & Entertainment
We have considered the impact of climate
change and do not believe it would have a
significant financial impact on the business
in the assessment period. Please refer to
our TCFD report for further detail
Viability assessment
Our balance sheet and liquidity position
remains strong.
We have considered both the individual
scenarios and various combinations of
the scenarios in order to assess viability.
If any of the above scenarios were to occur
in isolation or any combination of four
scenarios were to occur concurrently we
would maintain sufficient liquidity and
would not breach any banking covenants
throughout the viability period.
Additional sensitivity analysis, to further test
the model, was performed on advertising
revenue to assess the impact of a 10%
reduction in 2022, and further reductions
of 5% in 2023 and 2024. If this scenario were
to occur in isolation we would still maintain
sufficient headroom to remain viable and
would not risk breaching our covenants.
Management and the Board are of the view
that the likelihood of all the above scenarios
and sensitivities occurring concurrently
is very remote. We have developed
mitigations for each of the above risks which
are detailed in our earlier Principal Risks and
Uncertainties section. However, if all the
scenarios were to occur and no action was
taken to mitigate the financial losses
sustained ITV would maintain sufficient
liquidity but would risk breaching the EBITA/
Net Debt covenant for the RCF in 2024.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Holly Willoughby and Phillip
Schofield are an integral part of
ITV in the UK, having presented
This Morning and Dancing on Ice
for many years.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportGovernance | Chairman’s Governance Statement
Chairman’s
Governance
Statement
Sir Peter Bazalgette, Chairman
Dear Shareholder
On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to
present our Corporate Governance Report
for 2021. The Board remains committed
to maintaining effective corporate
governance and integrity, enabling us
to deliver our strategy for the long-term
benefit of all our stakeholders.
This will be my last report as your Chair as
I will step down in 2022 having served for
nine years on the Board. Until the hand over
to my successor is complete, I remain fully
committed to ITV. It has been a pleasure
to lead a Board that recognises the role of
strong corporate governance in its decision-
making and oversight of management in
building a strong and sustainable business.
Year in review
Once again, much of the year was impacted
by the challenges presented by COVID,
which we have adapted to, taking steps to
mitigate risks, keep our people safe and
protect the business for the future. The
Board continued to receive regular reports
on how ITV was managing the situation.
Our robust governance arrangements and
well established processes gave the Board
and its Committees the flexibility to
operate in this ever uncertain environment.
We were delighted that physical Board
meetings became possible again (always
conducted in line with Government COVID
safety guidelines). However, we continued
to use technology to communicate
frequently, both as a Board and to provide
extensive guidance, advice and support
to management.
Throughout the year, ITV was focused
on delivering its strategic priorities, and
the executive team continued to invest
in a dynamic programme of digital
modernisation, at pace. The Board has
been kept well informed of management’s
plans for execution of Phase Two of our
More Than TV strategy – Digital Acceleration,
particularly the launch of ITVX and our
vision for streaming and content. We held
a Board session in April when management
seeded the topic, a Strategy day in June to
consider the details, a third in September
when the team covered the key risks and
mitigations, and one in December to hear
an update on progress made to date and
consider the changing environment.
Outside formal Board meetings, Board
members enjoyed a number of training
sessions on certain key areas of the
business, and an externally-led bespoke
session on ITV’s corporate purpose, and
Environmental, Social & Governance
(ESG) considerations.
Diversity
We fully recognise the importance of
diversity and inclusion on the Board,
throughout the organisation, and in
the wider sector. We are encouraged by
the significant progress across the core
initiatives of ITV’s Diversity Acceleration
Plan, launched in July 2020. It’s also
encouraging to see management’s
commitment and achievements receive
public recognition (see page 54). We are
also pleased with, but not complacent
about, our gender and ethnic diversity
representation on the Board – 46% and
18% respectively, which exceeds the
Hampton-Alexander and Parker targets.
We also collect data from Board members
on other diversity measures, e.g. 18%
of the Board has identified as having a
disability or long-term health condition.
Annual General Meeting, which again we
were unable to hold physically due to COVID
restrictions. However the meeting was live
streamed, with the opportunity for
shareholders to ask questions before and
during the meeting, which was very much
valued by the Board. We also hosted two
investor seminars. These provided a deeper
understanding of our Commercial and
Advertising strategy, and ITV Studios,
with an opportunity for investors to raise
questions with management and the
divisional teams.
The health and well-being of our colleagues
is our number one priority. As part of the
open two-way dialogue the Board believes
there should be with colleagues, in Autumn
2021 we undertook a company-wide
employee survey. While the Board is
encouraged by the results, opportunities
to improve were highlighted, and these
will be a valuable focus for the Management
Board and senior leaders in 2022. (See
more details on pages 58 and 117).
Edward Bonham Carter, our Senior
Independent Director and Workforce
Engagement Director, continues to work
closely with the colleague Ambassador
network and regularly provides feedback
to the Board. For further information on
Edward’s role and work, and the Board’s
workforce engagement activities, please
see pages 113 to 115.
Engaging with our stakeholders,
including our workforce
Relationships with our stakeholders in the
UK and internationally are vital to building
a successful and sustainable business.
My statement in the Strategic Report (on
pages 6 and 7) sets out the ways in which
we engaged with stakeholders during 2021.
As a Board we are very focused on how we
engage and work with our stakeholders and
how we deliver a positive impact for them.
Shareholder feedback is regularly considered
during Board meetings and is an important
factor in decision making. We engage
regularly with our shareholders, through
one-to-one meetings, conferences and the
The Board also sought to balance the
interests of all stakeholders throughout
the year. Please see page 106 for
examples of key strategic issues
considered and Board decisions taken
in 2021, and pages 68 and 69 for an
explanation of how the Board has had
regard to the section 172 matters (including
certain key stakeholder considerations).
Culture
The Board continued to ensure that the
Company’s culture is aligned with its
purpose, values and strategy, taking account
of the changes to the working environment
brought about by COVID. Please see pages
116 to 119 for the key ways in which the
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Board and Committees monitored culture
during 2021.
As ITV continues to become an increasingly
digital business and adopt new ways of
working to drive agility, the Board recognises
the importance of continuing to foster and
monitor the culture across the organisation.
An Internal Audit review performed
during the year concluded that there were
strong processes in place for the Board to
monitor culture. We will follow the review
recommendations in continuing to look
for opportunities to enhance ITV’s
approach to culture.
Changes on the Board
Through the Nominations Committee, we
focus on Board succession and composition,
to ensure that we have the appropriate
balance of skills, independence, experience
and diversity. Following the appointment of
two independent Non-executive Directors
in 2020, there were no new appointments
to the Board during 2021. An area of focus
for the Committee in the year has been
commencing the search for my successor
as Chair of the Board. As for all new Board
appointments, the Chair search process is
formal and rigorous and, in line with the
Governance Code, conducted independently,
led by the Senior Independent Director.
More information on the search process
can be found on page 125.
Also, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM),
Mary Harris will step down as Chair of the
Remuneration Committee, handing over
to Sharmila Nebhrajani.
2022 Annual General Meeting
The 2022 AGM will be held on Thursday 28
April, at 11am. We propose to hold a physical
AGM with a live webcast, and a facility for
questions to be submitted online for those
joining remotely. Details of how to join the
webcast and how to submit questions are
set out in the Notice of AGM. Further details
of, and any required changes in, the meeting
arrangements will be published on the
Company’s website.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank
my fellow Board members, the Management
Board team and our colleagues in the wider
workforce, who served during another
challenging year for the Group. As we go
through 2022, the Board will continue to
work with management to deliver on our
strategic initiatives while ensuring the
wellbeing of our colleagues and keep
building a successful and sustainable
business for all stakeholders.
Sir Peter Bazalgette
Chairman
3 March 2022
The 2018 UK Corporate Governance Code
(the Code)
During 2021, the Company fully complied with all the provisions of the
Code, with the exception of provision 15 (Executive Director Non-executive
Directorships) and 38 (Executive Director pension alignment). We have
provided a full explanation regarding these departures – please see page 122
for an explanation of the limited time for which the Chief Executive will hold
two listed non-executive directorships (provision 15) and, in respect of
provision 38, the relevant steps agreed to ensure more effective alignment of
incumbent Executive Director pension contributions to those available to the
workforce, with effect from 1 January 2023, are set out on page 146. Whilst
in compliance with the Code during 2021, we also provide an explanation in
respect of provision 19 and the reasons the Chairman is expected to remain
in post slightly beyond nine years from appointment during 2022.
The Code (July 2018), issued by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), and
associated guidance are available on the FRC website at www.frc.org.uk.
Taking each of the main headings of the Code:
Board Leadership and Company Purpose
The Board’s ultimate objective is the long-term sustainable success of the Company.
Read more about our strategy in the Strategic Report and how the Board achieves this
through, amongst other things, stakeholder and workforce engagement (pages 107
to 115) and establishing a clear and aligned Company purpose, strategy and values.
Please also see pages 116 to 119 for how the Board assesses and monitors culture.
Division of Responsibilities
The Board consists of two Executive Directors, eight independent Non-executive
Directors and the Non-executive Chairman, who was considered independent on
appointment to the Board. For Board meeting attendance, please see page 105.
Additional external appointments of Board members during 2021 received prior Board
approval. The Directors’ other time commitments are in line with the key institutional
investor and investor body guidelines, except that, for a limited period of time, the
Chief Executive holds two listed non-executive directorships, as explained on page 122.
Composition, Succession and Evaluation
The Nominations Committee Report (pages 123 to 125) sets out its activities and areas
of focus during 2021, including Chairman succession planning, Board composition and
skills, and Board and Company diversity progress updates. Read more about the
internal Board evaluation which took place during the year on pages 120 and 121.
Audit, Risk and Internal Control
The Audit and Risk Committee Report (pages 126 to 137) describes the work of the
Committee and how it discharges its roles and responsibilities. The Committee reviewed
the enterprise risk management framework, as well as assessing management’s review
and strengthening of the Group’s internal controls, increasing its focus on IT general
controls. The Committee also monitored the effectiveness of the internal auditor, the
new external auditor and the quality of audit. The Company’s disclosures regarding risk
management and internal controls are on pages 132 to 134, and details of how the
Committee focussed on audit quality are set out on pages 135 and 136.
Remuneration
The Remuneration Report (pages 138 to 157) describes the work of the Remuneration
Committee and sets out how executive remuneration is aligned to the Company’s
purpose, values and strategy. It also describes how the Committee considered
workforce remuneration and related policies in its decision-making regarding
executive remuneration.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportGovernance | Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Sir Peter Bazalgette
N R
Chairman, Chair of the
Nominations Committee
Appointed to the Board on 1 June 2013 and as
Chairman on 12 May 2016
Key areas of expertise: Creative Industry, Digital,
Media and Media IP, Regulation and Public Policy,
Strategy, People and Talent
Key skills and experience: Peter has over 40
years’ extensive media experience having served
as Chairman of the Arts Council, President of
the Royal Television Society, and Chairman of
Endemol UK Ltd as well as the Chief Creative
Officer of Endemol where he created successful
television formats that were exploited globally.
In 2017 Peter led the Independent Review of
the Creative Industries for the government
and outlined key recommendations for how the
creative Industries can underpin the UK’s future
economic growth. He has a track record of
successfully managing creativity in television
and tremendous knowledge and commercial
experience of the global content business,
deep commercial skills with wide knowledge
and understanding of the creative industries.
Since his appointment he has demonstrated
strong and decisive leadership and has been
instrumental in working with the Executive
Directors in delivering the first phase of the
More Than TV strategy and on ITV’s digital
acceleration into Phase Two of the strategy.
Current external appointments: Chairman,
Lovecrafts Group Ltd; Non-executive Director,
Edge Performance VCT plc; Co-Chair, Creative
Industries Council; Non-executive member of
the Council of the Royal College of Art; Chairman,
Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction.
Carolyn McCall
Chief Executive
Appointed Chief Executive and to the Board on
8 January 2018
Key areas of expertise: Business transformation,
Creative Industry, Digital, Media and Media IP,
Regulation and Public Policy, Strategy, People
and Talent
Key skills and experience: Carolyn has an
impressive track record in media and experience
of leading digital transformational change both
in an international and regulated environment. She
has clear strategic acumen and a strong record
of driving operational excellence and delivering
value to shareholders. Carolyn created the More
Than TV strategy when she joined in 2018. Carolyn
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
has been instrumental in accelerating the strategy
into Phase Two, having successfully executed
Phase One. She continues to execute the strategy
effectively through her strong leadership of the
Company ensuring ITV’s transformation into a
successful digitally led media and entertainment
company. Previously she was Chief Executive
of easyJet plc for seven years and spent over
20 years at the Guardian Media Group holding a
number of senior roles, including CEO of Guardian
News and Media and then four years as Chief
Executive of Guardian Media Group. She has
previously served as a Non-executive Director
of Lloyds TSB, Tesco plc and New Look Group plc. In
2008, Carolyn was awarded an OBE for her services
to women in business and in 2016 a Damehood for
her services to the aviation industry.
Current external appointments: Senior
Independent Director and member of the Audit
and Nomination Committees, Burberry Group plc;
Non-Executive Director, Bridgepoint Group plc;
Trustee of the Development Board of the Royal
Academy of Arts.
Please see page 122 for further information on
Carolyn’s external time commitments.
Salman Amin
N R
Independent
Non-executive Director
Appointed to the Board on 9 January 2017
Key areas of expertise: Business transformation,
Digital, Media and Media IP, Strategy,
Remuneration, People and Talent, Sustainability
and ESG
Key skills and experience: Salman brings to the
Board a wealth of experience in global businesses
having worked for over 30 years managing global
brand advertising and media spend. Previously
he was COO, Global Commercial Division at SC
Johnson & Son, and has held positions at
Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo.
Current external appointments: Chief Executive
Officer, Pladis.
Chris Kennedy
Group CFO and COO
Appointed as Group CFO on 21 February 2019 and
as Group CFO and COO on 2 December 2021
Key areas of expertise: Business transformation,
Creative Industry, Digital, Finance and Treasury,
Audit, Sustainability and ESG, Media and Media IP,
Strategy, Technology and Data
Key skills and experience: Chris has a strong
media background, holding senior management
positions over a 17-year career at EMI. Chris’
experience in executing and driving strategy has
played a key role in ITV’s digital acceleration into
Phase Two of the More than TV strategy, and
ensuring ITV’s transformation into a successful
digitally led media and entertainment company,
as well as driving a rationalisation/cost savings
initiative. He was previously Chief Financial Officer
of Micro Focus International plc, ARM Holdings
and easyJet plc where he spent five years and
was voted FTSE 100 CFO in 2015. As the business
continues to evolve and develop, he took on the
broader role of Chief Operating Officer and Chief
Finance Officer in December 2021.
Current external appointments: Non-executive
Director, Chair of the Audit Committee and
member of the Nomination Committee,
Whitbread plc; Non-executive Director of
the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children
NHS Foundation Trust; Trustee of the EMI Group
Archive Trust.
Edward Bonham Carter
N A
Senior Independent
Director and Workforce
Engagement Director
Appointed to the Board on 11 October 2018
Key areas of expertise: Business transformation,
Finance and Treasury, Sustainability and ESG,
Strategy, People and Talent, Audit, Remuneration
Key skills and experience: Edward brings to
the Board a wide range of City experience and
invaluable insight in the understanding of stock
markets and investor expectations. He was
previously Vice Chairman of Jupiter Fund
Management plc (2014) having joined Jupiter in
1994 as a UK fund manager and held the position
of Chief Investment Officer from 1999 to 2010
and Group Chief Executive until 2014. He started
his career at Schroders as an investment analyst
before moving to Electra Investment Trust where
he was a fund manager.
Current external appointments: Director
of Stewardship and Corporate Responsibility,
Jupiter Asset Management (two days a week
executive role); Senior Independent Director,
Land Securities Group plc; Senior Independent
Director, The Investor Forum CIC; Trustee,
The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation; Member
of the Strategic Advisory Board, Livingbridge;
Chairman, Netwealth Investments Ltd.
Margaret Ewing
A
Independent
Non-executive Director,
Chair of the Audit and
Risk Committee
Anna Manz
A R
Independent
Non-executive Director
Appointed to the Board on 31 October 2017
Appointed to the Board on 1 February 2016
Key areas of expertise: Business transformation,
Digital, Finance and Treasury, Audit, Sustainability
and ESG, Strategy, Technology and Data,
Remuneration, People and Talent
Key skills and experience: Anna brings over
20 years’ consumer, financial and strategic
experience to her role on the Board and the
Committees on which she sits. Previously she
held the role of Group Finance Director at
Johnson Matthey plc and before that Anna held
senior strategy and financial roles at Diageo plc,
both in the UK and internationally.
Current external appointments: Chief Financial
Officer, The London Stock Exchange Group plc.
Duncan Painter
R
Independent
Non-executive Director
Appointed to the Board on 1 May 2018
Key areas of expertise: Business transformation,
Digital, Media and Media IP, Strategy, Technology
and Data, Remuneration, People and Talent,
Creative Industry
Key skills and experience: Duncan brings to the
Board a broad range of experience particularly in
digital media, consumer intelligence systems
and targeted advertising. Previously he was an
executive at BSkyB and Global Product Leader
at Experian plc following its acquisition of
ClarityBlue, a consumer intelligence company
which he founded.
Current external appointments: Chief Executive
Officer, Ascential plc.
Graham Cooke
Independent
Non-executive Director
A
Key areas of expertise: Business transformation,
Finance and Treasury, Audit, Sustainability and
ESG, Strategy
Key skills and experience: Margaret has
extensive experience in financial accounting,
corporate finance, strategic and corporate
planning having served as a Managing Partner
of Deloitte LLP and Chief Financial Officer of
BAA plc and Trinity Mirror plc. Margaret also held
Non-executive Director and Audit Committee
positions with Standard Chartered plc and
Whitbread plc and was an external member of
the Audit and Risk Committee of the John Lewis
Partnership. Margaret’s skills and experience give
her substantial insight into the Company’s
reporting and risk management processes.
Current external appointments: Non-executive
Director and Chair of the Audit and Compliance
Committee and member of the Nominations
Committee of International Consolidated Airlines
Group, S.A.; Senior Independent Director, Chair of
the Audit and Risk Committee and member of the
Nominations Committee of ConvaTec Group plc.
Mary Harris
N A R
Independent
Non-executive Director,
Chair of the Remuneration
Committee
Appointed to the Board on 28 July 2014
Key areas of expertise: Business transformation,
Digital, Sustainability and ESG, Media and Media IP,
Strategy, Remuneration, People and Talent
Key skills and experience: Mary brings to
the Board extensive experience in executive
remuneration, business strategy consulting, sales
and marketing, mergers and acquisitions, media,
television and interactive media investments
and digital rights management. She is a former
partner at McKinsey & Company, where she
worked primarily with retail and consumer clients
in China, South East Asia and Europe.
Current external appointments: Non-executive
Director, Chair of the Remuneration Committee
and member of the Nominations Committee,
Reckitt PLC; Supervisory Board member, HAL
Holding NV; Member of the Remuneration
Committee, St Hilda’s College, Oxford University.
knowledge of the e-commerce and digital sectors.
He is the founder of Qubit, the leading provider of
e-commerce personalisation technology. Prior
to founding Qubit, he spent five years working at
Google. His most recent role there was as global
leader on Google’s strategy for conversion rate
improvement. Graham has been working with
web technology since 1995, designing and
building websites with emergent technology.
Current external appointments: Director,
Qubit Digital; SVP, Commerce Strategy, Coveo
Solutions Inc.
Sharmila Nebhrajani
R
Independent
Non-executive Director
Appointed to the Board on 10 December 2020
Key areas of expertise: Business transformation,
Digital, Finance and Treasury, Audit, Sustainability
and ESG, Media and Media IP, Regulation and
Public Policy, Strategy, Remuneration
Key skills and experience: Sharmila has strong
public sector, commercial, government and
non-profit experience across a wide range of
sectors, including utilities, financial services,
media, global health and medical research. Earlier
in her career, she held the post of Chief Operating
Officer at BBC Future Media & Technology, where
she managed the business functions of bbc.co.uk,
including the launch of iPlayer. Sharmila studied
medicine at the University of Oxford, is a
chartered accountant and was made an OBE
in 2014 for services to medical research.
Current external appointments: Non-executive
Director, Member of the Audit, Corporate
Sustainability and Nominations Committees,
Severn Trent plc; Non-executive Director, Halma
plc; Non-executive Director and Chair of the Audit
and Risk Committees, Coutts & Co; Chairman of
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence;
Non-executive Director, National Savings &
Investments; Trustee, Glyndebourne.
Please see page 122 for further information on
Sharmila’s external time commitments.
Committee membership
A Audit and Risk
N Nominations
R Remuneration
Appointed to the Board on 1 May 2020
Key areas of expertise: Business transformation,
Digital, Media and Media IP, Strategy, Technology
and Data
Key skills and experience: Graham has extensive
technical and digital experience, a focus in
user-centric product design, coupled with in-depth
Terms of engagement for the Non-executive
Directors and written responsibilities for
the Chairman, Chief Executive and Senior
Independent Director are available on
our website:
www.itvplc.com/investors/governance
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Governance | Management Board
Management Board
Julian Bellamy
Managing Director,
ITV Studios
Kevin Lygo
Managing Director,
Media and
Entertainment
Chris Kennedy
Group CFO and COO
Appointed: February 2016
Appointed: August 2010
Experience: Julian joined ITV in 2014 as
Managing Director of ITV Studios in the UK.
He was promoted to Managing Director of ITV
Studios and appointed to the Management
Board in February 2016.
He has responsibility for running ITV’s global
production and distribution business that
creates, produces and sells finished programmes
and formats in the UK and internationally.
Julian’s previous roles include Creative Director
and Head of Commissioning at Discovery
Networks International, Head of Programming at
Channel 4 and prior to that he ran BBC3 and E4.
He also spent time as Channel 4’s Head of Factual
Entertainment and was a commissioning editor
of Channel 4 News and Current Affairs.
David Osborn
Group HR Director
Experience: Kevin joined ITV as Managing Director
of ITV Studios and a member of the Management
Board in 2010. He became Director of Television
in February 2016 and in October 2020 he was
appointed Managing Director of the newly
created Media and Entertainment Division.
As well as having overall responsibility for
the Media and Entertainment Division, Kevin
continues to run the Broadcast business unit
(one of the two business units making up the
Division) and to oversee the commissioning
of popular programming delivering ITV’s USP
of mass simultaneous reach.
Kevin’s previous roles included Director of
Television and Content at Channel 4, Director
of Programmes at Channel 5 and a number
of positions at the BBC, including Head of
Independent Commissioning for Entertainment.
Rufus Radcliffe
Managing Director,
Streaming, Interactive
and Data
Appointed: April 2017
Experience: Rufus joined ITV as Group Marketing
and Research Director in 2011. He was promoted
to Chief Marketing Officer and appointed to the
Management Board in 2017. In 2019 he took on
additional responsibility for the Direct to
Consumer division as Chief Marketing Officer
and Director of Direct to Consumer. In October
2020 he was appointed Managing Director of
On Demand, one of the two business units
making up the newly created Media and
Entertainment Division.
Rufus has responsibility for heading up the On
Demand business unit, which will be the focus
of digital product development and growth for
ITV, and includes ITV Hub, ITV Hub+ (the ad free
version of the ITV Hub) and BritBox.
Before joining ITV, Rufus spent ten years at
Channel 4, and prior to that held various
positions at McCann Erickson and JWT.
Appointed: October 2014
Experience: David joined ITV as the HR Director
for ITV Studios in 2011. He was promoted to Group
HR Director and appointed to the Management
Board in 2014.
He has responsibility for formulating and
implementing ITV’s global HR strategy and policies.
Prior to joining ITV, David gained substantial
experience in both the UK and internationally
whilst working in a variety of businesses
including EMI Music, Vodafone, Visa Europe
and Marks and Spencer.
Carolyn McCall
Chief Executive
Appointed: January 2018
Experience: Biography on page 100.
Appointed: February 2019
Experience: Biography on page 100.
Kelly Williams
Managing Director,
Commercial
Appointed: December 2014
Experience: Kelly joined ITV in 2011 as Group
Commercial Director. He was promoted to
Managing Director Commercial and appointed
to the Management Board in 2014. He also sits
on the Board of Thinkbox, is Vice Chairman of
the Advertising Association, a member of the
BARB Strategy Board and sits on the RTL
Adconnect Board.
He has responsibility for all commercial advertising
deals across the ITV family of channels.
Prior to joining ITV, Kelly was the Sales Director at
Channel 5 and prior to that held various positions
at UKTV, Sky and Thames Television.
Mark Smith
Group Chief Technology
Officer
Appointed: September 2018
Experience: Mark joined ITV in 2011 as a member
of the technology management team. He was
promoted to Chief Technology Officer in 2015,
before taking on the Group Chief Technology
Officer role and joining the Management Board
in 2018.
He has responsibility for all technology and
related operational matters across the Group
including leading on the digital transformation
strategy.
Prior to joining ITV, Mark held senior technology
positions at the BBC, BBC Worldwide and Sky.
Over the past 15 years Mark has specialised in
digital transformation and has led the design,
build and delivery of industry leading VOD
platforms. Mark started his career as a software
engineer at BT.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Kyla Mullins
General Counsel and
Company Secretary
Ade Rawcliffe
Group Director of
Diversity and Inclusion
Dan Colton
Group Strategy and
Transformation Director
Appointed: January 2019
Appointed: September 2020
Appointed: February 2021
Experience: Dan joined ITV as Strategy
Implementation Director in 2018. He was
promoted to Group Strategy and Transformation
Director in 2020 and joined the Management
Board in 2021.
He is responsible for developing and
implementing ITV’s Group strategy as
well as driving ITV’s transformation agenda.
Prior to joining ITV, Dan was a management
consultant with the Boston Consulting Group,
defining strategies for global media businesses
based in the UK and internationally, and before
that he started his career at Deloitte.
Experience: Kyla joined ITV as General Counsel
and Company Secretary and member of the
Management Board in 2019.
She has responsibility for legal, company
secretariat, compliance and regulatory
matters across the ITV Group.
Prior to joining ITV, Kyla held senior legal
positions in the media, entertainment, strategic
outsourcing and aviation sectors. She was General
Counsel and Company Secretary at easyJet plc
and Mitie Group plc; Global General Counsel of
EMI Music; and Group Legal Director at ITV plc
and Granada Media. Kyla is currently Chair of
Independent Television News (ITN) and is also
a Non-executive Director on the Board of
Northern Ballet.
Paul Moore
Group Communications
and Corporate
Affairs Director
Experience: Ade joined ITV as Head of Diversity
Commissioning in 2017. She was later promoted
to Director of Creative Diversity, before taking
on the role of Group Director of Diversity and
Inclusion and joining the Management Board
in 2020.
She has responsibility for all diversity and inclusion
related matters across the Group, including
leading, developing and growing ITV’s Diversity
and Inclusion strategy on and off screen.
Prior to joining ITV, Ade spent over ten years
at Channel 4, most recently leading Creative
Diversity, where she supported and nurtured the
careers of diverse creative talent and sought out
and commissioned a slate of developments which
encouraged diversity, risk-taking and innovation.
Ade is currently a Trustee of BAFTA, Chair of
BAFTA’s Learning, Inclusion and Talent Committee,
and a Trustee of the National Trust.
Magnus Brooke
Director of Policy and
Regulatory Affairs
Appointed: July 2018
Experience: Paul joined ITV as Group
Communications and Corporate Affairs Director
and a member of the Management Board in 2018.
Appointed: February 2021
He has responsibility for all Group communications
including corporate and internal communications,
public affairs, programme publicity and the Social
Purpose strategy.
Experience: Magnus joined ITV in 2006 and was
promoted to his current job of Director of Policy
and Regulatory Affairs in 2007, joining the
Management Board in February 2021.
Prior to joining ITV, Paul was the Communications
and Public Affairs Director at easyJet plc for eight
years and before this worked for FirstGroup and
Virgin Atlantic Airways where he was Director of
Corporate Affairs for ten years. Paul first started
his career as a civil servant and worked for the
Department of Transport.
He has responsibility for ITV’s policy and
regulatory strategy and advocacy, including
interaction with UK and European regulators,
government and parliamentary committees.
From 2014 to 2019 Magnus was Chairman of
the Board of the Brussels based Association of
Commercial Television in Europe, which represents
Europe’s commercial broadcasters to the EU
institutions. Magnus is a Director and Chair of
the Remuneration Committee of DUK which runs
the Freeview and Freesat platforms and he was
a Non-executive Director of the news provider
ITN for three years from 2019 to 2022.
Prior to joining ITV Magnus was Head of the BBC
Director General’s Office. He began his career
as a solicitor specialising in regulatory and
competition law at City of London law firm
Ashurst, where he also trained.
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Corporate Governance
The written responsibilities of the
Chairman, Senior Independent Director
and Chief Executive are available on
the ITV plc website: www.itvplc.com
Our governance structure
The PLC Board
Responsible for providing leadership to the Group’s business, including setting the Group’s purpose, strategy and values and
promoting its long-term sustainable success.
PLC Board Committees
The terms of reference for each Committee are documented and agreed by the PLC Board. These terms of reference are reviewed
annually and are available on our website: www.itvplc.com/investors/governance/terms-of-reference.
Nominations
Committee1
Remuneration
Committee
Audit and Risk
Committee
See the
Nominations
Committee
Report on
pages 123
to 125.
See the
Remuneration
Report on
pages 138
to 157.
See the Audit and Risk Committee
Report on pages 126 to 137.
Duty of Care Operating Board
Consisting of key Management
Board members, including the Chief
Executive, and the Independent Chief
Psychological Officer, the Operating
Board oversees the Group’s duty of
care processes on screen and across
ITV, monitors and assesses the
processes in place to ensure they
continue to be effective and evolve
as necessary. The Audit and Risk
Committee Chair also attends
meetings on behalf of the Board.
Our Ambassador
Network
Discusses and
inputs into
significant
proposals and
initiatives
impacting our
colleagues.
Our designated
Workforce
Engagement
Director reports
back to the Board
on its activities.
See pages 114
and 115 for
engagement in
this area.
Disclosure
Committee
Consists of the Chair
of the Board, Chief
Executive, Audit and
Risk Committee
Chair, Group CFO &
COO, and General
Counsel and
Company Secretary.
The Director of
Investor Relations
also attends
meetings. The
Committee assists
the Company in
meeting its
disclosure
obligations, and
reviews and approves
regulatory and other
announcements
before publication.
Chief Executive
Responsible for the day-to-day running of the Group’s business and performance, the development and implementation of strategy
and promoting our culture and standards.
Management Board
Led by the Chief Executive, the Management Board members are collectively responsible for overseeing and driving the overarching
Group financial and operational performance and executing on the strategic initiatives required to deliver the Group’s strategy set by
the Board. The Management Board balances the needs and resources of the business divisions to make decisions based on what’s best
for ITV as a whole.
Studios Board
Media & Entertainment Board
Responsible for developing and implementing strategic
objectives and operational plans for the ITV Studios business,
monitoring operational and financial performance, and
assessing and managing risk, in line with the Group’s risk
management framework.
Responsible for developing and implementing strategic
objectives for the Media & Entertainment business (Broadcast,
Commercial, Streaming, Interactive and Data, and BritBox
business units), monitoring operational and financial
performance, and assessing and managing risk, in line with
the Group’s risk management framework.
1. During 2021, a Chair Succession Committee was established to lead on the Chair search process (see page 125 for further detail).
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Board composition
Gender diversity
Ethnicity
Disability
Board tenure
Age
Male
Female
6
5
B.A.M.E
White
2
9
0
Prefer not to say
Disability or long-term
health condition
2
No disability or long-term
health condition
9
0–2 years
2–5 years
5–9 years
2
5
4
36–45
46–55
56–65
66–75
1
4
4
2
Skills and experience
Business
transformation
Creative
industry
Digital
Finance and
Treasury
Audit
Sustainability
and ESG
Media and
Media IP
Regulation and
Public Policy
Strategy
Technology
and Data
Remuneration
People and
Talent
10
9
5
5
4
4
3
8
7
7
6
PLC Board and Committee membership and attendance
PLC Board and Committee membership and attendance at
scheduled meetings in 2021 is set out below.
Attendance at scheduled meetings
Board1
Nominations
Committee4
Remuneration
Committee
Audit and Risk
Committee
8/8
8/8
8/8
8/8
8/8
8/8
8/8
8/8
8/8
6/8
8/8
4/4
4/4
4/4
2*
2*
4/4
2*
2*
4*
1*
2*
7/7
7/7
–
2
–
7/7
2*
7/7
–
5/7
7/7
4*
–
5/5
5/5
1/1
5/5
5*
5/5
–
1*
1*
Peter Bazalgette2
Salman Amin
Edward Bonham
Carter
Margaret Ewing
Graham Cooke3
Mary Harris
Chris Kennedy
Anna Manz
Carolyn McCall
Sharmila
Nebhrajani5
Duncan Painter
* Indicates where a Director has attended all or part of a PLC Board or Committee
meeting by invitation (i.e. when not a member or prior to being a Director). The
Executive Directors did not attend parts of any Committee meetings where to
do so would result in a conflict of interest.
1. In June a series of PLC Board meetings were held over a two day virtual strategy
session. For the purposes of this table these two days are counted as one meeting.
In addition a half-day strategy session was held in December, which is not reflected
in the table above.
2. Peter Bazalgette was invited to all Audit and Risk Committee meetings during the year,
of which he attended four.
3. Graham Cooke was appointed to the Audit and Risk Committee on 1 November 2021.
4. All PLC Board members were invited to a Nominations Committee meeting for a senior
management succession planning session and another for an update on the Chair
Search process.
5. Sharmila Nebhrajani was unable to attend the November and December Board and
Committee meetings due to illness and extended hospitalisation.
The Board held a private session during the year. In addition,
the Non-executive Directors met without the Chairman or
management during the year to discuss Chairman performance, and
also on an informal basis to discuss matters relevant to the Group.
The Non-Executive Directors met with the Chief Executive to
discuss Management Board talent and succession.
11
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Governance | Corporate Governance continued
Key strategic matters considered by the Board in 2021
Stakeholder groups
S Shareholders (including debt providers)
C Colleagues
P Partners
CZ Citizens
PP Programme participants
VC Viewers and subscribers
CT Customers (including advertisers)
LR Legislators and regulators
DP Debt providers
Performance
Link to principal risks
Reviews of capital structure, liquidity, investor proposition and valuation
• Principal risks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Review of the five year plan
and 15
• All principal risks
Programme of cost and complexity reduction
• Principal risk 9
Evaluation of merger and acquisition opportunities
• Principal risks 2, 3, 4, 9
Principal risks deep dive
• All principal risks
Investor engagement and insight, reinstatement of the dividend policy
N/A
Link to key
stakeholders
S LR
S C P VC CT LR
PP DP
S C P VC CT
S P
S LR C P CT
S C
Supercharge Streaming
Evolving the ITV strategy and the vision for an integrated AVOD/SVOD platform
• Principal risks 1 , 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 10
S C P VC CT LR
Developing a data strategy to enable ITV to extract value from its data, supporting
delivery of ITV’s overall strategic initiatives
• Principal risks 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9 and 12
BritBox international expansion plans
• Principal risks 1, 8 and 9
VC P CT
P VC
Digital content strategy and investment
• Principal risks 1, 2, 7, 8, 9
S P VC CT
Optimise Broadcast
Commercial strategy – Planet V and linear addressable, VOD and linear integration
• Principal risks 1, 2, 8, 9
Media and Entertainment division – restructuring including some redundancies
S VC P CT
C
Expand Studios Globally
Evolution of Studios strategy – International expansion, new SVOD markets and changing
rights models
• Principal risks 3, 9, 14
VC P CT
Regulation
Regulation – continued focus on key policy and regulatory issues, including Brexit, CRR and
advertising restrictions (e.g. gambling and HFSS) and the PSB review. These continue to be
kept under close review along with other issues that could have a potential short, medium
and long-term impact on the business
• Principal risks 6 and 12
S C LR
Focus on changing governance regulation
• Principal risks 6 and 12
S LR
Other
Social Purpose strategy – delivery of strategy, including environmental targets and
mental health and ‘giving back’ campaigns
• Principal risks 1, 7, 9 and 11
Climate-related risks and short to medium term impacts, reporting on ESG matters
• Principal risks 1, 7, 9
Diversity Acceleration Plan, how this aligns and supports the ITV Strategy
• Principal risks 7 and 11
Property strategy, consolidation of the London sites
N/A
S C CZ VC
S CZ C
S C CZ VC
S C CZ
For further information on principal risks please see pages 76 to 87.
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Stakeholder
Engagement
Engaging with our stakeholders is fundamental
to the successful delivery of our strategy, as the
Chair’s introduction to this report makes clear.
The Board’s clear understanding of stakeholders’
issues, expectations and perspectives ensures that
stakeholder views are carefully considered during
decision-making processes .
year, the Board identifies its key stakeholders,
reviews the issues that matter to them
most and discusses potential enhancements
to engagement with them. The Board also
has the opportunity to give feedback on
areas needing more focus as part of the
Board evaluation (see pages 120 and 121).
Our Section 172 statement on pages 68
and 69 includes examples of how the
Board and its Committees had regard for
stakeholder interests through its discussions
and decision-making during the year.
The table below sets out the key
stakeholders which the Board has
identified as being important to ITV’s
success and some of the key engagement
mechanisms used in 2021. The Board
continues to monitor the impact of
COVID on stakeholders through the
Chief Executive’s COVID response reports
at every Board meeting and is committed
to meaningful engagement with its
stakeholders,despite the challenges
of the pandemic.
The Board both directly engages with
relevant stakeholders and assesses
details provided by management and
other colleagues to allow the Directors
to understand how organisational decisions
have taken stakeholder interests into
account and also to influence future
decision-making. The General Counsel and
Company Secretary supports the Board in
ensuring that due consideration is given to
stakeholder issues and papers submitted
to the Board detail the impact of proposals
on key stakeholder groups. At least once a
Viewers and Subscribers
Description
Through regular engagement, the Board recognises the evolution of ITV’s relationship with viewers, which
has been pivotal in shaping the Company’s strategy.
Link to strategic priorities
Optimise Broadcast; Supercharge
Streaming: see Our Strategy
(from page 22)
Forms of engagement
Meetings and presentations
• AGM live stream with questions
Board and Committee reviews and assessments
• Analysis of target audiences and viewing habits, as part of Board strategy sessions
• Regular Chief Executive reports to the Board on viewing and subscription figures
• Review of impact of ITV’s data strategy on viewers and subscribers
• Board session on BritBox UK and International performance, including subscriber trends
• Reviews by Management and Divisional Boards (on which Executive Directors sit) of
viewer sentiment, concerns and/or data through: internal research studies; monitoring
of linear viewing figures; compliance reports; and Ofcom reports
• Reviews by members of the Management Board and senior ITV employees of feedback
from viewer services (which serves as a conduit for viewers to channel their comments
and/or concerns)
Outcomes and impact on principal decisions
• Growing, enhancing and integrating our AVOD (ITV Hub)
and SVOD (ITV Hub+, BritBox UK, BritBox International)
propositions, through investment in product, content,
distribution, data, tech and analytics
• Decision to define one content budget for the M&E Division
as a whole to enable the business to optimise its content
(including its windowing) strategy and enhance its
experience for viewers
• Endorsement of a new data strategy. Board discussions on
this topic benefited from Graham Cooke and Duncan
Painter’s technical, digital and commercial expertise.
Graham and Duncan carried out a number of ‘deep dive’
sessions with senior management focusing on the data
strategy, and shared insights with the Board
Key issues or priorities identified
Read more
• Changing viewer habits (a principal risk – see page 76)
• Ongoing need to respond on a timely basis to viewer/subscriber complaints and issues
• Driving awareness, through programming and campaigns, of key social, environmental
and topical issues with ITV playing an important role as a trustworthy and accurate
source of information
• Authentic representation of the diversity of modern Britain on screen
Our Business Model (from page 24)
Key Performance Indicators (from page 26)
Social Purpose strategy (from page 48)
Risks and Uncertainties (from page 72)
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Customers (including advertisers)
Description
Link to strategic priorities
Customers (including sponsorship and advertiser relationships) are integral to monetising our content and
delivering on our strategy.
Expand Studios Globally;
Supercharge Streaming: see Our
Strategy (from page 22)
Forms of engagement
Outcomes and impact on principal decisions
Meetings and presentations
• Attendance by Board members at the ITV 2021 Palooza event, our annual commercial
• Strengthened customer proposition and priorities for the
supercharged streaming strategy
and programming showcase for our commercial buyers
• Meetings between the Executive Directors and their industry counterparts (many of
whom are also buyers of ITV Studios content)
• Regular engagement by the Chief Executive and various members of the Management
Board with advertisers and agencies through key ITV and industry events, for example,
Chief Executive participation in the EGTA World Television Day conference
• Meetings between members of the Management Board and senior ITV employees with
potential buyers of Studios content
Board and Committee reviews and assessments
• Review of the impact of Phase Two of the strategy on the advertising market and
content spend
• Board strategy sessions on: the evolving commercial strategy to address TV advertising
clients’ needs; VOD and linear addressable advertising to support ITV’s streaming
ambitions, including feedback from clients, SVOD market growth and impact on Studios,
including analysis of major SVOD buyers across territories
• Non-executive Director advanced advertising deep dive session run by senior leaders in
the Commercial team
• Regular Board updates on key relationships and developments in the advertising market,
including ITV’s engagement and relationship initiatives with its advertisers and agencies,
and potential growth opportunities for the Studios business
• Regular reports on Commercial and Studios performance by the Chief Executive to the
rest of the Board
Key issues or priorities identified
• The risk of detrimental advertising market changes (a principal risk – see page 77)
• Maintaining commercial broadcaster relationships and further developing scripted
talent (a priority for streamers in some markets)
• The need to continue to educate our customers on the effectiveness of TV advertising
(including impact of TV advertising versus online advertising)
• Delivering audience profile and size to enable advertising sales
• Further creation and exploitation of IP to drive viewing and enhance IP monetisation
opportunities
• Board support for the progression of, and investment in,
innovative, addressable advertising initiatives. Board
discussions on this topic benefited from Graham Cooke
and Duncan Painter’s digital and commercial expertise
• Endorsement of: innovative initiatives in response to
advertisers’ and agencies’ desired outcomes; assessments
and recommendations to deliver growth in Studios, and
recommendations to manage risk and opportunities
associated with the growing SVOD market
• Support for data initiatives to develop internal capabilities
to deliver commercial and data ambitions over the next
five years
• Investment in ITV AdVentures Media for Equity initiative,
offering TV advertising to potential leading, high-growth,
digital-first companies in the UK in return for equity
• Investment in, and creation of, new Studios labels to cater
to growing markets and customer base
Read more
Our Business Model (from page 24)
Key Performance Indicators (from page 26)
Risks and Uncertainties (from page 72)
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Partners (including Suppliers, other Broadcasters and Platform Owners)
Description
Strong relationships with our partners are fundamental to our business and operating model, and to
ensure we meet the high standards of conduct that we set ourselves.
Link to strategic priorities
Optimise Broadcast: see
Our Strategy (from page 22)
Forms of engagement
Outcomes and impact on principal decisions
Meetings and presentations
• Executive Directors’ engagements (meetings, conferences) with key suppliers and
partners (including distribution partners)
• Executive Directors sit on the BritBox Partnership Board with their BBC counterparts
and other senior managers, and regular Chief Executive counterpart meetings take
place with other key partners
Board and Committee reviews and assessments
• Strategy sessions on the impact of the supercharged streaming strategy on third parties
(including PSBs, suppliers and platform owners)
• Board approval of significant contracts with suppliers or partners
• Board update on engagement with third-party suppliers, including supplier management
policies, processes and controls
• Chief Executive reports on key/strategic partner relationships and Group CFO & COO
reports on important negotiations with key partnerships, at every Board meeting
• Board review of ITV’s Modern Slavery Statement, including report on steps taken to
identify, address and prevent modern slavery in our operations and supply chains
• Audit and Risk Committee review of the Group’s supplier payment practices and the
procedures in place to safeguard both ITV and suppliers from fraud (see page 129)
• Approval of new long-term commercial partnerships
with Virgin Media O2 and Sky
• Development of ITV’s Partnership strategy to deliver
Phase Two of the strategy
• Consideration of key themes/risks across supplier
stakeholder groups and how they are being addressed
by management
• Strengthened creative talent through new partnerships
and strong development slates
• Further collaboration with streaming platforms to drive
reach and consumption
• Board support for targeted engagement with distribution
partners to define approach to the supercharged
streaming strategy
• Endorsement of partnership initiatives to develop
commercial addressable propositions and support
ITV’s data strategy
Citizens
Description
Link to strategic priorities
As a public service broadcaster, we strive to reflect, remain in touch with, and shape public sentiment and
national conversations. Our engagement in this stakeholder category is an integral part of our Social
Purpose strategy. Please refer to pages 48 to 55 for our work in this area.
Social Purpose: see our Social
Purpose strategy (from page 48)
Forms of engagement
Outcomes and impact on principal decisions
Meetings and presentations
• Chief Executive interview with Bloomberg and participation at COP 26 to discuss ITV’s
commitment to climate action and progress towards its pledges
• Chief Executive and Chairman’s participation in interviews to help shape Financial
Reporting Council’s review of Corporate Culture
• Chairman’s speech at BEYOND 2021 to discuss the future growth of the Creative
Industries sector, including its role within society/wider community
• Introduction of ESG scorecard for Executive Directors
and Management Board in 2022 annual bonus targets –
aligned to the achievement of ITV’s longer-term Social
Purpose goals
• Board discussion and support for environmental initiatives
to use ITV’s brand to educate and inform audiences on
actions they can take to transition to a Net Zero world
• Chief Executive’s participation/engagement at the Royal Television Society Cambridge
• Deepened understanding and awareness of ESG and
convention, with the theme of reshaping Britishness on the global stage
Board and Committee reviews and assessments
• Group CFO & COO’s overall responsibility for ITV’s climate action agenda and leadership
of ITV’s Climate Action Delivery Group
• Board receipt of annual updates on Social Purpose, the Group’s climate-related agenda
including risk, opportunities and targets, and Diversity and Inclusion (including progress
against ITV’s Diversity Acceleration Plan)
• Training undertaken by Board and Management Board members on ESG and corporate
purpose
• Board session on environmental risk, including analysis of key risks for ITV, their
potential impact, ITV’s resilience and opportunities for improvement
• Audit and Risk Committee monitoring of compliance with, and progress on, climate
change reporting, particularly with regards to TCFD; reports to the Board on its
outcome (see page 134)
factors influencing ITV’s corporate purpose, to inform
Board decisions
• Investment in management training on diversity and
inclusion, including the roll-out of race fluency and
disability inclusion training to the whole business
• Establishment of ITV’s Cultural Advisory Council, which
Chief Executive and Management Board members attend,
comprising a group of independent external advisers
from a range of different industries and specialisms who
advise, challenge and counsel ITV on its diversity and
inclusion activities
• Commitment to The Climate Content Pledge (with other
major broadcasters) to promote climate story-telling
on screen
• Delivery of outcomes is supported by Board members’
active consumption of our national and regional news
services, with follow up discussions and liaisons on
future plans with Management Board members and
senior leaders
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Citizens continued
Key issues or priorities identified
Read more
• Harnessing our unique mass-reach platform and the power of our programmes to raise
awareness and action on issues that are important and help shape culture for good, with
particular emphasis on mental and physical health
• Our sustainability and commitment to climate action targets and initiatives
• Our contribution to wider society in other ways, including charitable giving through
Soccer Aid for UNICEF and volunteering
• Our focus and commitment to increasing on and off-screen diversity through our
Diversity Acceleration Plan (see page 54)
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
(from page 88)
Our Climate Action targets (pages 51 to 53)
Social Purpose strategy (from page 48)
Legislators and Regulators
Description
The Board is committed to its responsibility as a public service broadcaster (PSB) and conducting business
in line with the appropriate laws and regulation, to ensure we operate in an ethical and responsible way.
Link to strategic priorities
Availability of viewer content:
see Our Strategy (from page 22)
Forms of engagement
Outcomes and impact on principal decisions
Meetings and presentations
• Meetings with government ministers and officials on key issues of concern, initiatives
or consultation. This includes meetings between the Chief Executive and the Secretary
of State for Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS), and regular
meetings between the Chief Executive and the Minister of State for Media and Data
• Counterpart meetings with Ofcom on a wide range of policy and regulatory issues
• Collaboration and focus on important societal issues such
as social mobility and diversity
• Application for the renewal of TV Multiplex licences
• Further Board discussion and consideration of the PSB
regulation and HFSS advertising ban
• Collaboration with the industry, the nations’ governments
and DCMS to update the COVID guidelines for TV
productions (in line with the lifting of restrictions)
• Leading on discussions with PACT and the government
regarding the production indemnity scheme
• Audit and Risk Committee decision for ITV to submit a
response to BEIS regarding the audit and corporate
governance proposals
(which included Chairs’ and regular Chief Executives’ meetings)
• Regular meetings of the Audit and Risk Committee Chair with the Chief Executive and
other leaders of the Financial Reporting Council regarding corporate and audit
regulatory reform, including the Business, Energy & Industrial (BEIS) consultation
• Participation by the Chief Executive as a member of the Prime Ministers Build Back
Better Business Council
• Periodic engagement by senior ITV employees with other regulators including the
CMA, ICO and the European Commission
• Chief Executive’s Regulatory & Public Affairs Sub Committee and Chair’s active
participation in it
• Chief Executive participation at the ITV All Party Parliamentary Group
Board and Committee reviews and assessments
• Board strategy sessions considering the impact of an HFSS and Gambling advertising ban
• Updates from the Chief Executive on policy and regulation at every Board meeting
• Regular reports to the Board and Audit and Risk Committee on compliance and
significant litigation matters
• Board briefings on Ofcom’s PSB statement and ITV’s PSB strategy, and Cabinet reshuffle
• Updates to the Audit and Risk Committee from the Committee Chair and external
auditor regarding FRC developments and proposed regulatory changes
• Audit and Risk Committee session on the BEIS consultation on audit and corporate
governance reform, and circulation of related materials to the Board
Key issues or priorities identified
Read more
• COVID guidance and regulation
• HFSS advertising ban and other possible advertising restrictions
• PSB regulation
• Legal and regulatory compliance (including tax) – (non-compliance is a principal
risk – see page 85)
• Regulatory policy changes (a principal risk – see page 79)
Our Business Model (from page 24)
Social Purpose strategy (from page 48)
Risks and Uncertainties (from page 72)
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Programme participants
Description
Link to strategic priorities
The safety of participants is of paramount importance to the Board. The Board takes its duty of care to
them very seriously, and obtains regular assurance over the support and processes in place to safeguard
their physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Expand Studios globally: see
Our Strategy (from page 22)
Forms of engagement
Outcomes and impact on principal decisions
Meetings and presentations
• Chief Executive attendance at two Mental Health Advisory Group (MHAG) meetings,
which three other Management Board members regularly attend (two of whom are
members of the Advisory Group) (see page 58 for more detail on the MHAG)
Board and Committee reviews and assessments
• Regular Board updates on duty of care processes and issues, and on the Duty of Care
Operating Board’s discussions and activities (including feedback from ITV’s Mental
Health Advisory Group and updates on the ITV2/CALM partnership), through updates
from the Audit and Risk Committee Chair, who is a standing attendee of the Duty of
Care Operating Board
• Board review of ITV’s journalistic standards in light of findings at the BBC in relation to
the conduct of Martin Bashir and the BBC interview with Diana
• Board review of progress against ITV’s Diversity Acceleration Plan to accelerate change
in diversity and inclusion on-screen
• Board updates on any challenges relating to, or publicity surrounding, duty of care
processes relating to any programmes produced or broadcast by ITV
• Annual Audit and Risk Committee reviews of duty of care and health and safety
processes, including duty of care risks and mitigations
• Regular Chief Executive reports on the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on production
and updates on the health and safety procedures for participants
• Board review of minutes from the Duty of Care Operating Board meetings
• Assurance over ITV’s controls and procedures in place to
detect poor journalistic conduct, and decision to include an
update on whistleblowing reports at every Board meeting.
Discussions on this topic benefited from Carolyn McCall’s
extensive prior experience working for a news organisation
• An internal audit on compliance processes regarding
journalistic standards and integrity
• Investment in psychological performance improvement
projects (on reality TV, in collaboration with other
broadcasters), as recommended by Independent Chief
Psychological Officer
• Revised terms of the Independent Chief Psychological
Officer to reflect additional responsibility and
accountability (see page 58), and regular attendance at the
Duty of Care Operating Board
• Endorsement of initiatives relating to ITV’s refreshed duty
of care framework, for example the development of a
training programme for those working on productions
(see page 58)
• Ongoing engagement with Dr Paul Litchfield CBE,
Independent Chief Medical Officer to ITV, advising on
continued enhancement of duty of care processes
Key issues or priorities identified
Read more
• Duty of care to participants (a principal risk – see page 84)
• Mental health and wellbeing of our participants
• Safety of participants during the COVID pandemic
• Effective Speaking Up procedures
• ITV’s commitment to diversity and inclusion (see pages 54 and 55)
• Review of processes applicable to The Voice format
Our Business Model (from page 24)
Risks and Uncertainties (from page 72)
Social Purpose strategy (from page 48)
Our People (from page 56)
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Shareholders (Individual and Institutional), Bond Holders and other Providers of Debt and Analysts
Description
Delivering for our investors (equity and debt) and understanding their views and interests ensures the
business continues to be successful in the long-term and therefore can deliver for all our stakeholders.
Link to strategic priorities
Deliver value for shareholders:
see Our Strategy (from page 22)
Forms of engagement
Outcomes and impact on principal decisions
Meetings and presentations
• Executive Directors, the Chairman and the Remuneration Committee Chair held
meetings with institutional investors. The Executive Directors held meetings with
investors representing around half of the Company’s share capital, as well as potential
investors across the UK, US and parts of Europe
• Committee Chairs engagement with shareholders on significant matters (see pages
127 and 138)
• Commercial and Studios Investor Seminars (including Q&A) presented by the Chief
Executive and leadership teams, in November and December 2021 respectively
• Chief Executive, Group CFO & COO, and members of senior leadership teams attended
a number of key investor conferences
• Announcement of the Board’s intention to reinstate the
ordinary dividend and propose a final dividend of 3.3p for
the full year 2021
• Consideration of feedback to inform, amongst other
things, ITV’s long-term strategy, five year plan, dividend
policy, capital structure and approach to ESG and other
governance issues
• Board discussion on investor sentiment and action for
management to conduct further analysis of ITV’s existing
and prospective investor base with the evolution of the
equity story
• Chief Executive and Group CFO & COO held meetings with equity sales teams and
• Assurance over ITV’s ESG ratings (including indices and
analysts
• AGM live stream with opportunity for shareholders to ask questions in real time
• Regular dialogue throughout 2021 between the Group CFO & COO and Director of
Tax & Treasury and the Rating Agencies and the Core Banking Group
Board and Committee reviews and assessments
• Market considerations of ITV’s streaming ambitions, as part of Board strategy sessions
• Board review and discussion of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) indices,
reporting, and feedback from analysts, brokers and shareholders on ITV’s ESG approach
• Group CFO & COO reports on the outcome of the broker review and on key shareholder
engagement activities undertaken by the Executive Directors and Investor Relations team
• Board updates from the Company’s brokers and advisers on market performance, bid
defence and capital structure, and on shareholder sentiment regarding ITV’s
performance, strategy and dividend policy
• Board members’ careful scrutiny of analyst reports throughout the year
• Audit and Risk Committee review and discussion of a report from the Director of Investor
Relations on investors’ and analysts’ views in relation to ITV’s accounting policies, risks
and disclosures
reporting framework)
• Inclusion of Social Purpose update in quarterly reporting
to the market
• Linking ESG with finance and remuneration, including
Remuneration Committee decision to include ESG in
performance targets and annual bonus metrics and
commitment of ESG KPIs in relation to debt financing
• Appointment of JP Morgan as one of the Company’s
brokers in December 2021 (replacing Citi)
Key issues or priorities identified
Read more
• Strategy, investment priorities and delivery against strategic and financial targets
and KPIs
• Ongoing impact of COVID on financial and operating performance
• Share price performance
• Dividend policy and leverage
• ESG data and performance
• Strategic delivery (a principal risk – see page 82)
• Potential reaction of investors and wider market to ITV’s streaming strategy
Our Business Model (from page 24)
Investor Proposition (page 17)
Social Purpose strategy (from page 48)
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
(from page 88)
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Colleagues
Description
Link to strategic priorities
The workforce is integral to the day-to-day operations and the practical execution of strategy. Effective
engagement mechanisms provide the Board with important insights and priorities, as well as ensuring the
workforce voice is considered in the Board’s decision-making.
Delivery of strategy: see
Our Strategy (from page 22)
Forms of engagement
Outcomes and impact on principal decisions
Meetings and presentations
• Workforce Engagement Director’s meetings and activities with colleagues (see pages
114 and 115 for further details)
• Formal workforce advisory panel (our Ambassador network) activities with colleagues,
the Workforce Engagement Director and regular participation by Management Board
members at Ambassador meetings
• Chairman participation on the Chief Executive’s vodcast to discuss regulatory challenges
for ITV
• Board members engaged directly with senior management and colleagues from across
the business. For example, the Audit and Risk Committee Chair met with members from
the ITV Able Network, and the Remuneration Committee Chair hosted a live Q&A and
discussion session regarding executive remuneration for Ambassadors
• Engagement survey to assess colleague sentiment on areas such as culture,
development, diversity and inclusion, and speaking up
Board and Committee reviews and assessments
• Regular Workforce Engagement Director updates to the Board
• Employee engagement included as part of Chief Executive report at every Board
meeting
• Board receipt of fortnightly vodcasts from the Chief Executive to colleagues
• Board and Management Board receipt of feedback from ITV’s staff networks, through
regular updates on Social Purpose and Diversity and Inclusion
• Board update on the London property including the impact on ways of working and
communications to colleagues
• Board attendance at Nominations Committee session on talent and succession planning
• Board discussions benefited from Edward Bonham Carter’s
direct insight into workforce sentiment and topics that
matter most to colleagues
• Consideration of feedback to inform, amongst other
things, communication with colleagues, development
opportunities and action planning by the Management
Board and Senior Leadership Team, and localised planning
by line managers across the business
• Ongoing engagement, feedback and discussion with
colleagues regarding their views on the successful delivery
of the Diversity Acceleration Plan
• Opportunity for Board members to talk to employees
openly and transparently about the Remuneration
Committee’s approach to reward at ITV and gain insight
into priorities for colleagues through the Ambassador
Q&A and discussion session on remuneration
• Board review of feedback and results from the 2021
Engagement Survey in January 2022 as part of the Board
culture review (see page 117)
• Investment in people initiatives, including diversity and
inclusion training, and ways of working
• Investment in mental health and wellbeing support for
colleagues
• Board consideration and approval of the London Property
move (see page 69)
• Assurance over ITV’s bench strength and succession
pipeline and continued progress to broaden diversity
across the business and endorsement of 2022 people
priorities
• Assessment of bench strength, capabilities and skills
within the Technology team led to the Board’s
endorsement of investment in additional resource to
ensure the business had the required skills to deliver the
supercharged streaming strategy
Key issues or priorities identified
Read more
• Transparent and honest culture and ethos
• Flexible and digital ways of working
• Mental health and wellbeing support
• Safety of colleagues during the ongoing COVID pandemic
• Progress on our Diversity Acceleration Plan commitments (see page 54)
• Retention and recruitment of talent (a principal risk – see page 86)
• Internal cultural change (a principal risk – see page 83)
Risks and Uncertainties (from page 72)
Our Climate Action targets (pages 51 to 53)
Social Purpose strategy (from page 48)
Engaging with our Workforce (from page 114)
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Engaging with our workforce
The Board ensures effective engagement
with the workforce using two of the
methods stipulated under the Code:
a designated Workforce Engagement
Director (Edward Bonham Carter, our
Senior Independent Director) and a
formal workforce advisory panel (our
Ambassador network).
The Board recognises the benefits of
personal interaction and informal
discussion to both learn more about
day-to-day operations and the practical
execution of strategy, as well as gather
direct insights into workforce sentiment.
Colleagues have direct contact with the
Chief Executive through her Ask Carolyn
email address and the Chairman has regular
meetings with Management Board
members and Divisional heads, who feed
back to him on workforce issues. The
Committee Chairs also have individual
meetings with employees in relation to the
business of their Committee meetings.
For other key instances of the direct and
indirect engagement the Board members
have had with our colleagues, refer to
page 113, and for the cultural insights
gained through engagement (including
other ways in which the Board has
monitored and assessed culture), refer
to pages 116 to 119. For a definition of
our workforce see page 56.
Our Ambassador network
Our Ambassador network represents all
parts of the business and was established in
2015 to represent employee interests, share
information and help inform our culture by
giving our employees a voice.
• Each Ambassador usually represents
approximately 50 colleagues from their
business area, called their constituency.
• There are approximately 90 Ambassador
constituencies which are organised into
five regional and international groups.
• The Ambassadors meet in their groups
four times a year and, given the
pandemic, additional remote meetings
were organised to ensure Ambassadors
were connected and able to share any
concerns effectively.
Ambassador feedback loop
NED attends
Ambassador
Meetings and
collects feedback/
insights
NED provides
feedback from
Ambassadors at
Board Meeting
NED collects
feedback/
insights from
Board Meeting to
share with
Ambassadors
NED shares
feedback/insights
from Board
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Q&A
with our designated Workforce Engagement
Director, Edward Bonham Carter
Edward Bonham Carter, Workforce Engagement Director
What were your activities during 2021?
In total I attended 13 Ambassador meetings
(seven UK Ambassador meetings covering
three UK regions and six international
Ambassador meetings representing all
ITV territories).
How often do you report to the Board on
engagement activities?
During 2021, I gave four verbal updates to
the Board on activities and presented one
formal paper on the insights gained from
engagements and on outcomes and
proposed recommendations that have
arisen. I also use my insight to ensure the
employee voice is considered during Board
and committee decision-making and
discussions, and to raise the profile of the
issues raised to me by colleagues.
What are the benefits of having this
designated role on the Board?
Through active two-way dialogue,
attendance at Ambassador meetings has
given me the opportunity to share insights
into external factors affecting ITV which
the Ambassadors then share with their
Attending both UK
and International
Ambassador meetings
gives me a broader
perspective of company
culture and priorities
for colleagues,
including the impact
of operational changes,
and I am able to give
feedback to the Board
on cultural alignment
across offices and
internationally.
constituents. I’m also able to feed back to
the Board on employee topics and issues of
interest and/or concern.
advertising ban, PSB regulation, changes in
viewer habits and the advertising market)
and how this has affected ITV.
Attending both UK and International
Ambassador meetings gives me a broader
perspective of company culture and
priorities for colleagues, including the
impact of operational changes, and I am able
to give feedback to the Board on cultural
alignment across offices and internationally.
Also, in hearing feedback first hand
regarding management’s approach to,
and understanding of, employee issues,
I can provide the Board with assurance
that management are clearly attuned to
company morale and workforce issues and
that colleagues have effective wellbeing
and mental health support.
What were your takeaways from
Ambassador meetings during 2021?
This year, attending the Ambassador
meetings has been invaluable to my
understanding of colleague sentiment.
2021 has again been a year of change
for colleagues, with an ongoing focus
on digital, organisational and strategic
transformation. Working environments
have also changed with return to office
working, yet part-time remote working is
now here to stay. The pressures of the
COVID pandemic have continued to affect
us. Our London colleagues will also be
moving to a new office. I was able to obtain
feedback on the impact of these changes
and on culture and morale. Key issues
highlighted to me by colleagues included
what the ‘return to work’ would look like
and the extent of organisational changes
and digital initiatives.
I have also been able to develop better
awareness and understanding of colleague
initiatives and policies, for example on
Climate Action targets, Speaking Up policy
and ITV Fast Forward through receiving
presentations from employees.
I also enjoyed sharing the Board’s views with
colleagues and discussing important topics.
In 2021, this included sharing the Board’s
views on the changing media and regulatory
landscape (SVOD market growth, HFSS
Attendance at the meetings also highlighted
to me the extent and effectiveness of
management’s communication and
engagement with colleagues. Direct
engagement has harnessed culture
whereby colleagues can be their authentic
self at work, feel supported by their
managers and are proud to work for ITV.
Have you faced any challenges during
the year?
Usually there are plenty of opportunities
for formal and informal meetings with
colleagues during visits to the offices but
this has been restricted during the COVID
pandemic. While virtual meetings have been
effective, I hope that we can resume more
regular in-person meetings in 2022 as these
provide valuable insight into the day-to-day
operations and practical delivery of strategy.
What are your key areas of focus for
engagement in 2022?
I am looking forward to meeting colleagues
in person more regularly, as soon as
circumstances permit. Following changes
to the Company’s business structure and
operating model over the past two years
it is as important as ever to gather direct
colleague sentiment and build relationships
with the workforce. I will also continue to
engage with Ambassadors on important
topics, such as diversity and inclusion, ESG,
and wellbeing and mental health support,
which continue to be a focus in 2022.
Have Ambassadors found engagement
to be effective?
I have had feedback from individual
Ambassadors that they have found my
participation to be valuable, particularly
in relation to having Board representation
at meetings and receiving business as well
as strategic updates. I enjoy giving updates
on the Board’s perspective on issues and
opportunities facing ITV. Part of my role
is to listen to any and all feedback that
Ambassadors or their constituents want
to share with me, even if the issues are
at a local level.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportOur ITV values
Our ITV values underpin the culture at
ITV and these are embedded through
our Code of Conduct:
Creativity
From everyone, for everyone,
every day
Collaboration
Working together at pace
Inclusion
Respecting and embracing
differences
Integrity & judgement
If something doesn’t feel right,
speak up
The ITV Way
The ITV Way encapsulates the values that
underpin the culture at ITV:
Make it Brilliant
Creativity for everyone
Make it New
Openness to change, with no barriers
Make it Together
Collaborating and embracing
differences
Governance | Values in Action – Understanding and Monitoring our Culture
Values in Action –
Understanding and
Monitoring our Culture
To support the creation of long-term value for our
stakeholders, we must continue to build and promote
a culture of openness and integrity, where inclusion
and diversity are championed.
The Board recognises that ITV’s culture is
a key enabler of ITV’s digital transformation,
and therefore understands the importance
of monitoring and fostering it. Aligning our
values with our strategy is pivotal to our
success, as is ensuring that we have the
financial, creative and cultural capability
to deliver it. While the Board is satisfied that
ITV’s culture is aligned with its purpose and
values, culture must continue to evolve,
through agility, collaboration and openness
to new initiatives, to enable the successful
delivery of strategy and become a digitally-
led business.
Committee requested an Internal Audit
review of the management processes
in place to support the Board with
discharging its duty of monitoring the
culture of ITV. The review included a
number of interviews with Board members
and other individuals, reviews of minutes
and other documentation. The report
found that the processes in place were
strong and that ITV’s culture was known
and understood by Board members who
considered the culture to be open and
transparent where challenge is expected
and accepted.
We are continually looking for opportunities
to enhance ITV’s approach to monitoring
culture. From 2022, in conjunction with the
recommendations from the Internal Audit
review, we will overlay available data to
develop culture risk signals and a new set
of metrics in the areas of recruitment and
retention, diversity and wellbeing will form
part of the overall risk framework. This will
be monitored by the Board, through regular
reporting and Management updates, and
to the extent possible, reported on in the
2022 Annual Report.
The Board considers culture formally on an
annual basis and, through its work during
the year, is able to satisfy itself that the
policies, practices and behaviours throughout
the Group are aligned with ITV’s purpose
(including its Social Purpose), vision, values
and strategy. Through the Board’s discussion
of relevant observations, the Chief
Executive’s focus on people and culture in
her Board reports, and the methods listed
in the table below, culture is considered,
whether implicitly or explicitly, at every
Board meeting. For example, ITV’s response
to issues concerning The Voice of Holland
demonstrates our approach to continuous
improvement in addressing any concerns
around culture, in particular relating to
Speaking Up policies. The Board recognises
such matters provide opportunities for ITV
to constantly keep under review its policies,
procedures and training around corporate
culture to ensure values in action.
The failure to evolve the underlying culture
of the business, resulting in a potential
inability to deliver the level of change
required to achieve our strategic objectives,
has been identified as a principal risk (see
page 83). During 2021, to seek assurance
over this principal risk, and given the
importance of culture and the Board’s
role in monitoring it, the Audit and Risk
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
In our unique position, where we have
the opportunity to shape society,
start conversations and encourage
action on things that matter through
the millions of people we reach, it is
even more fundamental that our
organisation’s culture reflects the
values that we promote more widely.
Key highlights
2021 engagement survey findings
97%
Completion rate of Code
of Ethics and Conduct
annual training
10.8%
Voluntary UK employee
turnover
82%
‘I feel I can be my authentic
self at work’
83%
‘My line manager genuinely
cares about my wellbeing’
4x
Speaking Up reports
reviewed by the Board in 2021
1
Internal culture audit
76%
Overall employee
participation
84%
‘I am proud to work for ITV’
The table below sets out the framework of policies and practices which underpin our culture and explains key ways in which the Board and/
or Committees monitor culture, and how these contributed to delivering insights into ITV’s culture.
Engagement and feedback channels
How the Board monitors culture
Cultural insight gained
Review assessments of the Company’s culture through the 2021
engagement survey, measurements of organisational culture benchmarked
against peers, and how ITV’s values link to its purpose and behaviour.
Understanding strengths (see findings above) and opportunities (see page
58) in ITV’s culture, and that ITV’s values and stated purpose authentically
reflect its culture and behaviours.
Outcome
Actions taken to address the insights gained from the engagement survey will be monitored by the Board through updates from the Chief Executive.
Through assessments and updates, the Board received assurance that ITV’s culture is aligned to its purpose and values, while recognising the cultural
evolution required to deliver strategy as ITV becomes increasingly digital.
How the Board monitors culture
Cultural insight gained
Interactions with and feedback from Board members through: (i) the
Chief Executive (including access to the regular Chief Executive’s vodcast
and Q&A and her updates on people priorities and communications at
every meeting); and (ii) engaging regularly (directly and indirectly) with
colleagues through numerous engagement mechanisms (see page 113
to 115 for details regarding the Board’s workforce engagement, including
the Workforce Engagement Director and Ambassador Network).
A better understanding of day-to-day operations, the practical execution
of strategy and the cultural context in which employees work. Further,
insight into how colleagues have been supported in the return to office
working and following operational changes in the M&E Division. The Chief
Executive’s vodcast Q&A sessions provide the Board with insight about
colleague morale and important topics for colleagues, for example ITV’s
commitment to diversity and inclusion and hybrid ways of working.
Outcome
Vodcast viewing figures and feedback are shared with the Chief Executive and used to shape vodcasts and ensure content is what colleagues want to hear.
Policies and Practices
How the Board monitors culture
Cultural insight gained
Regular Board updates and relevant Committee updates on a broad
range of risk and business integrity matters, including fraud, compliance,
bribery, corruption and modern slavery, and standard supplier protocols
and procedures. This is done through review of internal audit reports,
Speaking Up data, compliance questionnaires, compliance reports, risk
deep dives, incident reports and policies and training.
Outcome
A broad understanding of practices and behaviours and how these
align with the purpose, values and strategy of the Group, including
an understanding of the Group’s approach to supply chain partners
and the culture of risk ownership in the business.
The Board and its Committees provide appropriate scrutiny and challenge of management and receive assurance over ITV’s approaches to managing
risk and business integrity matters.
How the Board monitors culture
Cultural insight gained
As part of the Board’s culture assessment (see above), review
of ITV’s values as set out in ITV’s Code of Ethics and Conduct.
How the Code of Ethics and Conduct promotes the highest standards
of ethical business underpinning ITV’s values and corporate culture.
Outcome
The Board was satisfied that ITV’s Code of Ethics and Conduct embodies ITV’s values and culture and will continue to review this code annually to ensure
it remains aligned to ITV’s purpose (including its Social Purpose), vision, values and strategy and that there is appropriate compliance across the Group.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportGovernance | Values in Action – Understanding and Monitoring our Culture continued
Policies and Practices continued
How the Board monitors culture
Cultural insight gained
Completion of mandatory training modules for colleagues by all Board
members on the Code of Ethics and Conduct, cyber security, data
protection and privacy and climate action. Subsequent review of the
understanding and embedding of the Code of Ethics and Conduct and
related policies and standards through this training.
Outcome
A deeper understanding of how ITV’s values and standards are
communicated and how colleagues are kept safe and secure
and act in a compliant way.
All members of the Board will continue to undertake training on an annual basis, to ensure their understanding of how colleagues are kept safe and
secure and act in a compliant way remains current.
Recruitment and Retention
How the Board monitors culture
Cultural insight gained
Annual review session by the Nominations Committee of senior
management talent and succession planning (which all Board
members were invited to attend).
The importance of organisational culture in ITV’s 2021 and 2022 people
priorities, and HR’s focus on shifting the organisation to adopt a more agile
culture following the organisational restructures of the M&E and Studios
Divisions over the last few years.
Outcome
The Nominations Committee was able to give constructive challenge to the 2022 People Plan and reviewed management’s success (and areas of
opportunity) in defining and executing the 2021 plan.
Safety, Wellbeing and Mental Health
How the Board monitors culture
Cultural insight gained
Review by Audit and Risk Committee of risk management processes and
systems in place to drive health and safety behaviours in the areas of
operational security, business continuity and duty of care. This includes
the systems in place for our stakeholders to identify and raise health
and safety issues, including duty of care and Speaking Up concerns.
Outcome
Insight into the safety behaviours across all business areas (international
and UK), including the culture of ownership of risk.
Through regular Board updates from the Chief Executive and from the Audit and Risk Committee, the Board will continue to ensure the right processes
and procedures are in place for the safety of our colleagues, suppliers, programme participants and viewers, and that ITV continues to uphold high
standards of duty of care. In 2021, this included Audit and Risk Committee approval of the Group Security Policy framework and supporting policies.
How the Board monitors culture
Cultural insight gained
Audit and Risk Committee review of ITV’s duty of care processes and
updates from the Duty of Care Operating Board (also reported to the
Board), on the processes and standards in place for colleague and other
relevant stakeholders wellbeing. Feedback from the Ambassador and
Network groups, and Mental Health Advisory Group (external experts)
which included guidance and support on ITV’s approach to mental health
and wellbeing with colleagues, production teams, participants in our
programmes and viewers.
Outcome
How the mental wellbeing processes and support for colleagues and
stakeholders continue to enhance ITV’s culture where social inclusion
is embraced and mental health issues are understood, accepted and
safeguarded.
The Board, through the Chief Executive and Duty of Care Board continues to regularly monitor colleague wellbeing and mental health and the efficacy
of initiatives on culture.
Social Purpose, Diversity and Inclusion
How the Board monitors culture
Cultural insight gained
Annual review of ITV’s Social Purpose strategy, performance and plans
How ITV’s Social Purpose campaigns influence culture internally as well
as externally.
Outcome
The Board will continue to monitor key priorities and initiatives in pursuit of ITV’s Social Purpose strategy. See pages 48 to 55 for outcomes related to
Social Purpose.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Social Purpose, Diversity and Inclusion continued
How the Board monitors culture
Cultural insight gained
Annual review session of Diversity and Inclusion. Regular updates on
progress on ITV’s Diversity Acceleration Plan and feedback from ITV’s
inclusion networks. Regular monitoring by Nominations Committee of
progress against diversity targets, with diversity on the Board agenda
at least annually.
Chief Executive attendance at ITV’s Cultural Advisory Council, comprising
a group of independent external advisers from a range of different
industries and specialisms who advise, challenge and counsel ITV on
its diversity and inclusion activities.
Outcome
The impact the Diversity Acceleration Plan is having on colleague
sentiment and ITV’s reputation as having an inclusive culture, and
the latter’s appeal to future employees.
How ITV’s culture is enabling progress to be accelerated through
Group-wide diversity initiatives.
The Nominations Committee will continue to monitor progress being made to meet diversity targets to ensure recruitment and succession initiatives
support ITV’s Diversity and Inclusion strategy. See pages 54 and 55 for outcomes related to Diversity and Inclusion.
Speaking Up
How the Board monitors culture
Cultural insight gained
Report detailing new Speaking Up concerns (if any) produced for every
Board meeting.
A perspective on the nature of colleague concerns and trends in the
behaviours of colleagues generally.
Review and monitoring by the Audit and Risk Committee of the
effectiveness of the Speaking Up policy, processes and framework
annually and Speaking Up reports at least twice a year. Feedback is
given to the Board. See pages 133 to 134 for the Speaking Up framework’s
implementation in 2021.
Outcome
Insight into how concerns are handled by ITV and indications of how
the alternative routes for raising all risk concerns are being utilised.
The Audit and Risk Committee will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the Speaking Up framework, and feed back to the Board on how this has
supported the openness of ITV’s culture.
Internal Audit
How the Board monitors culture
Cultural insight gained
Observations and commentary on culture and cultural behaviours given
by Internal Audit to the Audit and Risk Committee as part of findings
and recommendations in reports. In 2021 cultural observations formed
part of the audits in relation to technology, and journalistic standards
and integrity.
An internal audit was undertaken in 2021 on the Board’s ability to monitor
and assess culture. The findings and recommendations were reviewed and
discussed at Board and Committee level.
Outcome
Insight from the internal auditor on the processes in place to monitor
culture across the Group and the reflection of the Group’s values by
management and other employees.
Understanding areas where activities could be enhanced in cultural
monitoring.
The Audit and Risk Committee endorsed the proposed actions arising from the internal audit on culture, and were reassured by the findings of the audit
which highlighted the strong processes in place to allow the Board to discharge its duties with respect to monitoring culture.
Remuneration
How the Board monitors culture
Cultural insight gained
Review by the Remuneration Committee of the wider employee reward
framework, including gender and ethnicity pay gaps, CEO pay ratios and
alignment of directors’ pension contribution to the workforce. Integration
of ESG measures into incentive targets.
Live Q&A and remuneration discussion for Ambassadors hosted by the
Remuneration Committee Chair, which was reported back to the Committee.
Outcome
Insight into the role that remuneration, and setting performance goals, has
on promoting the right behaviours and the extent to which incentives and
rewards are aligned with culture.
The Remuneration Committee will continue to report to the Board on colleague sentiment in relation to retention and reward initiatives.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportGovernance | Board Evaluation
Board Evaluation
An evaluation of the Board and its Committees
is carried out annually and externally facilitated
every three years, with the last external review
conducted in 2019.
The evaluation found that the Board,
its Committees, the Chairman and
individual Board members continue
to operate very effectively. The Board’s
ongoing management of the response to
the COVID pandemic, responsiveness to
stakeholder concerns, and Board diversity
(and commitment to diversity) were rated
particularly highly. The Board discussed the
findings and endorsed the proposed action
plan at its meeting in January 2022.
The Senior Independent Director led a
separate evaluation of the Chairman with
the Non-executive Directors to appraise
the Chairman’s performance. It was
concluded that Sir Peter Bazalgette’s
performance and contribution remain
strong and that he demonstrates
effective leadership.
In 2021, the Board undertook an internally
facilitated evaluation using bespoke online
questionnaires. The General Counsel and
Company Secretary, regular attendees of
Board and Committee meetings and some
external advisers also completed certain
parts of the questionnaires to allow us to
take non-Director views into account.
The review sought to evaluate a number
of aspects of Board, Committee, Chairman
and individual performance, including:
• Board: composition and diversity; dynamics
and expertise; time management; Board
support; stakeholders and workforce
engagement; strategic oversight; risk
management and internal controls;
succession planning; and priorities
for change.
• Committees: Committee and Committee
Chair effectiveness; annual plans and
agendas; Committee composition;
and time management.
• Chairman: relationships and
communications with Board members;
chairing and managing of Board
meetings; and relationships with
the Company’s shareholders.
• Individuals: preparation for and
attendance at meetings; ability to
commit sufficient time; relationships
with fellow Board members; the extent
to which knowledge and experience are
drawn upon; and overall contribution.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
2021 Internal evaluation areas of focus and actions
Areas of focus identified:
Our key follow up actions:
Succession planning for
Executive Directors
Ensure the Nominations Committee has an effective and orderly process for the
succession of Executive Directors and, following a succession mapping exercise
during the year, keep this under review.
Visibility of potential
successors for Management
Board members
Continue to have members of the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) run the Board
training and deep dive sessions on topics identified in the evaluation.
Invite ELT members to a Board dinner, at least once a year.
Invite all Board members to the Nominations Committee (typically in November)
for a senior management succession planning session.
Board development
and training
Continue to offer the Board training and deep dive sessions on topics identified in
the Board evaluation. This year these include the Production business model, the
trading model and competitor and industry trends.
The General Counsel and
Company Secretary is
responsible for driving the
actions forward. She compiled
a comprehensive action plan
listing specific actions to address
the findings of the evaluation
and further enhance the Board’s
effectiveness. The Board will
monitor the implementation
of the follow-up actions to
review progress against the
recommendations.
Progress against 2020 actions
Action
Outcome
Ensure an effective and orderly process
for the succession of the Chairman and
continue to give the Board visibility of
the positive progress made on succession
planning at the Management Board and
Executive Leadership Team level.
During 2021, a Chair Succession Committee (led by the Senior Independent Director) worked with
Executive search agency Spencer Stuart to find a successor to take over as Chair later in 2022.
The process is in its final stages. Please see page 125.
All Board members were invited to attend the Nominations Committee annual senior management
talent/ succession planning session.
Please see page 124 for more detail
Continue to build on the processes and
significant work which the Board already
undertakes to integrate stakeholders’
interests in Board decision-making
processes and to raise the visibility of
stakeholder concerns in Board discussions.
Offer the Board training and deep dive
sessions on topics that Board members
identified in the Board evaluation.
The Board had a detailed discussion on stakeholder engagement at the January meeting and further
sessions were held through the year covering a wide range of stakeholders including PSB updates
(legislators and regulators), Duty of Care updates (programme participants and colleagues), equity
market perspectives (shareholders and analysts), and M&E and Studios strategy sessions, considering
a range of stakeholders.
Please see pages 107 to 113 for more detail
During 2021, Board members were provided with a number of briefings, presentations, deep dives
and teach-ins. These included a session on advertising and future commercial strategy presented by
the Commercial team, two Investor seminars, on Commercial business and strategy (November) and
Studios’ global production and distribution business (December); and a discussion on ESG commitments
and the importance of corporate culture and purpose, facilitated by Rupert Younger, the founder of the
Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation.
In line with the Corporate Governance Code, the Board evaluation for 2022 will be externally facilitated.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportGovernance | Nominations Committee Report
Directors’ Ongoing
Development and
Time Commitments
Ongoing training and
development
As the composition of the Board remained
unchanged during the year, no Director
induction training took place in 2021.
However, the training and development
of our Directors does not end with their
induction. The ongoing development of
Board members is crucial to ensure that
they remain well-informed of changes to
the business environment in which ITV
operates (including on legal, regulatory,
compliance and governance matters), and
effective in providing challenge on a wide
range of topics. The Chairman, with the
support of the General Counsel and
Company Secretary, keeps the training
and development needs of Directors
under review.
During the year, all Directors were provided
with briefings, presentations, deep dives,
teach-ins and guest speakers on a range
of subjects, including a deep dive on the
proposed governance and audit reform
proposals. The Directors’ development
and training programme covered topics
identified in the 2021 Board evaluation,
as areas on which Directors felt they could
benefit from additional training or support.
The programme included:
• receiving foundational information ahead
of Board strategy sessions regarding, e.g.,
the UK streaming market and competitor
overview, and the global market review
for the Studios business;
• completing the refreshed mandatory
training for colleagues (on ITV’s Code
of Ethics and Conduct, Cyber Security,
Data Protection and Privacy, and
Climate Action);
• attending a session on advertising and
future commercial strategy presented
by senior leaders in the Commercial team;
•
joining two Investor seminars, on
Commercial business and strategy
(November) and Studios’ global
production and distribution business
(December); and
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
• participating in a discussion facilitated
by Rupert Younger, the founder of the
Oxford University Centre for Corporate
Reputation, regarding ESG commitments,
and the importance of corporate culture
and purpose.
Directors are encouraged to ask for any
support they need and are reminded that
there is always an open line to management
on any topic. Non-executive Directors also
have access to relevant professional
technical briefings from the audit firms,
including the Deloitte Academy Director
updates. In addition, each Director may
obtain independent professional advice at
the Company’s expense where they judge it
necessary to discharge their responsibilities.
Sharmila Nebhrajani joined the Board of
Coutts & Co (a private company) in May,
and Halma plc, a FTSE 100 company, in
December. Sharmila has given careful
consideration to her external time
commitments, taking into account that
she stepped down as an independent
trustee of Lifesight Ltd and as a Governor
of The Health Foundation in June 2021,
and would be stepping down from her role
on the NS&I Advisory Board in June 2022.
Sharmila considered that she would be
able to continue to devote appropriate
time to her role at ITV. In approving each
appointment, taking all of this into account,
the Board was satisfied that Sharmila’s ability
to fulfil her responsibility and commitment
to ITV would not be compromised.
Time commitments
The Directors have demonstrated a strong
commitment to their roles on our Board
and Committees – Directors’ attendance at
Board and Committee meetings is set out
on page 105. The Directors have also given
careful consideration to their external time
commitments to ensure that they are able
to devote an appropriate amount of time
to their roles at ITV. For each Director, the
Board considers that the external time
commitments that he or she is required
to devote do not compromise their
commitment to their roles (on the
ITV Board, Committees and otherwise).
The Nominations Committee reviews,
on an ongoing basis, Directors’ time
commitments against the recommended
guidance from investor bodies and ITV’s top
shareholders, to anticipate any perception
of overboarding at the forthcoming AGM.
The Committee was able to confirm that it
was fully satisfied with the amount of time
each Director devoted to the business.
During 2021, the Board considered changes
in the time commitments of the Directors
mentioned below in particular.
The Board also considered Carolyn McCall’s
appointment to the Board of Bridgepoint
Group plc (Bridgepoint), as a Non-executive
Director. Bridgepoint listed on the London
Stock Exchange in July 2021. The Board
reflected on all of Carolyn’s commitments
in detail, noting that Carolyn would step
down as a Board member of Burberry Group
plc (Burberry) on 2 April 2022 (following the
end of Burberry’s financial year). The Board
discussed that her appointment to the
Bridgepoint Board would mean that, for
a limited time, Carolyn would serve as
a Non-executive Director on two listed
company boards. In approving Carolyn’s
appointment to the Board of Bridgepoint,
the ITV Board took into consideration all
of her time commitments and noted that
Carolyn had already stepped down from
her position as a Non-executive Director on
the board of the Department for Business,
Enterprise and Industrial Strategy and that
Carolyn would be stepping down from the
Burberry Board within a set timeframe. It
was never the intention for Carolyn to serve
as a Non-executive Director on two listed
company boards in the medium or long
term. The Board was therefore satisfied,
for the purposes of the 2018 UK Corporate
Governance Code, that Carolyn’s
appointment to the Board of Bridgepoint
would not compromise her ability to fulfil
her commitments and discharge her
responsibilities to ITV.
Governance
Nominations
Committee Report
Sir Peter Bazalgette, Chairman
In this report
The purpose of this report is to highlight the role that the Nominations Committee
plays in ensuring that the Board has the appropriate balance of skills, experience,
knowledge and background to provide the breadth, depth, diversity of thinking
and perspective needed to effectively deliver long-term sustainable success.
Who is on the Committee
The Committee is composed
entirely of Non-executive
Directors
Our role
Following each meeting, the
Committee communicates its
main discussion points and
findings to the Board.
The Committee’s terms of
reference can be accessed on
our website.
www.itvplc.com/investors/
governance
Meetings in 2021
The current members are:
• Sir Peter Bazalgette (Chair)
• Salman Amin
• Edward Bonham Carter
• Mary Harris
Full details of attendance
at Committee meetings can
be found on the table on
page 105
Detailed biographies can
be found on pages 100 and 101
The main role of the Committee
is to:
• Regularly review Board
composition and the balance of
skills, knowledge, experience
and diversity
• Determine when appointments
and retirements are appropriate,
and lead on any Director
searches
• Give full consideration to
succession planning and oversee
the development of a diverse
pipeline for succession, at Board
and senior management levels
• Set measurable objectives
on Board diversity and
monitor progress on these
objectives, as well as review
Company-wide targets
In addition to Committee
members, the Group HR Director
and General Counsel and Company
Secretary regularly attended
meetings of the Committee.
January
• Review of Board Diversity Policy
• Director time commitments and
‘overboarding’ considerations
April
• Board composition and
succession planning
• Executive succession
• Chairman and executive
planning update
succession planning
• Committee evaluation
• Review of draft Nominations
Committee Report in Annual
Report
July
• Annual review of terms
of reference
• Board Chair search update
• Company diversity progress
update
November – all members of
the Board were invited to attend
the meeting
• People strategy review
(including review of executive
succession plans)
• Company diversity progress
update
Annual review
An annual review of the
performance of the Committee
is conducted each year.
In 2021, an internally facilitated
Board evaluation was undertaken,
which included a review of the
Committee. The results are
summarised on page 121.
Overall, the evaluation concluded
that the Committee is working
effectively and responding
appropriately to its terms of
reference.
As part of the Committee’s
succession planning agenda, the
key priorities identified for 2022
were to ensure an orderly
succession between the current
and incoming Chair of the Board,
and to continue its focus on
Executive and Non-executive
succession planning, as well as
senior management talent
retention and succession.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021Financial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportBoard diversity
45.5%
female Board representation
In line with Parker Review and
Hampton Alexander Review
recommendations
18.2%
B.A.M.E. Board
representation
Governance | Nominations Committee Report continued
Board composition and
succession planning
Composition: During the year, the
Committee undertook an analytical review
of Board composition, assessing the range
and balance of skills, experience, diversity,
knowledge and independence to identify
any gaps and inform the proposed
Chairman and Non-executive Director
searches. A breakdown of the Board’s skills,
experience and certain diversity measures
are set out on page 105. The review
concluded that the representation of
Board diversity was strong and the Directors
as a whole had the right skills, knowledge
and experience to enable ITV to execute its
strategy. The recent hires of Directors with
additional digital and data experience had
been particularly important for supporting
management with the accelerated digital
transformation. With the upcoming
departure of the incumbent Chair, the
review also highlighted that the Board
would benefit from additional creative
industry skills, and therefore it was decided
that creative industry skills and experience
should be a prerequisite for the next new
Non-executive Director appointment.
Non-executive Director succession
planning: The Committee also reviewed
succession planning for each of the
Chairman, Senior Independent Director,
Committee Chair and Workforce
Engagement Director roles, and identified
whether there are appropriate internal
candidates, or an external search may
be needed, both for emergency and
longer-term succession.
Executive Director and Management
Board succession planning: During the
year, the Chief Executive and Group HR
Director reported on the succession
planning measures in place for the
Management Board (including the
Executive Directors), as well as the direct
reports to Management Board members.
This included Management Board and
Executive Leadership Team bench strength
analysis for each role identifying short and
medium-term successors and the diversity
of the pipeline. The Committee was satisfied
that the Company has effective executive
succession planning processes in place,
including appropriate development plans
for individuals, and was able to understand
the areas where external candidates may
need to be considered. The Committee also
had a session on improving the strength,
depth and diversity of our talent. All of the
Board members were invited to attend the
Committee meeting on this topic.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Board searches
During the year, the composition of the
Board did not change and there were
no searches completed for Non-executive
Directors. For details regarding the
search process undertaken for our 2020
appointment of Graham Cooke and
Sharmila Nebhrajani, please refer to
ITV’s Annual Report and Accounts 2020.
Board diversity policy
Our objective of driving the benefits of
a diverse senior management team and
wider workforce is underpinned by our
Board Diversity Policy. Our belief is that
diversity at all levels makes business
sense, as it allows the organisation to
harness the benefit of differences in skills,
experience, culture, personality, background
and work-style. We are proud of our
commitment to driving further diversity
on a Group-wide basis. This is exemplified
by diversity being one of the four priorities
in our Social Purpose strategy as well as
the launch of our Diversity Acceleration
Plan in July 2020, and our report in 2021
demonstrating our progress against our
plan commitments. Please refer to pages
54 and 55 for further information on our
Group-wide diversity plan and targets.
A copy of the policy can be found on our
website www.itvplc.com/investors/
governance/directors
Set out below are the objectives of our
Board Diversity Policy and our assessment
of performance against them. These
objectives ensure that both appointments
and succession planning support developing
a diverse pipeline. As there was no Non-
executive Director search in 2021, some
of the information below is based on our
2020 Non-executive Director searches
which led to the appointments of Graham
Cooke and Sharmila Nebhrajani. Our
Chairman search is in its final stages and
where appropriate we have made reference
to this below, however, some elements of
the search still remain confidential.
Ensure ITV has a development pipeline
of high calibre senior executive
candidates and encourage senior
executives to obtain external
board experience
The ongoing development of senior leaders,
to ensure we retain the best talent and to
broaden their skill sets and experience to
prepare them for future senior roles, is
important to us. ITV runs a high potential
leadership programme, building a pipeline
of diverse talent for senior level roles.
The Rise Programme launched in 2020
continues to promote Black, Asian and
minority ethnic (B.A.M.E.) talent progression
at the manager level by providing B.A.M.E.
colleagues greater visibility with senior
leaders through networking and
established. This was led by the Senior
Independent Director and comprised the
Nominations Committee members (other
than the Committee Chair) plus the Audit
and Risk Committee Chair. The incumbent
Chairman did not participate in the process.
The Chair Succession Committee worked
with Spencer Stuart to refine the role
description, and specified that the long
list (and short list) must include candidates
of diverse backgrounds, gender and
race. Spencer Stuart then undertook a
comprehensive search for prospective
candidates who met the profile.
Given the importance of the appointment,
the search process has been thorough and
detailed, with all Board members being
consulted as part of the shortlisting process.
The search is currently in its final stages.
As at the date of this Report, 3 March 2022,
an announcement regarding a successor is
expected to be made in the near future, with
a view to the prospective candidate taking
over as Chair in September 2022.
As a result, it is expected that the incumbent
Chairman will remain in post until
September 2022. The Board believes that
this is necessary and appropriate to align
with the expected timing for the new
Chairman taking up the role, and in order
to ensure an orderly transition.
sponsorship, alongside career coaching. The
programme also works with managers and
Senior Leadership Team advocates to build
race confidence and accelerate an inclusive
culture change at ITV.
Bespoke development initiatives are in
place for senior executives who have been
identified as potential successors, based on
particular development needs. These include:
• External executive coaching, with clear
coaching objectives (including 360
degrees feedback where relevant)
• Psychometric testing, such as the Hogan
Leadership series that identifies
leadership strengths, derailers and values
• Mentoring by a Non-executive Director
• Business School executive education
programmes
• Non-executive Director and trustee
appointments where there is a suitable
match and development support for
those interested in these opportunities
• One of our senior leaders has secured a
place on the Deloitte B.A.M.E. on Boards
programme and another on the Deloitte
Women on Boards Programme
The Committee held a session on succession
planning at the senior executive level during
the year which the whole Board was invited
to attend.
Maintain at least 30% female Directors on
the Board over the short to medium term
As at 31 December 2021, the Board had
45.5% female representation, including
one Executive Director and two Committee
Chairs; we have therefore exceeded
both the target of 30% as well as the
Hampton-Alexander target of 33% female
representation. Whilst the Board recognises
that an effective board with broad strategic
perspective requires diversity, ultimately the
Board appoints candidates based on merit
and assesses potential Directors against
measurable, objective criteria.
Our principles for Board diversity also apply
to our Management Board and senior
management below this level. We are
therefore pleased to be ranked 5th in the
Hampton-Alexander 2021 review for female
representation on the Combined Executive
Committee and Direct Reports, with female
representation of 47.5%.
Maintain at least 10% B.A.M.E. Directors on
the Board over the short to medium term
As at 31 December 2021, the Board had 18.2%
B.A.M.E. representation with two B.A.M.E.
Directors on the Board. We therefore also
comply with the recommendation of the
Parker Review to have at least one director
of colour on the Board by 2021.
Use search firms who have signed up
to the Voluntary Code of Conduct on
gender diversity
The Board supports the provisions of the
Voluntary Code of Conduct for Executive
Search Firms. Both in 2020 (during our
Non-executive Director searches) and in
2021 (with our Chairman search supported
by Spencer Stuart), the executive search
agencies we have used are signatories
to the Voluntary Code of Conduct for
Executive Search Firms.
Ensure Non-executive Director shortlists
include at least 50% female candidates
For our Non-executive Director searches
in 2020, the longlist of candidates for both
searches consisted of at least 50% female
candidates. These lists were reviewed and
refined based on measurable, objective
criteria, to come to a shortlist made up of
at least 50% diverse candidates (female
and/or B.A.M.E.)
Ensure the Non-executive Director search
pool is sufficiently wide and covers
candidates from B.A.M.E. backgrounds
and candidates with a wide range of
expertise, skills and backgrounds
As part of the Non-executive Director
searches during 2020, the Committee
worked closely with both executive search
agencies in compiling long and shortlists of
candidates from various backgrounds and
industries, including B.A.M.E. backgrounds.
Candidates were identified and interviewed
and their skills and qualities were assessed
against measurable, objective criteria.
Chairman search
Under the Code, the chair of the Board should
not remain in post beyond nine years from the
date of their first appointment to the Board.
However, this period can be extended for a
limited time, particularly in cases where the
Chair was an existing Non-executive Director
on appointment, to facilitate effective
succession planning and the development
of a diverse board. The incumbent Chairman
joined ITV as a Non-executive Director in June
2013 and was appointed Chairman of the
Board in May 2016.
Appropriate succession planning steps
began to be taken during the course of 2020
with the Committee appointing Spencer
Stuart to commence the search for a new
Chairman of the Board in 2021. Other than
the provision of search services, Spencer
Stuart has no connection with ITV, with the
exception of supporting the Board’s desktop
succession planning review, and previously
supporting the recruitment of the current
Executive Directors and some of ITV’s
Non-executive Directors.
As the Chairman of the Board is also the
Chair of the Nominations Committee, a
separate Chair Succession Committee was
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Audit and Risk
Committee Report
Margaret Ewing, Chair, Audit and Risk Committee
Who is on the Committee?
Dear Shareholder
Composition
The current members of the
Committee are:
• Margaret Ewing (Chair)
• Edward Bonham Carter
• Graham Cooke – joined
on 1 November 2021
• Mary Harris
• Anna Manz
Full details of attendance at Committee
meetings can be found on the table on
page 105.
Detailed biographies can be found on
pages 100 and 101.
The Committee is composed entirely
of independent Non-executive Directors
and, aside from Graham Cooke joining
the Committee in November, the
membership had remained consistent
during the year.
Detailed biographies, including skills and
experience, can be found on pages 100
and 101. The Committee members have,
between them, a wide range of relevant
sector and financial experience, enabling
the Committee to fulfil its terms of
reference. This includes by providing
independent and robust challenge to
management and our internal and
external auditors, to ensure there are
effective and high-quality controls in
place and appropriate judgements are
taken. For the purposes of the Code, the
Board considers that Margaret Ewing
and Anna Manz have recent and relevant
financial experience.
On behalf of the Board, I am pleased to
present the 2021 Audit and Risk Committee
Report. This report is intended to provide
shareholders with an insight into key areas
considered, together with how the Audit
and Risk Committee (the Committee) has
discharged its responsibilities and provided
assurance on the integrity of the 2021
Annual Report and Financial Statements
(2021 Annual Report). This has included
ensuring the 2021 Annual Report is aligned
with the latest requirements and guidance
from regulators, that it is fair, balanced
and understandable and that all matters
disclosed and reported upon meet the
rapidly evolving needs of our stakeholders.
In addition, the Committee’s fundamental
priorities include ensuring the quality and
effectiveness of the external and internal
audit processes and monitoring the
management of the principal risks of the
business. My introduction sets out the key
areas of focus for the Committee during
2021 (since our 2020 report) and to the
date of this report.
Throughout 2021 COVID has had a big
impact on the business. Our Studio business
is still operating with stringent restrictions
and absences due to illness affecting its
operations but, as highlighted throughout
the Strategic Report, all elements of the
Group have responded exceptionally well
to the conditions. And this is true of our
finance team, PwC and Deloitte (internal
audit provider) as they adopted a remote
working model for most of the year, despite
this being PwC’s first year as external
auditor. The Committee closely monitored
the impact of COVID on the effectiveness
of communications and working models
adopted between the various teams,
ensuring that progress of the external and
internal audits tracked their respective
plans throughout the year, internal controls
(as adapted in 2020) remained effective and
issues were addressed in a timely manner.
I’m pleased to report that management and
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
PwC’s actions and the coordinated working
models provided the Committee with
confidence in the robustness of the financial
reporting, audit processes and control
environment. The internal audit plan
also continued to be adjusted to adapt
appropriately to the changing needs of
the business.
I have maintained regular dialogue with
other members of the Committee, the
Group CFO & COO, and other members
of management, including meeting with
‘agenda topic owners’ prior to Committee
meetings, ensuring the Committee would
be provided with the necessary information
to enable it to guide, challenge and advise
and, when required, make informed
decisions. I also met privately with our
external auditor, PwC, lead partners and
lead partner at Deloitte, ITV’s provider of
outsourced internal audit, as part of my
ongoing review of their effectiveness.
Pages 134 to 136 describe how the
Committee has monitored and assessed
the effectiveness of the external and
internal auditors during 2021. I also met
with ITV’s legal advisers in respect of
ongoing litigation and other legal matters.
The Committee has been very pleased
with the quality and effectiveness of PwC’s
audit and approach to interrogating ITV’s
financial and IT general controls, and
financial reporting and supporting
judgements. Their fresh perspective,
challenge and rigour have drawn the
Committee’s and management’s attention
to aspects of the Group’s control processes
that could be strengthened, as well as a
need for renewed consideration of certain
accounting judgements. During the year,
management has taken positive action
to remediate and strengthen the Group’s
internal controls and the Committee
recognises that there is still much to do
in respect of full implementation of
the planned improvements (see pages
132 to 134). The Committee has spent
considerable time reviewing and scrutinising
the Group’s financial results and details of
the significant issues we considered can
be found on pages 129 to 131.
enhancements, deep dive risk sessions
relating to pensions, data governance and
privacy, and duty of care (see pages 129 and
133). A number of the Committee’s priorities
for 2022 follow on from the Committee’s
key activities in 2021 and are set out below.
Information regarding the Board’s
stakeholder engagement is set out on pages
107 to 113, which also indicates where the
Committee took account of the views of
the Company’s key stakeholders and
considered their interests in its discussions
and decision-making. While I had no direct
meetings with ITV shareholders during 2021,
I met with representatives of IVIS, one of the
proxy agencies, to better understand IVIS’s
priorities regarding audit committee activity
and reports. In addition, as a member of
the Audit Committee Chair’s Independent
Forum steering group in respect of the
consultation on the BEIS white paper on
audit and corporate governance reform,
I participated in very many discussions with
the various key stakeholder groups. This
allowed me to share the insights gained
with the ITV Board and management,
facilitating our detailed response to the
consultation and our initial plans for
implementation of relevant aspects of the
proposals. During 2022, I will seek direct
engagement with key investors on financial
reporting risk and assurance planning.
I hope that you find this report informative
and can continue to take assurance from
the work undertaken by the Committee this
year. We seek to respond to stakeholders’
expectations in our reporting and, as always,
welcome any feedback from shareholders
or other stakeholders.
Margaret Ewing
Chair, Audit and Risk Committee
3 March 2022
In May, the FRC invited the Committee to
participate in a project to pilot engagement
level audit quality indicators (AQIs). This
pilot required the Committee (with input
from management) and PwC to identify
a set of AQIs specific to the ITV audit.
For 2021, we jointly identified 10 AQIs
(submitted to the FRC) that we assessed
following the audit, contributing to our
overall assessment of external audit
effectiveness. For 2022, we will restrict
the AQIs adopted to those that were useful
in the Committee’s assessment of audit
quality, which is a priority for the Committee.
The Committee’s prioritisation of audit
quality is also reflected in the conclusion
of the FRC’s Audit Quality Review (AQR)
of KPMG’s 2020 (and last) audit of ITV’s
financial statements. The Committee was
pleased with the AQR’s conclusion in
respect of those aspects of the audit that
the AQR team focused on. I would like to
acknowledge the quality of KPMG’s audit
but also the quality of ITV’s finance resource,
processes, approach and transparency in its
communication with the external auditor,
which are all critical to the delivery of an
effective high-quality audit.
As the year progressed, the Committee
requested additional items on its meeting
agendas to ensure it had clear oversight of
the evolving impact of the Group’s strategy
and restructuring on the business plus
emerging risks. Given the criticality of
technology to the successful execution of
the strategy, and observations from both
the external and internal auditors on the
governance processes related to IT general
controls (ITGCs) and aspects of the controls
requiring strengthening, we increased focus
on our ITGCs. The Committee’s intervention
supported the Chief Technology Officer in
enhancing his central resource, establishing
a Governance, Risk and Controls function.
Another example of the Committee’s
responsiveness to new or emerging risks
was the request, supported by the Board,
for an immediate Internal Audit review of
the effectiveness of ITV’s journalistic
integrity and standards, prompted by
increased scrutiny of a competitor’s past
actions. Other key activities during the year
included the internal auditor tender (see
page 135), reviewing and contributing to
the enhanced frameworks for fraud risk
and Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)
(see pages 129 and 132), monitoring the
progress of ‘ITV Together’ (the HR and
Finance transformation programme)
and TCFD compliance and reporting
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2021 Key Matters
Matters considered at the meetings are set
out on the pages that follow.
Meetings in 2021
The Committee held five meetings during
the year. In light of the Committee’s
growing agenda, and the scale and pace
of transformation of the business, two
additional meetings have been scheduled
for 2022.
In addition to Committee members, the
Chairman of the Board, Executive
Directors, Director of Finance, Group
Finance Controller, General Counsel
and Company Secretary, Director of
Tax and Treasury, Head of Enterprise
Risk Management, Head of Internal Audit
(Deloitte) and External Audit lead partner
(PwC) regularly attend meetings. There
were regular sessions during the year
when the Committee met the external
audit partner and, separately, the Head of
Internal Audit without executives present.
Our role
The Committee’s terms of reference,
reviewed annually and last updated in
July 2021, can be accessed on our website.
The Committee’s principal responsibility
is to oversee and provide assurance to
the Board on the integrity and quality of
financial reporting, effectiveness of audit
arrangements and robustness and effective
operation of internal controls, compliance
and risk management processes. The
Committee meeting agendas are tailored
to ensure emerging topics are included and
to allow for ad-hoc discussion and reviews.
A summary of the Committee’s activities
during 2021 (from the date of our 2020
report) and until the date of this report is
detailed on the following pages.
Annual Review
During the year, the Committee members
and regular attendees (including the
internal and external auditors) completed
a detailed and customised questionnaire
to evaluate the Committee’s
effectiveness. The findings in relation
to the Committee were discussed and
shared with the Board. Overall, it was
concluded that the Committee
continued to perform effectively.
Financial reporting
Our role
Financial reporting:
• Monitor the integrity of
Items covered
Reviewed:
Following discussion of the conclusions of
the Committee evaluation, it was agreed
that the areas the Committee should
focus on in 2022 included internal controls
improvements (particularly financial and
IT general controls); Task Force on
Climate-related Financial Disclosures
(TCFD); other Environmental, Social &
Governance (ESG) related risks and
reporting; and further embedding the
Enterprise Risk Management framework.
published financial
information and review
and challenge significant
financial reporting issues,
estimates and judgements
• Quarterly, interim and full year results statements,
prior to recommendation to Board for approval,
together with supporting reports from the Group
CFO and COO highlighting all key judgements
and estimates
• Review the
appropriateness of
accounting policies
and practices
• Provide advice to the
Board on whether the
Annual Report and
Accounts are fair, balanced
and understandable and
the appropriateness of the
going concern statement
and the longer-term
viability statement
• Provide advice to the
Remuneration Committee
on financial reporting
matters and related
judgements as they affect
executive remuneration
performance objectives
• External auditor reports, including progress updates,
to the Committee regarding interim review and full
year audit
• Final draft 2021 Annual Report, prior to
recommendation to Board for approval, including
review of Principal and Emerging Risks disclosure
and assessment that the Annual Report is fair,
balanced and understandable
• Assessment of appropriateness of going concern
and viability statements, including management
reports on all key judgements, scenario assumptions,
supporting analysis/evidence, reporting and
disclosures
• Litigation updates, including status reports in respect
of Box Clever and Talpa matters
• Reports on potential acquisition earnout liabilities
and performance against acquisition business
case criteria
• Pension matters, including pension deficit and
update on projects
• Regular tax updates and recommendation of
updated tax strategy to Board for approval
• Treasury policies, updates and funding strategy
• Share plan anticipated performance outcomes
for FY21
• Developments in financial and corporate reporting,
including the BEIS white paper on audit and corporate
governance reform
• Finance team structure and resourcing, including
strategy and implementation plans for finance
transformation as part of the ITV Together programme
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Significant audit risks and accounting judgements
In planning its agenda and reviewing the
audit plans of the internal and external
auditors, the Committee has taken into
account significant operational and
financial issues and risks which may have
had an impact on the Company’s financial
statements, internal controls and/or the
delivery and execution of the Company’s
strategy (including changes in the nature
and significance of some of the Group’s
Principal Risks).
The Committee focused on assessing
whether management had made
appropriate judgements and estimates
in preparing the Company’s financial
statements, particularly with regard to
the significant issues listed below.
These issues were subject to robust
challenge and debate between
management, the external auditor
and the Committee. The Committee
also reviewed detailed external auditor
Risk of fraud (particularly in revenue recognition)
reports outlining work performed and
any issues identified in respect of key
judgements and estimates – see the
Independent Auditor’s Report on pages
164 to 171. The Committee concluded
there was no significant disagreement
or unresolved issue that required referral
to the Board.
Issue
Action taken by the Committee
Outcome/future actions
The nature of ITV’s business,
including advertising and
production, means that there
are potential risks of revenue
recognition and other fraud,
including collusion with
advertisers, facilitation
payments, fraudulent
payments to suppliers or
employees and manipulating
profits or hiding fraud by use
of accounting journals.
The Committee reviewed management’s report on ITV’s fraud
prevention framework and the key controls in place at the
Business Service Centre (BSC) and in its international
businesses designed to prevent and detect fraud, as well
as actions during 2021 and future plans for enhancement
of the relevant controls. The Committee discussed the steps
management had taken, including designing a fraud detection
process for the specific fraud risks identified. The Committee
also explored the measures in place, including segregation of
duties ensuring independent review, to mitigate against the
risk of management override of controls.
The Committee also reviewed PwC’s audit procedures,
including the results of their data auditing techniques for
advertising revenue and journals as well as their conclusions
relating to fraud risk in revenue recognition with a particular
focus on ensuring appropriate cut-off of revenue transactions
close to the year end.
The Committee challenged management on the robustness
of the controls and whether there was sufficient focus on
high-risk and material areas, such as supplier related fraud.
The Committee agreed with management’s
assessment that the overall control framework
remained effective and, with a focus on high-risk
and material areas, additional controls introduced
had mitigated risk. The Committee concluded
that the Group’s revenue recognition processes
included a robust control framework to
effectively mitigate the risk of material fraud
and was satisfied with the work undertaken by
PwC in also reaching this conclusion.
The Committee supported management’s
2022 plans to continue developing the fraud
prevention framework.
Pension defined benefit obligations and assets
Issue
Action taken by the Committee
Outcome/future actions
The Committee reviewed the key pension
objectives identified by management and
was satisfied that the strategic actions being
undertaken by management to achieve those
objectives and to continue to mitigate risks
were appropriate and robust. The Committee
was satisfied as to the accuracy and
appropriateness of the defined benefit pension
schemes’ reported accounting position and
impact on the financial statements.
ITV sponsors defined benefit
pension schemes with total
liabilities and assets of over
£4 billion and £3.8 billion
respectively. Significant
actions have been taken to
manage the liability risk and
minimise the fluctuations in
asset values. However, pension
liabilities and those assets with
inherent valuation subjectivity
remain significant sources of
risk to the business and
estimation judgement in
the financial statements.
Note 3.6 to the financial
statements details the
key risks to valuation of
the liabilities and assets.
The Committee received a number of updates on pension
matters through the year, including actuarial valuations,
restructure of the funding SDN Pension Funding Partnership
(PFP) arrangement and implementation of a low risk long-term
investment strategy for Section A of the Scheme. The
Committee also received an in-depth analysis of the key risks
associated with the defined benefit pension scheme liabilities.
The Committee recognised the judgement applied in
determining the fair value of those pension scheme assets
held in pooled investment vehicles, property and longevity
swaps and the heightened level of risk to which this gives rise.
The Committee discussed the risks and the ongoing process
to manage, and where possible remove, those risks. The
Committee also considered the external auditor’s review
of the pension assets and liabilities, including the views of
PwC’s in-house expert valuations and actuarial teams (in
respect of key assumptions and methodologies applied
in the valuation of the liabilities and certain assets). PwC
also obtained third party investment manager control
reports and other supporting evidence to identify any
inconsistencies in attributed year-end values.
Noting that the Pensions Regulator was taking an increased
interest in trustee independence, the Committee also
discussed management’s relationship with the trustee.
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Exceptional items including Alternative Performance Measures
Issue
Action taken by Committee
Outcome/future actions
During 2021, management
proposed a number of matters
to consider classifying as
exceptional items. (See note
2.2 to the financial statements
for a summary of exceptional
items in 2021.) (See an
explanation of the exceptional
items policy on page 188.)
The Committee continued its increased scrutiny of the
application of the Group’s policy on exceptional items,
spending considerable time reviewing and challenging
management’s classification. The Committee scrutinised in
particular the definition of reorganisation and restructuring
costs qualifying to be disclosed as exceptional items and
took into account the views of the external auditor. The
Committee requested management review the policy to
provide additional clarification.
The Committee also took into account the results of the FRC’s
‘thematic review’ of Alternative Performance Measure (APMs),
noting that elements of ITV’s APM disclosures were highlighted
as best practice, based on the FRC’s limited scope review of the
disclosures in ITV’s 2020 Annual Report. As part of this review,
the FRC also wrote to the Chairman, noting instances where
our disclosure regarding APMs could be improved, including
clarifying the labelling of APMs and changes to the profit
to cash conversion ratio calculation. The Committee
considered the disclosures regarding APMs in the 2021
Annual Report, ensuring they reflected the comments
and recommendations of the FRC.
Following management’s response to the
Committee’s challenges, the Committee was
able to approve the revised policy and conclude
that the final approach taken was appropriate,
including fully recognising the observations
raised by the FRC.
The Committee also recognised that
management had continued to challenge itself
and exercise discipline on the categorisation
of costs as exceptional items, ensuring that the
policy had been applied in a consistent and
disciplined way and the amounts were clearly
disclosed in the Annual Report.
The Committee noted that it would continue
to review the exceptional items policy and
definitions regularly, considering evolving
regulatory scrutiny.
Legal provisions – Box Clever
Issue
Action taken by Committee
Outcome/future actions
ITV is subject to ongoing legal
disputes where the outcome
is not certain, including the
quantum of liability in respect
of the Box Clever pension
scheme deficit.
Throughout 2021, the Committee reviewed updates on the
Box Clever case and liability from the General Counsel and
Company Secretary and Group CFO & COO. In addition, the
Committee Chair met with the external legal advisers and
actuaries supporting ITV to understand their perspectives
on the dispute.
The Committee considered the response of and management’s
interactions with the Pensions Regulator, views of external
actuarial and legal advisers and the level of provision for the
case, noting that it would be important to make full disclosure
of the high level of uncertainty of the final outcome and the
legal process, which could continue for a number of years.
The Committee agreed that the best estimate
provision and disclosure had been made in respect
of Box Clever, supported by the advice of the
Company’s actuarial and legal advisers, and
based on the IAS 19 valuation as well as the latest
available information regarding the pension
scheme (received by the Company during 2021),
and most likely outcomes. See note 3.5 to the
financial statements.
Other significant issues
Acquisition-related liabilities
Issue
Action taken by Committee
Outcome/future actions
The complexity and potential
scale of the expected earnouts
of company acquisitions can
result in the potential total
liability for earnouts being
a significant business liability.
This was particularly the case
with the Talpa acquisition,
which was determined and
settled during the year.
The most material acquisition earnout liability for ITV related
to the acquisition of Talpa. The Committee received regular
updates regarding management’s estimated range of possible
final Talpa consideration, supported by the conclusions of
external experts and advisers. On receiving the independent
arbiter’s final conclusion on the amount due to the vendor in
respect of the Talpa earnout, which resulted in an additional
€125 million payment above the amount previously provided,
the Committee received a detailed analysis of the judgements
that had not been determined in accordance with the Group’s
expectations and the reasons for this (and any lessons to be
learnt from this which should be considered in negotiating and
monitoring future acquisitions).
The Committee also received a detailed update on the post-
acquisition performance of all significant previous acquisitions,
including performance against the main earnout clauses,
expected returns on investment and key strategic and
intangible benefits.
The Committee was satisfied that, with regard to
the Talpa final payment, the additional amount
payable, resulting from the inclusion of certain
streams of revenue excluded from management’s
initial estimates, was within the quantum of the
range of the potential final determination of the
liability as previously disclosed.
The Committee ensured clear disclosure in the
Annual Report of the range for all of the potential
outstanding earn out liabilities. See note 3.1.5 to
the financial statements.
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Tax – IR35
Issue
Action taken by Committee
Outcome/future actions
From April 2020 the
responsibility for undertaking
IR35 employment status
assessments, and where
necessary withholding
PAYE and paying NICs,
passed to the employer,
rather than remaining
with individuals and their
personal service companies.
The Committee considered updates from management on
developments in the application of IR35 and HMRC’s position
as regards the tax status and treatment of ‘front of camera’
presenters who were not employees. The Committee
reviewed the status of discussions with HMRC at the half
year and supported the provision of £3 million to cover
historical liabilities.
During the latter part of 2021, the Committee considered
further updates demonstrating the change in HMRC’s
position, following the outcome of certain non-ITV related
tribunal cases, since the half year. Given the developments,
management proposed a significant increase in the provision
for these liabilities to £36 million, mostly related to prior
years. Management proposed to classify those amounts
related to prior years as exceptional costs given their
materiality and nature.
The Committee considered and supported
management’s proposed increased provision
and proposed accounting treatment, taking into
account the external auditor’s views.
The Committee acknowledged that the outcome
of ITV’s negotiations with HMRC and the
implications for the relevant ‘front of camera’
individuals and the Company would be kept
under review.
Going concern and viability assessments
Issue
Action taken by Committee
Outcome/future actions
In light of the continuing
uncertainty over the economic
recovery and the evolving
impact of the pandemic,
the Committee felt it was
important to again apply
enhanced scrutiny to
management’s assumptions,
stress testing and scenario
analyses supporting the
going concern and viability
statements as well as seeking
impartial external views on
ITV’s viability.
The Committee reviewed and challenged management’s
process and assessment of going concern, longer-term
prospects and viability by considering forecast cash flows, base
case and downside scenario analysis, the results of further
testing of those scenarios, and other principal risks, including
continuing uncertainty in the economic recovery.
In reaching its view, the Committee also considered: (i) analyst
and other expert commentary to understand the wider market
views on the Group’s future financial performance and viability;
(ii) financial forecasts (iii) the Group’s financing facilities
including covenant tests and future funding plans; and (iv)
the external auditor’s findings and conclusions on this matter.
Accepting management’s responses to the challenge, the
Committee agreed that the three year period selected for
the viability outlook was the appropriate time period.
The Committee also considered the adequacy and accuracy
of the disclosures in the 2021 Annual Report in respect of
the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern and its
future viability.
Following this thorough assessment, the
Committee considered the extent of the
assessment made by management to be
appropriate and recommended the draft
viability statement and related disclosures (for
inclusion in the 2021 Annual Report) for approval
by the Board. The Committee also concluded that
it remained appropriate to adopt the going
concern basis of accounting in preparing the
consolidated financial statements without
a material uncertainty, and that the disclosure
in the Annual Report, in respect of the Group’s
ability to continue as a going concern, was
appropriate. See pages 178 and 179.
The Committee will continue to monitor the Group’s
going concern basis and viability assessment.
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Risk management and internal controls
Our role
Items covered
• Assist the Board to
Reviewed:
establish and articulate
overall risk appetite and
oversee and advise the
Board on specific strategic
risk exposures and
mitigations
• Review the risk
identification and
mitigation processes
and undertake deep dives
into high-risk business
areas or processes
• Review the effectiveness
of the internal control
and risk management
processes
• Biannually, principal and emerging risks and
uncertainties and associated mitigations
• Progress in implementing the enhanced
ERM framework
• Progress to improve operational risk management
•
capability for security, duty of care, and crisis
management areas
Insurance arrangements and policies, including
how those support mitigation of principal and
other financial risks
• Progress to implement the financial controls
framework and effectiveness review, including
update on ITV Together programme
• Ongoing programme of improvements to technology
and IT related controls and governance environment
• Oversee appropriate
• Mapping of the internal audit plan to key principal
whistleblowing and fraud
prevention arrangements
and operational risk areas to understand assurance
coverage
• Outcome of the work of internal audit as part of
•
delivering the annual plan
Implementation of updated Speaking Up policy and
report on actions taken actions taken to strengthen
Speaking Up processes and increase awareness
across the organisation
• Data privacy and governance update
• Biannually, compliance framework and monitoring
• Group Approvals Framework and M&A approvals
process and approved amendments
Undertook deep dives on the following key principal
and operational risks to understand and challenge the
related governance, risk management, mitigation,
controls and compliance with risk appetite around
those risks:
• Duty of care and health and safety
• Pensions risk management
• Data privacy, security and strategy related risks,
• Compliance framework, incorporating the anti-
bribery and corruption risk assessment
• Fraud risk and fraud prevention, detection and
controls framework
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Risk management
During 2021, the Committee continued to
consider the process for identifying and
managing risk within the business and
assisted the Board in relation to compliance
with the UK Code and FRC guidance.
Recognising the evolving nature of the
risk landscape and the unprecedented
challenges presented by COVID-19, in
2020 ITV began a project to improve the
enterprise risk management framework.
During 2021, ITV continued to build on the
refreshed framework, to improve the way
risks are identified, managed and reported
to the Board. Embedding the enterprise risk
management framework and assessing
management’s response to the material
risks to ITV was an area of continued focus
during the year, with the Committee
providing challenge and direction as
appropriate. The Committee Chair also
regularly met with management and the
Group Risk team to further understand
progress and provide guidance on the
implementation of enhancements. Further
information on ITV’s risk management
approach, including details of our principal
risks and our processes for identifying and
responding to principal and emerging risks
are set out on pages 72 to 87.
Internal controls
The Board has overall responsibility for
overseeing and reviewing the effectiveness
of the Group’s framework for financial,
compliance and operating internal controls.
The Governance Report within this 2021
Annual Report provides many examples
of how the Board monitors the
effectiveness of the internal operating
controls – for example, please see the
Non-Financial Information Statement
on pages 70 and 71. For example, the
Committee received updates on the
IT control environment, cyber security
and compliance framework.
Throughout 2021, on behalf of the Board,
the Committee has continued to review
the Group’s compliance policies, procedures,
global monitoring activities, business risk
assessment plans and results, including
the operation of and reports to the
independent third-party (Safecall)
managed whistleblower hotline.
The Committee also supports the Board
in assessing the effectiveness of the
framework in respect of financial controls.
The primary responsibility for the operation
of the framework for internal control is
delegated to management. The framework
can only provide reasonable and not
absolute assurance against material
misstatement or loss. Key control
procedures are designed to manage
rather than eliminate risk.
Data privacy
Enhancing the way data is used across the business remains a core element of delivering ITV’s More
than TV strategy, and in 2021, the business introduced an ambitious transformational programme
to deliver this ambition. Given this focus for the business, one of the continued areas of scrutiny for
the Committee in 2021 was overseeing the risks and associated practices related to data privacy
and governance, to help deliver our ambition in a safe and compliant manner.
The Data Protection Officer and her team have been focused on enhancing the Group’s data
protection framework, which has included working closely with the Chief Data Officer to implement
effective data mitigations to ensure ITV is able to leverage data in an appropriate way when
delivering its data strategy. The Committee stressed the need to ensure that data privacy and cyber
specialists are embedded into the data transformation programme, to support embedding privacy
and security by design principles into new processes and activities from the outset, and this has been
a key enhancement implemented during 2021.
The Committee and management recognise that the digital transformation the Group is undergoing
requires close scrutiny, given the significant changes and cultural shifts taking place across the
business. During the year, the Committee reviewed and discussed deep dive reports on the
interconnected risks associated with data protection, security and cyber, and data strategy to
understand what risks could impact on our compliance position or could result in ITV being unable
to extract value from our data. In addition, an internal audit review was performed on the data
strategy governance arrangements in order to understand how key programme and change risks are
being managed. The Committee has requested a further internal audit for 2022 to gain independent
assurance on the development of the data protection and governance framework.
Duty of care
The Committee received an in-depth report on steps taken to enhance Duty of Care processes and
reduce the risk posed by Duty of Care issues. This included a ‘deep dive’ into both the ITV Studios
and M&E Duty of Care risks. The Committee welcomed the progress made and active steps taken
to reduce risk through management’s Duty of Care framework review and enhancement project,
with the support of external experts. Enhancements included a Participants’ Assistance Programme
outlining appropriate levels of aftercare for participants in high-risk shows and the use of
appropriately qualified clinicians to work on programmes. The Committee encouraged further
steps being taken to ensure that the business is operating within an acceptable level of risk appetite.
Internal financial controls
During 2021 the Committee has overseen the design and implementation of improvements to ITV’s
financial reporting controls framework. A Head of Financial Governance and Compliance was
recruited in 2021 and, together with her team, is responsible for designing and implementing the
controls operating model and leading the risk and controls workstream on the HR and Finance
Transformation Programme (ITV Together). The core components of the controls operating model
include performing annual scoping and risk assessments (define), design and implementation of
the financial reporting controls framework and associated policies (optimise), delivery of focused
training sessions and communications to further enhance the risk and controls culture (embed) and
finally leveraging technology to facilitate real-time monitoring and testing (assure). By the end of
2021, the team had made significant progress against the define, optimise and embed components
of the controls operating model and will be focusing on strengthening ITV’s monitoring and testing
approach to financial controls in 2022. For the subsidiary companies, control operating model
baseline activities are underway.
The Committee Chair met regularly with management and the Financial Governance and
Compliance team to receive more detailed updates on the control operating model implementation
and to ensure that the Committee’s key concerns were being appropriately addressed. Similarly,
external consultants were also engaged throughout the year to review the design of the financial
reporting controls framework to ensure it is fit for purpose and in line with Committee of Sponsoring
Organizations (COSO) principles. The Committee welcomed the actions taken by management and
the plans to continue enhancing the financial controls (and related IT general controls) across the
Group and will closely monitor the ongoing improvements during 2022.
Further, ITV continues to address the key improvement opportunities identified in relation to
its IT environment (including legacy systems), prioritising its IT controls over financial systems.
Throughout the year, the Committee obtained regular progress updates in respect of this area,
providing independent challenge on the roadmap, including prioritisation of activities in light of
ITV’s digital transformation strategy.
The Committee is satisfied that the Group’s
internal financial controls operated
effectively throughout the year. This
was principally based on a programme
of internal audit reviews, monthly Group
review of subsidiary balance sheets,
and independent review of monthly
management self-assessments submitted
by subsidiary companies. In addition, ITV
runs a suite of automated analytics that
enable monitoring of financial transactions
across Group systems and monthly
exceptions management.
The updates to the fraud prevention
framework were presented to the
Committee to reflect the ongoing changes
to the processes and controls within the
BSC, and their increasing use of third-party
tools and data analytics to proactively
monitor fraud risk. Plans to further develop
the fraud risk management framework
across the business were also discussed
and guided by the Committee.
The Committee is conscious of the key
risks and impact that significant change
programmes will have on ITV’s control
environment, and therefore, has received
regular updates from management and
assurance from specific internal audits on
key projects. Given the global scope and
magnitude of the ITV Together programme,
the Committee has closely monitored the
programme’s progress and has provided
strong governance and robust challenge
to support management in its delivery. In
2022, the Committee intends to continue
with focused bi-annual sessions with the
programme sponsors and leadership team.
Speaking Up
The Committee reviewed the roll-out of
the new Speaking Up policy and the revised
elements of the framework. Whilst pleased
with the improvements and progress made,
the Committee also recognised that there
is a need for a continuing programme to
drive awareness and regularly refresh
and communicate on Speaking Up. The
Committee received a detailed report on
any significant issues raised during 2021
via the independent whistleblowing facility
or other channels available within ITV.
The report included an assessment of any
identified trends in complaints, the nature
of any noteworthy allegations, the corrective
measures implemented to address
substantiated complaints, and the process
applied to triage and correctly investigate
complaints. The Board also received this
report. The Committee also considered
the actions taken by management as
a result of the investigations’ conclusions
and recommended additional actions where
appropriate, overseeing the investigation
of all significant issues reported.
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Taking into consideration the Committee’s
recommendations, during 2022 there
will be a more targeted approach to
communications and awareness campaigns
for different parts of the business,
recognising that different cultures,
the current change agenda and evolving
strategy all impact the number and type
of concerns raised by employees.
Climate-related governance
The Committee plays a key role in the
governance of climate-related risks and
opportunities and reporting against
environmental and climate risk related
regulatory reporting requirements. In
2021 the Committee discussed progress
in respect of the Group’s strategy for
compliance with TCFD on three occasions,
including a focused session on ITV’s progress
in reporting against the TCFD framework,
with PwC’s input. Management set out its
progress in meeting the requirements
across the four pillars of the key TCFD
disclosure recommendations and
presented draft Annual Report disclosures.
This enabled the Directors to consider
the climate-change risks and transition
risks associated with achieving the Paris
agreement goals, when preparing and
signing off the Annual Report and Accounts.
The Committee also reviewed during the
year the methodology and internal quality
assurance processes over GHG emissions
reporting, following the implementation
of a new environmental reporting system
across ITV.
The Committee is encouraged by the
significant progress made by management
to meet the minimum requirements for
TCFD disclosures, and in starting to deliver
against ITV’s ambitious environmental
targets. The Committee will continue
to monitor progress to enhance TCFD
reporting to move from minimum
compliance to best practice and ensure
that robust plans and roadmaps are in
place to meet the commitments and
targets provided. In addition, for 2022,
the Committee has requested external
independent assurance over emissions
reporting. A key area of focus for the
Committee during 2022 will be ensuring
the Company responds appropriately to
the rapidly changing and new regulations
and reporting requirements.
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Climate-related governance
Our role
Items covered
Review of ITV’s global
environmental and climate
risk mitigation strategy,
targets, progress and
reporting in line with the
Task Force on Climate-
related Financial Disclosures
(TCFD) and other
environmental reporting
requirements.
Reviewed:
• methodology and internal quality assurance
processes over Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
emissions reporting
• progress towards reporting against the TCFD
framework, including ITV climate scenario
analysis and consequential risks and impact
(including financial)
• roadmap to achieve Net Zero and other
environmental commitments and targets
Assessing the integrity of
the targets and data included
in the reporting and obtaining
appropriate assurance on
its completeness,
reasonableness and accuracy.
Internal audit
Our role
Items covered
• Monitor and review the
• Performed an assessment of internal audit
effectiveness and
independence of the
internal audit function
• Review and approve the
internal audit plan and
monitor its
implementation,
approving any
amendments to the plan
• Review the continued
appropriateness of the
outsourcing of the internal
audit function, oversee the
tendering of the internal
audit contract and
approve the appointment
of the internal auditor and
the remuneration and
terms of engagement
independence and effectiveness
• Reviewed and approved the internal audit charter
• Approval of the 2021 internal audit plan
• Review of reports from the internal auditor, including
a review of activity, key conclusions and
recommendations arising from audits, status reports
on action plans and regulatory and programme
compliance
• Annual review of risk acceptance of audit findings
• Meeting regularly with the internal auditor in the
absence of management
• Assessment of the appropriateness of ITV’s current
outsourced model for internal audit and approval of
management’s proposal to proceed with an internal
audit tender
• Oversight of the internal audit tender process and
approval of recommendation (following a full RFP
process) to appoint EY as the preferred supplier for
Internal Audit services from 1 April 2022
Our auditors
The Group’s internal audit activity is
currently outsourced to Deloitte LLP
(Deloitte), who report directly to the
Committee. The Committee continues
to support ITV’s current model of a fully
outsourced internal audit function,
which allows best practice in terms
of risk-based approach and auditing
techniques, continuous robust and
independent challenge, and the use
of specialists in high-risk areas and
across the various geographies.
The Committee has kept under review the
internal audit relationship with Deloitte and
the procedures to ensure that appropriate
independence of the internal audit function
is maintained. The effectiveness of the
internal audit is assessed over the year
using a number of measures, including
the Committee’s private sessions with
the internal audit partners, reports
from internal audit on the development
and delivery of the internal audit plan,
communication of results of reviews
performed and the completion of
agreed actions arising from reviews. The
Committee also undertook a focused review
of the effectiveness of the auditor, which
included a private discussion between the
Committee members, Chairman and Group
CFO & COO (who also represented
management’s views on the quality of the
internal audit provision). The discussion was
guided by a series of questions circulated by
the Committee Chair, which included
internal auditor independence and
objectivity, resourcing, involvement in
business discussions on risk, and
communications between the internal
auditor and the Committee. Having carefully
considered the findings arising from the
deliberations and measures described
above, the Committee was satisfied that
the quality, experience and expertise of
the internal auditor was appropriate, the
internal auditor remained independent of
management and the Group was receiving
an effective internal audit service.
As Deloitte had been ITV’s internal auditor
for a number of years and in line with
recommended practice, in 2021 the
Committee oversaw a competitive tender
process for internal audit services, led by
a panel composed of Committee members
and management. As part of the tender
process, ITV issued a formal Request for
Proposal (RFP) to five audit firms and two
firms (one being the incumbent) confirmed
a willingness to participate in the process.
The evaluation criteria were pre-agreed in
the RFP, which included quality and clarity
of internal audit approach, demonstration
of a challenging and sceptical mindset, the
depth of understanding of ITV’s business,
its industry sector and related risks, team
experience (including specialist and
geographical resource), and an assessment
of independence and objectivity. The two
firms prepared detailed written proposals
and presented these to the panel. Following
a robust assessment of the proposals
against the evaluation criteria, the panel’s
view was that both firms could undertake
high-quality internal audit reviews for
ITV. However, in light of ITV’s strategy
and the need to safeguard the continuing
independence and objectivity of the internal
audit, the panel unanimously recommended
to the Committee the appointment of EY,
which the Committee approved. A key focus
for the Committee in 2022 will be ensuring
a smooth and effective transition of the
internal audit services to EY, including
ensuring full internal auditor independence
and objectivity and the development of an
appropriate audit plan for the final nine
months of 2022.
Prior to the start of the year, the Committee
considered and approved the 2021 internal
audit plan for operational, financial and
technology controls, which was structured
to align with ITV’s strategic drivers and
principal risks. Audits continued to be
performed remotely through 2021, with
a view to site visits resuming in 2022, where
possible. 14 internal audits were completed
for the year, (with a further four to be
presented to the Committee) covering,
amongst other areas and controls,
certain aspects of operational risk
management, core treasury processes,
Global Entertainment integration,
External auditor
Our role
Items covered
• Oversee the relationship
with the external auditor
• Review the quality and
effectiveness of the
external audit, including
approval of the annual
audit plan, and the
procedures and controls
designed to ensure auditor
independence and
objectiveness
• Review and make
recommendations to the
Board on the tendering
of the external audit
contract, and the
appointment,
remuneration and terms
of engagement of the
external auditor
• Meeting with the external auditor in the absence
of management
• PwC’s reports on the H1 audit review and FY21 audit
progress, conclusions and findings
• Auditor opinion on FY21 financial statements
• Recommendation to reappoint PwC at 2022 AGM
• Approval of revised non-audit services policy
• Approval of 2021 audit fee proposal
• Review, challenge and subsequent approval of H1
audit review and FY21 audit strategy/plans
• Consideration of PwC’s transition observations
throughout the year
• Consideration of the ongoing independence of the
external auditor and the evidence of quality and
effectiveness in the delivery of the audit
• Review and approval of proposed external audit
quality indicators (AQIs) and subsequent
consideration of performance against these post
the FY21 audit
Broadcast and Technology contract
management processes, the Health &
Safety framework across UK and
international businesses, ITV Netherlands’
compliance with key financial controls
and Group minimum standards,
management’s approach to monitoring
of culture and assessment against ITV
values, Group data strategy (readiness
review), and a review of the processes
in place over journalistic standards and
integrity of content. The internal audits
performed provided assurance over areas
deemed to be of greater risk and relative
importance to the Group in 2021.
The internal auditor also provides the
Committee (and therefore the Board) with
valuable insight on the culture across the
Group and the reflection of the Group’s
values by management and other
employees. A cultural assessment is
routinely incorporated in audit ratings.
The Committee is satisfied that, during
2021, delivery of the approved internal
audit strategy and plan provided timely and
appropriate assurance on the effectiveness
of controls in place to successfully manage
relevant Group principal risks. The successful
transition from Deloitte to EY as the internal
audit provider in 2022 will be an important
Committee responsibility to ensure
continued confidence in an effective
internal audit.
External audit effectiveness and quality
The Committee is cognisant of the fact that
assessing audit quality is a key responsibility
within its remit which stakeholders look to
the Committee to discharge. Set out below
are the specific areas which the Committee
focused on in assessing audit quality,
including relevant outcomes:
• External evaluations of auditor and
FRC’s Audit Quality Review (AQR): The
Committee received a summary from PwC
of the FRC’s latest report on audit quality
as it related to PwC with the lead audit
partner providing details of the conclusions
on both FRC AQR reviews and PwC internal
quality reviews of audits he had led.
• Identification of Audit Quality
Indicators (AQIs): Following publication of
the FRC’s thematic review on AQIs in May,
ITV agreed to participate in a pilot project
for the FRC on AQIs. The Committee
discussed the FRC’s example AQIs and how
the AQIs might be measured, particularly
as some would require qualitative
measurement. Acknowledging the
challenges of setting meaningful AQIs
(particularly in the first year of PwC as
the external auditor), the Committee
agreed AQIs that took into consideration
the experience of the engagement team,
technology used in the audit, sharing of
insights and communication with the
Committee. The Committee found these
AQIs helpful in discussions with PwC
regarding audit quality, however will
continue to work towards finessing these
as appropriate. Management and PwC
will discuss the extent to which each AQI
worked and was useful, with each other
and with the FRC during 2022.
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• Audit plan and strategy: The Committee
discussed PwC’s detailed audit plan and
strategy including the intended scope
of the audit, identification of significant
and elevated audit risks and the level of
materiality proposed. The Committee
welcomed the inclusion of ITV’s US
business as a full scope audit and,
following discussion and challenge,
agreed the methodology adopted for
determining materiality and the scope
of the audit in respect of ITV’s other
international businesses. This also
included considerable challenge of the
audit fee proposal. The Committee
recognised that it had been developed
‘bottom up’, took into account the
transition procedures required and
properly reflected the effort required
to deliver an audit of the quality required
by the Committee and ensure that
PwC received a fair, sustainable fee and
financial return that supports this. The
Committee sought assurance that PwC
would liaise with management post
the 2021 audit to identify aspects of
the audit process, from both the auditor
and management perspective, where
efficiency and effectiveness
improvements could be made.
The Committee subsequently
approved the fee proposal.
• Auditor’s reporting (written and verbal)
to the Committee: The Committee
reviewed the effectiveness of the audit
throughout the year, taking into account
(amongst other things) the delivery of
the approved audit strategy, approach
to adjusting the audit to reflect changes
in risk assessment during the year and
insight and robust challenge around the
key accounting judgements and in dealing
with management.
• Interaction with auditor: The numerous
interactions with the auditor provided
the Committee with an insight into the
quality of the audit process and the audit
team, and with the opportunity to assess
the auditor’s challenge of management’s
views. The Committee felt that PwC
challenged management robustly
on key judgements and estimates,
accounting treatments and disclosures,
for example in relation to deal debt,
acquisition earnouts, royalty accruals,
going concern underlying assumptions
and the Box Clever provision.
• The Committee also reviewed PwC’s 2021
transparency report, particularly to assess
and understand firm-wide mechanisms
to support quality assurance and AQIs to
determine whether the firm’s culture and
ethos supports the appropriate focus on
audit quality.
• Internal evaluation session: Drawing
the above assessments together, and key
to the determination of a high-quality
audit, was an internal assessment session
attended by the Committee members,
the Board Chairman and the Group
CFO & COO regarding the external auditor
towards the end of the audit. It was felt
a confidential and structured discussion,
rather than a questionnaire survey, would
enable a more open evaluation. This
session was informed by circulating in
advance the themes to be covered in
the meeting, which included the audit’s
planning and strategy, execution of the
agreed process and conclusion, team
performance and communications,
firm-wide procedures (including
resources, support and culture), and
insights and reporting PwC shared with
the Committee. The Group CFO & COO’s
input to this session was informed by
a prior meeting with relevant members
of the finance team, and other teams,
to ensure that feedback was obtained
from all levels and divisions of the finance
team that interacted with PwC. The
Committee spent time discussing the
degree of challenge and robustness of
approach to the audit.
The assessments above enabled the
Committee to conclude in its evaluation
session that PwC has provided a high-
quality audit, questioned key accounting
issues, and exercised professional scepticism
in its challenge of management’s
assumptions, judgments and assertions.
The Committee appreciated in particular
the quality of communications between
the auditor and both management and the
Committee, PwC’s transition observations,
and the constructive challenge supported
by the effective use of PwC internal experts
and specialists, exemplified by the open and
frank views and useful recommendations
set out in the IT general controls review.
Following the Committee’s assessment
session, the Committee Chair and Group
CFO & COO held a meeting with the
PwC lead audit partner to discuss the
findings of the assessment and further
opportunities to enhance the external
audit process for 2022.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Audit tender and rotation
In light of the length of the former external
auditor’s (KPMG) tenure, in 2019 the
Committee led a tender process for the
appointment of the external auditor,
with the appointment of the new external
auditor, PwC, effective from 1 January 2021.
The current PwC audit partner, Jonathan
Lambert, has been in place since the
beginning of PwC’s tenure at ITV. The
Company will put the external audit
contract out to public tender at least every
ten years and will seek the rotation of the
audit partner in line with regulation and
professional and ethical guidance.
The Company confirms that it has complied
with the provisions of the CMA‘s Statutory
Audit Services for Large Companies
Market Investigation (Mandatory Use of
Competitive Tender Processes and Audit
Committee Responsibilities) Order 2014
for the financial year under review.
Independence and objectivity
In addition to the above assessment of
the effectiveness and quality of the audit,
the Committee seeks to assess and ensure
the objectivity and independence of the
external auditor through:
• Focus on the assignment and rotation
of key personnel
• The adequacy of audit resource
• The Policy on the Independence and
Objectivity of the Audit Independence
policy (updated in 2021), which includes
a policy on the provision of non-audit
services and the hiring of former
external auditor employees
Non-audit services
During the year, the Committee reviewed
and agreed revisions to the non-audit
services policy contained in ITV’s Policy
on the Independence and Objectivity of
External Auditors. This ITV Policy is
available on the governance section
of ITV’s website: www.itvplc.com/investors/
governance/policies.
In accordance with this Policy, in the 2021
financial year, the Company incurred fees
for non-audit services of approximately
£155,000 (2020: £295,000) which related
principally to the review of the interim
financial information (2020: £215,000).
The £80,000 additional fees incurred
for work by KPMG in 2020 were in
respect of audit related assurance over
the government salary compensation
scheme in the Netherlands. The services
are permissible under the 2019 Ethical
Standard, and are considered to be
a closely related non-audit service.
For information on audit fees see
note 2.1 to the financial statements.
Committee conclusions and
confirmations
Fair, balanced and understandable
The Board is required to provide its opinion
on whether it considers that the Company’s
2021 Annual Report and Accounts,
taken as a whole, are fair, balanced and
understandable, and provide the
information necessary for shareholders
to assess the Company’s position and
performance, business model and strategy.
The Committee discussed the preparation
of the Company’s 2021 Annual Report
and Accounts with the Board. To support
the Board in providing its opinion, the
Committee considered the assigned
responsibilities for content and overall
cohesion and clarity of the Annual Report
and Accounts and assessed the quality
of reporting through discussion with
management and the external auditor.
This included ensuring that feedback
from stakeholders and other individuals
had been addressed and that examples
of best practice had carefully been
considered in the context of the Group.
Specific areas of challenge included the
presentation of exceptional items, the
equal prominence of GAAP and non GAAP
financial measures within the front half
of the Annual Report and Accounts and
the description of going concern and
viability statement assumptions.
The process included considering each
of the elements (fair, balanced and
understandable) on an individual basis
to ensure our reporting was comprehensive
in a clear and consistent way, and in
compliance with accounting standards
and regulatory and legal requirements
and guidelines. The reviews carried out
by internal functions within the Company
and independent reviewers have been
undertaken with a view to ensuring that
all material matters have been reflected in
the Company’s 2021 Annual Report and
Accounts and that they correctly reflect:
• The Company’s position and performance
as described on pages 32 to 47
• The Company’s business model as
described on pages 24 and 25
• The Company’s strategy, as described
on pages 22 and 23
Following our review, we advised the
Board that the Company’s Annual Report
and Accounts for the year ended
31 December 2021 were fair, balanced
and understandable.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportGovernance | Remuneration Report
Remuneration
Report
Mary Harris, Chair, Remuneration Committee
In this report
Dear Shareholder
The purpose of this report is to set
out for shareholders the principles
and policy we apply to remuneration
for our Directors and to update you
on how we have applied these for
the financial year ended 31 December
2021. The report also aims to
demonstrate how our current
approach and our Remuneration
Policy align with our strategy,
support the retention of key
talent and reward them for strong
performance.
Read more
Remuneration review
(from page 140)
Committee governance
(from page 142)
Directors’ Remuneration Policy
(from page 143)
Annual Report on Remuneration
(from page 146)
Remuneration Policy application in 2021
(from page 146)
Remuneration Policy application in 2022
(from page 150)
Other disclosures
(from page 152)
This has been a year in which the business
continued to execute its More Than TV
strategy and delivered a strong set of
financial results, notwithstanding the
ongoing challenges presented by an
uncertain market. We are extremely
grateful to all colleagues for their hard
work and commitment.
As the Company entered 2021, the UK
was still facing considerable uncertainty
as a result of the pandemic. While COVID
continued to pose many challenges, the
resilience and team spirit of our colleagues
means that the business remained steadfast
in executing our aim to be a digitally led
media and entertainment company that
creates and brings our brilliant content
to audiences wherever, whenever and
however they choose.
ITV Studios has delivered a strong financial
and operational performance as it has
continued to diversify by genre, geography
and customer. It produces a broad range of
quality programming that forms a core part
of the content offering on our own channels
and streaming services. In addition,
two-thirds of ITV Studios revenue comes
from external customers. Our Media &
Entertainment business is the home of
our family of channels and platforms.
It is predominantly advertising-led and we
continue to build on our close relationship
with advertisers and are in a powerful
position to provide them with more creative
marketing opportunities on linear and
addressable advertising on streaming.
In addition we have a growing subscription
business in the UK and internationally.
Delivery across the portfolio of channels
and platforms has contributed to M&E’s
significant success in 2021. The advertising
market proved to be more buoyant than
forecast at the start of the year and the
business has outperformed expectations.
Total external revenue grew strongly up
24%, adjusted EBITA was up 42% at £813m
and earnings per share increased by 40%.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
The Board recognises the importance of
the ordinary dividend for ITV shareholders
and we were delighted to reinstate it with
a proposed 3.3p final dividend for 2021.
Our ability to pay a dividend has been
supported by our strong balance sheet
and free cashflow.
Our approach to pay
Over a sustained period the Committee has
sought to take a measured approach to pay.
In 2018 and 2019 discretion was exercised
to scale back incentive outcomes, and in
2020 quick proactive steps were taken in
response to COVID by cancelling bonus
awards. The Board and Management Board
also voluntarily reduced salaries and fees
by 20% for seven months in 2020.
In 2021, we proposed a new Remuneration
Policy to our shareholders to take into
account our strategic priorities and the
highly cyclical nature of the sector.
After an extensive review and shareholder
consultation process we concluded that
annual grants of restricted shares provided
a more effective mechanism for aligning
executive and shareholder interests over
the long term.
This alternative structure is simple.
It reflects practices in the global talent
markets in which we operate, rewards
strategic investment that delivers long-
term sustainable performance rather than
short-term gain, and enables the business
to remain agile in a dynamic and cyclical
sector where viewer behaviours continue
to evolve.
We were delighted to see that 92%
of shareholders supported our new
Remuneration Policy at the 2021 AGM.
Although the effectiveness of the revised
approach to pay can only be truly assessed
in the longer term, the pace of change
and ongoing cyclicality of the advertising
market observed over the past year has
only served to reinforce the appropriateness
of the new model for ITV.
important for our incentives to be fully
aligned with successful execution of the
strategy and investment proposition
presented to our shareholders. The
Committee will continue to keep our
incentive arrangements under review to
ensure that they drive the right behaviours
across the wider management team and
will closely monitor any potential impact
that the second phase of our More than ITV
Strategy and the launch of ITVX later this
year, has on existing arrangements.
Wider engagement
In considering executive pay, the Committee
remains mindful of the approach to pay and
benefits for our colleagues. ITV continues
to be committed to ensuring all colleagues
earn at least the Living Wage, and ITV
voluntarily publishes its ethnicity pay gap
data alongside its statutory gender pay
gap disclosures. As Committee Chair, I was
pleased to join an Ambassador meeting
with ITV employees to share the
Committee’s approach to remuneration
in the wider context, and answer questions
on the executive pay. As a Committee,
we will continue to explore how we can
further engage with our stakeholders on
pay matters.
At the AGM, I will be stepping down as
Chair of the Committee and handing over
to Sharmila Nebhrajani. I would like to take
this opportunity to thank shareholders
and investors for their support and time
taken to engage with us over recent years.
At various points during my tenure, the
Committee has engaged with investors
on key decisions relating to pay for our
executive team. The Committee has
valued the insight provided by our major
investors and the feedback received has
often helped to shape and guide our
decisions as a Committee.
We have sought to provide clear and
transparent disclosure of our pay decisions,
and I hope that this year’s report once again
provides insight into the Committee’s
decision-making.
Mary Harris
Chair, Remuneration Committee
3 March 2022
Incentive outcomes
As disclosed in last year’s Remuneration
Report, the targets for 2021 took into
account expectations regarding the
advertising market for 2021, trading
conditions, and planned investments
which were essential to delivery of the
long-term strategy.
At the time the targets were set, a third
lockdown was in effect in England and the
risk of further variants requiring ongoing
government intervention and restrictions
created significant uncertainties that
could impact both scripted and unscripted
programming, as well as the timing of major
sporting events. The financial targets for
the year were set in that context.
While the advertising market arguably
recovered faster than expected by most
industry commentators, in practice the
year end outcomes have very significantly
outperformed both internal and external
expectations from the start of the year.
The adjusted EBITA of £813m outperformed
the pre-pandemic result from 2019 by more
than 13%. This represents an outstanding
result. In addition, cash conversion has been
strong, and the business delivered costs
savings of £48m, which was towards the
top-end of the range targeted. The results
were achieved while still continuing with
our ambitious investment strategy and
achievement of key milestones.
The net effect of these results was that
the CEO and Group CFO & COO earned
a bonus of 96.38% and 95.12% of
maximum respectively. Given the scale
of outperformance in 2021, the continued
execution of strategic goals, and the
holistic review of performance taking
account factors such as progress on duty
of care, the Committee is satisfied that the
outcomes are fully warranted. One-third
of the bonus for both Executive Directors
will be deferred into shares, to ensure
continued alignment with the long-term
experience of our shareholders.
In light of the strong performance in the
year, the business was also delighted to
announce that discretion would be
exercised to increase the payout under
the colleague bonus. The bonus award
for the year would have been paid at the
maximum of £1,750, which the business
has increased to £2,000. The overall payout
under the colleague bonus for 2021 was
£6m. The business has also increased the
colleague bonus opportunity for future
years to the same level of £2,000.
year-on-year, the targets for this award
were obviously set prior to the onset of
the pandemic and therefore reflected
a more optimistic economic outlook and
this impacted the level of vesting for this
award. Although Family SOV performance
was strong, the growth in online viewing
fell short of the extremely challenging
targets that were set at the start of the
performance period. The overall vesting
outcome for the award is 35.82% of
the maximum. Awards to Executive
Directors will remain subject to a two
year holding period.
The single figure for 2021 is higher than the
figure for 2020. This was to be expected,
as pay levels for 2020 were exceptionally
reduced in response to the pandemic.
In practice, the single figure for the CEO
for 2021 is more comparable to the
outcome for 2019, when the business
delivered EBITA of £729 million.
Approach for 2022
For the coming year, the Committee intends
to continue to operate the Remuneration
Policy approved at last year’s AGM.
A salary increase of 3% has been applied
for both Executive Directors, which is in
line with increases received by the wider
workforce. Maximum opportunities under
the annual bonus and restricted share plan
will remain the same as for 2021.
For the 2022 bonus, the Committee has
determined that greater prominence should
be given to delivery of key ESG objectives
which are vital to our Social Purpose. For
2022, 10% of the bonus will be based on
a scorecard of ESG measures, linked to
our carbon footprint, the sustainability
of our UK productions and commissions
and progress towards our diversity goals.
The balance of the bonus will be based
on adjusted EBITA (60%), cash flow (10%)
and individual strategic objectives (20%).
While the Committee recognises the
importance of assessing our performance
in a more holistic way, it is recognised that
whenever new measures are included in
incentives schemes, the approach needs
to be closely monitored to ensure that the
measures are operating as intended. We
intend to keep our approach to assessment
of ESG performance under review and will
refine the approach as necessary in future
years. We will provide further disclosure of
both the targets and the outcomes in next
year’s Remuneration Report.
The 2019 Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP)
was assessed based on performance over
the three years to 31 December 2021.
Although profitability recovered in 2021 and
total non-advertising revenues grew by 24%
Consistent with our normal practices,
financial targets for the bonus have been
set taking into account internal and
external forecasts for Company and market
performance, as well as planned strategic
investments for the coming year. It is
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportGovernance | Remuneration Report continued
Overview of Remuneration Policy
How will executives be paid in 2022?
Fixed Pay
CEO salary:
Group CFO & COO salary:
• Salary increase of 3%
• Benefits package
£971,554
£695,096
in line with wider
workforce. No salary
increase was given
for 2021.
remains unchanged –
includes private medical
insurance and car-
related benefit.
• Pension contributions of
15% for the CEO and 9%
for the Group CFO & COO.
CEO pension to align with
workforce (9%) for 2023.
Annual bonus
Cash element 2/3 total bonus
Deferral into shares for three years 1/3 total bonus
2022 bonus metrics – measure and support execution of the strategy
For 2022, we have introduced an ESG scorecard into the bonus
60%
Adjusted EBITA: Profitability
of underlying business
Expand Studios globally
10%
Cash conversion: Effective
cash generation
Optimise Broadcast
• Cash element
CEO: up to 120% of
salary; Group CFO
& COO: up to 110%
of salary
• Deferred shares
CEO: up to 60% of
salary; Group CFO
& COO: up to 55%
of salary
• Both bonus
elements subject
to malus and
clawback
10% ESG scorecard
20%
Individual strategic:
Deliver strategic priorities
Supercharge Streaming
Restricted shares
Released after five years
• Annual grant: CEO: up to 132.5% of salary; Group CFO & COO:
up to 112.5% of salary – 50% discount to previous LTIP award level
• Release of shares subject to performance underpin: assessed
after year three – ability for Remuneration Committee to scale
back awards ifthe underpins are not met
• Awards subject to malus and clawback
Successful execution of strategy ultimately reflected in the share price
Simple structure – aligns with strategy and shareholders over the
long term
Retains key talent – aligned to global talent market and peer practices
Rewards strategic investment – delivery of long-term sustainable
performance, rather than short-term gain
Reflective of dynamic and cyclical nature of sector and viewer
behaviours, where business needs to remain agile and adapt
Focus on long-term stewardship of the brand
Shareholding guidelines
Guidelines apply in post, and extend beyond tenure
• In-post guideline – CEO: 400% of salary/Group CFO & COO: 225% of salary
• Applies for two years following departure – CEO: 265% of salary and Group
CFO & COO: 225% of salary
Remuneration for 2021 – What did Executive Directors earn during 2021?
Single figure remuneration at a glance
Carolyn McCall
Chris Kennedy
Salary
Benefits
Bonus
Share awards
Pension
Total £2,276,967
Total £3,503,834
Annual bonus Outcomes
2019 LTIP Outcome – legacy plan
CEO
(up to 180% of salary)
Group CFO & COO
(up to 165% of salary)
Total payout 96.38%
60%
5% 8.78% 22.5%
Adjusted EPS (40% weighting)
Total non-ad revenue (40% weighting)
Total payout 95.12%
ITV Family SOV (10% weighting)
60%
5% 8.9%
21.25%
Online viewing (10% weighting)
% of maximum
27.2%
0%
8.62%
0%
0%
50%
100%
Actual
Maximum
The 2019 LTIP vested at 35.82% of maximum. The award is subject to
a two year holding period.
EBITA
Cash conversion
Cost savings
Personal target
Outcomes
CEO
173% of salary
Group CFO & COO
157% of salary
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Impact of the 2018 Corporate Governance Code
The table below shows how the Committee addressed the principles of clarity, simplicity, risk, predictability,
proportionality and alignment to culture when determining the Directors’ remuneration policy.
Clarity
Code provision: Remuneration
arrangements should be transparent
and promote effective engagement
with shareholders and the workforce.
• The use of graphics and metrics in the Remuneration Report provide clarity on the Company’s approach
• The aim to be completely transparent about our remuneration policy and arrangements and comply with
certain disclosure requirements ahead of when we are required to do so for openness and transparency
• Great importance placed on engaging with our stakeholders, particularly with shareholders and the
workforce on remuneration. The Group HR Director attends all Committee meetings and our Workforce
Engagement Director, Edward Bonham Carter, provides regular feedback. Employees also have the
opportunity to comment through the Ambassador network and employee surveys. This ensures the views
of employees are taken into account during Committee deliberations.
Simplicity
Code provision: Remuneration
structures should avoid complexity
and their rationale and operation
should be easy to understand.
Risk
Code provision: Remuneration
arrangements should ensure reputational
and other risks from excessive rewards,
and behavioural risks that might arise
from target-based incentive plans, are
identified and mitigated.
Predictability
Code provision: The range of possible
values of awards to individual directors
and any other limits or discretions
should be identified and explained at
the time of approving the policy.
Proportionality
Code provision: The link between
individual awards, the delivery of
strategy and the long-term
performance of the Company should
be clear. Outcomes should not reward
poor performance.
Alignment to culture
Code provision: Incentive schemes
should drive behaviours consistent with
company purpose, values and strategy.
The Company operates an approach to remuneration that is simple to understand and familiar to key
stakeholders and has three key elements:
• Fixed element: comprising base salary, taxable benefits and a pension allowance
• Short-term element: an annual performance-related bonus with a selection of financial and non-financial
targets measured over the financial year, two-thirds paid in cash and one-third in shares deferred for a
three year period
• Restricted share element: normally released after five years subject to achievement of a performance underpin
A combination of capped reward for short and long-term incentives with the majority delivered in shares
encourages Executive Directors to deliver long-term sustainable shareholder returns, discouraging
decision-making that only focuses on the short term.
The Committee retains flexibility to adjust payments through malus and clawback provisions, and an
overriding discretion to depart from formulaic outcomes where behaviours may be viewed as inappropriate
or criteria on which the award was based do not reflect the underlying performance of the Company.
Shareholders are kept fully informed and consulted on the values that can be earned under the incentive
plans for different levels of performance.
The Remuneration Policy provides estimates of potential future reward in different performance scenarios.
The Restricted Share awards reward the creation of shareholder value, which ultimately focuses on the
long-term achievement of strategic deliverables.
Performance measures and personal objectives in the bonus are designed to align with strategy and
financial performance and provide for a range of payout levels which are dependent on and linked to
Company performance.
Deferral periods and holding periods (including in the bonus) help to further align incentive outcomes for
executives to the shareholder experience in the long term.
The Committee has overriding discretion over eventual outcomes when they do not reflect business
performance, and/or shareholder experience, and ensures that poor performance would not be rewarded.
When considering the alignment of incentive plans and culture the Committee considers the following:
• Metrics – ensuring that performance targets are aligned to culture and do not drive the wrong behaviours.
• Governance – ensuring adoption of best practice through a robust malus and clawback policy with a
substantial list of relevant trigger events, such as corporate failure and reputational damage. The
Committee also retains discretion under the plan rules to override formulaic vesting outcomes and to
extend holding periods. These initiatives enable the Committee to satisfy itself that the right steps have
been taken to ensure executive remuneration is appropriate from a cultural context.
• Engagement – understanding remuneration for the wider workforce and ensuring that pay decisions
are aligned across the Group and wider engagement with our stakeholders, including our employees.
Further details can be found on pages 107 to 115.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportGovernance | Remuneration Report continued
Remuneration
Committee
Who is on the Committee
The Committee is composed of
independent Non-executive
Directors.
Our role
Following each meeting, the
Committee communicates its
main discussion points and
findings to the Board.
The Committee’s terms of
reference can be accessed on
our website
www.itvplc.com/investors/
governance
Meetings in 2021
In addition to Committee
members, the Executive
Directors, Group HR Director,
General Counsel and Company
Secretary, Director of Reward and
Pensions and independent
adviser Deloitte attend meetings
as required.
Attendees do not take part in
decisions relating to their own
remuneration and potential
conflicts are suitably mitigated.
The current members are:
• Mary Harris (Chair)
• Salman Amin
• Sir Peter Bazalgette –
independent on appointment
• Anna Manz
• Sharmila Nebhrajani
• Duncan Painter
Full details of attendance at
Committee meetings can be
found in the table on page 105
Detailed biographies can
be found on page 100 and 101
The main role of the Committee
is to:
• Review the ongoing
• Propose to shareholders
changes to the Remuneration
Policy as appropriate
appropriateness, relevance
and effectiveness of the
Remuneration Policy, including
in relation to retention and
development, whilst taking
into account workforce
remuneration and related
policies, and the alignment
of incentives and reward
• Approve the implementation of
remuneration arrangements for
the Chair, Executive Directors,
Management Board and other
senior executives (together the
Senior Executive Group) taking
into account arrangements for
the wider employee group.
Details on employee
remuneration can be found
on pages 144 and 145
• Approve the design of the
Company’s annual bonus
arrangements and long-term
incentive plans, including the
performance criteria that apply
for the Senior Executive Group
• Determine the award levels for
the Senior Executive Group
based on performance against
annual bonus targets and
long-term incentive conditions
January
• Shareholder consultation on the
• Remuneration Report and new
Remuneration Policy
September
• Employee reward framework
new Remuneration Policy
• Review of the Senior Executive
• Indicative LTIP and PSP
Group
performance
• Adviser independence
• Annual review of the Chairman’s
fees
• Gender and ethnicity pay gap
reporting and CEO pay ratios
• Workforce engagement update
• Share award funding
• Compliance with shareholding
guidelines
February
• Bonus targets for 2021
• Rules of the new Executive
Share Plan
• Financial underpin target for
2021 awards
April
• Operation and 2021 awards
under the new Executive
Share Plan
July
• Financial performance update
• Wider management
remuneration strategy
• Committee terms of reference
review
(including review of
remuneration and related
policies) and remuneration
trends
• CEO pension alignment
November
• Financial performance update
• Review of 2021 bonus
performance
• ESG incentives and target
December
• Bonus framework and targets
for 2022
• Annual pay review
• Governance updates
• Committee evaluation
Annual review
An annual review of the
performance of the Committee
is conducted each year.
In 2021 an internally facilitated
Board evaluation was undertaken,
which included a review of the
Committee. The results are
summarised on pages 120 to 121
Overall, the evaluation concluded
that the Committee is working
effectively and responding
appropriately to its terms of
reference
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Directors’ Remuneration Policy summary
This report sets out a summary of ITV’s policy on remuneration for Executive and Non-executive Directors. The full Policy was approved
by shareholders at the AGM on 29 April 2021 and can be found in the 2020 Annual Report and Accounts which is available on our website
at www.itvplc.com. The Policy took effect from this date.
Executive Director Remuneration Policy Table
Fixed Pay
Element
Summary of policy
Base salary
Purpose: To reflect the skills, responsibility and experience and support the recruitment and retention
of Executive Directors of the calibre required to deliver the business strategy within the competitive
media market.
Operation: Reviewed annually with consideration given to personal and company performance, pay
levels in relevant market and the wider employee pay review.
2022 approach
Carolyn McCall:
£971,554 (+3%)
Chris Kennedy:
£695,096 (+3%)
Provision for
an income in
retirement
Purpose: To provide competitive post-retirement benefits or cash allowance as a framework to save
for retirement.
Operation: The maximum contribution or cash allowance will be capped at a level comparable to the
benefit available to the wider employee base. This is currently 9% of salary. As noted in the Annual
Report on Remuneration, all benefit levels will be comparable with those of the wider employee base
by 1 January 2023.
Carolyn McCall:
15% of salary (reducing to
9% in 2023)
Chris Kennedy:
9% of salary
Benefits
Purpose: To ensure the overall package is competitive and provide financial protection for employees
and their families.
In line with policy
Operation: The Company provides a range of market competitive benefits, including travel-related
benefits, private medical insurance and other insurance benefits. These are set at a level which the
Committee considers to be appropriately positioned taking into account typical market levels for
comparable roles, individual circumstances and the overall cost to the business.
Variable performance-related pay
Element
Summary of policy
2022 approach
Purpose: Incentivises executives and colleagues to achieve key strategic outcomes on an annual basis.
Focus on key financial metrics and objectives to deliver the business strategy. The element of the bonus
compulsorily deferred into shares rewards delivery of sustained long-term performance, provides
alignment with the shareholder experience and supports the retention of executives.
Maximum bonus
opportunity
Carolyn McCall:
180% of salary
Operation: The maximum opportunity will not exceed 200% of salary. Performance measures and
targets are set by the Committee each year based on corporate objectives closely linked to strategic
priorities of the business. The majority of the bonus opportunity will be based on corporate and
financial measures. The remainder of the bonus will be based on performance against individual and/or
strategic objectives. Not more than two-thirds of the bonus is delivered in cash with the balance
deferred into shares under the DSA normally for a period of three years. Subject to malus and clawback.
Chris Kennedy:
165% of salary
Performance measures
(see page 150)
Purpose: Incentivises Executive Directors to deliver the business strategy and align with the longer-
term Company performance and the shareholder experience. Acts as a retention tool to retain the
executives required to deliver the business strategy.
2022 ESP grant levels
Carolyn McCall:
132.5% of salary
Annual
Incentive:
Bonus – Cash
and Deferred
Share Award
(DSA)
Restricted
Shares
awarded
under the
Executive
Share Plan
(ESP)
Operation: The maximum award level that may be granted in any financial year is 175% of salary.
Awards will be granted annually with vesting after three years, subject to satisfaction of a performance
underpin. Awards will be required to be held for an additional two year holding period so that the award
is released after five years. Subject to malus and clawback.
Legacy
awards (LTIP)
Under the previous Remuneration Policy share awards were granted under the ITV Long Term Incentive
Plan. Awards to Executive Directors were subject to a three year performance period and a two-year
holding period. The single figure for 2021 includes values relating to the 2019 grant under this plan.
Chris Kennedy:
112.5% of salary
Financial underpin
measure (see page 150)
No further awards to
be granted
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Employment conditions elsewhere in the Company
The Committee has responsibility for ensuring effective engagement and alignment with the workforce in relation to remuneration and
related policies and practices. When setting the policy for Directors’ remuneration, the Committee considers the pay and employment
conditions of employees to ensure fairness across the organisation. Although it does not consult directly with employees in respect of
determining the Directors’ Remuneration Policy, it receives general feedback from employees via the HR function as part of the output
from the employee engagement survey and receives a report on employment practices across the Company. Edward Bonham Carter,
as our designated Workforce Engagement Director, regularly attends Ambassador meetings in order to understand any views and
concerns colleagues may have on these matters and is responsible for sharing these with the Committee – more information on this
can be found on page 115. In her role as Chair of the Committee, Mary Harris participates in an annual Ambassador Q&A session to engage
directly with employees on how the Committee’s approach to executive remuneration aligns with wider Company pay practices. The
second of these sessions took place in December 2021, with members of the Ambassador network invited to ask their own questions
and also any from the employees they represent. Subjects discussed included the role of the Committee, the Company’s approach to
executive reward and also employee reward in general at ITV. A recording of the session was sent to all of the Ambassadors to share
with their employee constituencies.
The approach to determining the compensation for employees globally follows the same principles as for our Executive Directors.
The Committee considers data on pay trends and practices, such as gender and ethnicity pay gap information, and the CEO to worker
pay ratio. We offer competitive pay and career opportunities in order to attract the best talent. When determining compensation, local
managers consider how the employee’s pay compares to the local market alongside other factors, such as experience and sustained
performance. Incentive arrangements across the Company are tailored based on the nature of the role. Bonuses operate on a wide basis
across the Company and long-term share awards are offered to senior management. Being a great place to work is key to developing
our culture. Pay is just one factor used to attract, retain and develop a talented and diverse workforce. More information on ITV’s
commitment to investing in and building a productive, creative and diverse workforce can be found on pages 56 to 58.
Cascade of remuneration through the organisation
The table below summarises how remuneration compares across the different groups of employees throughout the company.
Employees at all levels
Element of pay
Description
Base salary
Salaries are reviewed annually, with Executive Directors normally receiving a salary increase in line with that received by the wider
workforce. In 2021 there was an annual pay review but there was no annual pay increase. In 2022 there was an increase of 3%
across ITV globally.
ITV has held the Living Wage accreditation since 2014 and was the first broadcaster to do so. We pay the London Living Wage in
London and the Living Wage outside of London. This means that we pay everyone, from employees and apprentices to contractors
and temporary workers, at least the hourly rate set independently and updated annually by the Living Wage Foundation, which is
higher than the Government’s National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates.
Flexible benefits
A range of benefits are available to all employees, providing financial security, encouraging a healthy and balanced lifestyle,
and helping individuals make their pay go further.
All employees receive the following benefits -
• Five weeks holiday each year, plus bank holidays, and an extra two days after five years’ service.
• Enhanced Company sick pay and family friendly policies, including maternity, paternity, adoption and shared parental leave.
• Income protection cover of 50% of salary and a range of digital health services.
• Life assurance cover at four times annual basic salary.
• Wellbeing benefits, including an annual wellbeing day, an online mental health support service and an Employee Assistance
Programme (EAP) providing a confidential helpline and additional support.
There are also voluntary benefits available for employees to choose from, including the opportunity to buy up to six weeks’ extra
holiday, a Cycle to Work scheme, a salary sacrifice car benefit, gym membership, private healthcare and a health cash plan, which
includes optional hospital treatment insurance.
We continually look for opportunities to evolve our employee benefits in cost effective ways that support both the needs of the
business and our diverse workforce. In 2021 we extended our income protection benefit to all employees and added a range of
new digital health services. We also reviewed our family leave policies and extended the amount of paid family leave employees
can take. This included extending paternity leave from two weeks to six weeks’ leave at full pay.
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Employees at all levels continued
Pension
Employees at all levels can participate in our pension arrangements.
Eligible employees are invited to join the Defined Contribution Plan and can choose to make a core contribution between 3–6%
of their pensionable earnings, which ITV will match and in addition pay a further 3% (i.e. up to 9% in total).
In 2021, we launched a new voluntary benefit that helps employees to build up an emergency savings pot that they can access at
any time. The savings account is linked to their ITV pension, so once they’ve reached their savings target, their monthly savings
switch to be paid into their pensions as an extra contribution – or they can choose to increase their savings target.
A small number of senior executives have pension contributions paid into their pension or receive a cash allowance in lieu of
contributions.
Save As You Earn
All eligible UK employees have the opportunity to benefit from ITV’s long-term performance and share price growth by
participating in the Save As You Earn plan. They can save up to £500 per month over a three or five year period to acquire
shares in the Company at a 20% discount to the share price at the start of the savings period.
Annual bonus –
cash
All ITV employees have an annual bonus opportunity which is based on a % of salary for senior roles and those in Sales, or the same
maximum monetary value for all other employees. Following the cancellation of all discretionary annual bonus payments for
2020 as a result of the pandemic, bonus payments were reinstated for 2021.
The 2021 bonus opportunity for all employees without an individual bonus was up to £1,750. Based on ITV’s financial performance
this paid out in full. The Company has increased the bonus opportunity to £2,000 for 2022 onwards and also decided to top-up the
2021 bonus payment to the same level.
Senior Executives
Element
Summary of policy
Deferred Share
Award Plan
Executive Share
Plan
Members of the Senior Executive Group are required to defer one-third of their bonus into ITV shares for three years.
Share-based awards are granted to selected senior leaders across the business which vest on the third anniversary of grant
subject to the Committee’s assessment of the underlying business underpin. Grant levels are generally expressed as a % of salary,
with award levels linked to role and seniority. The detailed terms of operation vary by jurisdiction to reflect local market, legal and
tax considerations. For Executive Directors any vested awards are subject to an additional two year holding period.
Shareholding
guidelines
The Executive Directors and other members of the Management Board, are subject to shareholding guidelines that align their
interests with those of shareholders.
The Executive Directors are also subject to post-cessation shareholding guidelines, aligning their interests to shareholders for
two years after their employment with ITV ceases – see page 152.
Shareholder views
The Committee maintains regular and transparent communication with shareholders. We believe that it is important to regularly meet
with our key shareholders to understand their views on our remuneration arrangements and what they would like to see going forward.
We welcome feedback from shareholders at any time during the year.
Where we are proposing to make any significant changes to the remuneration framework or the manner in which the framework is
operated we would seek major shareholders’ views and take these into account. In recent years, the Committee has consulted with major
shareholders regarding both the design and operation of the policy. Prior to the approval of the current Remuneration Policy at the 2021
AGM, the Remuneration Committee undertook extensive consultation with major shareholders regarding the key terms. During
consultation considerable time was spent explaining the strategic rationale for the proposed structure as well as the key terms of the
policy. The consultation enabled the Committee to identify and refine plan features that were of particular interest to our major investors.
In formulating the ESG measures in the Executive Directors’ bonus for 2022, the Committee carefully considered investor and investor
body guidance on ESG objectives and criteria. Further disclosure on the 2022 ESG scorecard will be provided in next year’s report.
We intend to maintain a dialogue with our shareholders in future years, particularly when the Committee anticipates any substantial
change to the remuneration framework.
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Annual Report
on Remuneration
The sections of the Annual Report on Remuneration that have been audited by PwC are the Executive Directors’ single total figure of
remuneration; the Non-executive Directors’ remuneration; LTIP awards made in 2021; Outstanding interests in share plans; Payments
to Past Directors; Payments for Loss of Office; and Directors’ interests.
Remuneration Policy application in 2021
The following section provides details of how the current Remuneration Policy was implemented in 2021.
Executive Directors
In 2020 ITV undertook a number of measures to cut costs and manage its cash flow in response to the COVID pandemic. As a result the
bonus opportunity in respect of performance in 2020 was cancelled and the Directors agreed a voluntary reduction in base salary, cash
allowances and fees from 1 April to 31 October 2020, the period during which the Company had furloughed staff. Were it not for the
voluntary reductions the salary, benefits and pension figures for Executive Directors in 2020 would be the same as in 2021. As 2020
was an exceptional year, values for 2019 are also replicated below for comparison purposes.
The table below sets out in a single figure the total remuneration for both Executive Directors for the financial year.
Salary
Taxable benefits
Pension
Total fixed remuneration
Annual Incentive (Bonus – cash and shares)
Long Term Incentive awards
Buyout awards
Total variable remuneration
Carolyn McCall
Chris Kennedy
Notes
2
3, 4
5
2021
£000
943
17
142
1,102
1,636
766
–
2,402
20201
£000
833
15
125
973
–
177
–
177
2019
£000
923
17
138
1,078
1,453
–
591
2,044
2021
£000
675
17
61
753
1,059
465
–
1,524
20201
£000
596
15
54
665
–
–
–
–
2019
£000
565
14
51
630
816
–
799
1,615
Total
3,504
1,150
3,122
2,277
665
2,245
1. Both Executive Directors voluntarily agreed to take a 20% reduction to their basic salary, car and pension allowance payments from 1 April 2020 to 31 October 2020. Before the
reduction, total fixed remuneration in 2020 for Carolyn McCall would have been £1,102k (a difference of £128k) and for Chris Kennedy would have been £753k (a difference of £88k).
2. Two-thirds of the annual bonus is settled in cash and one-third is deferred into shares awarded under the ITV Deferred Share Award plan which automatically release on the third
anniversary of the award, subject to continued employment.
3. The 2019 LTIP awards were subject to performance conditions measured to 31 December 2021. The amount shown is the indicative vesting value using the average share price in Q4
of 2021 (110.48 pence). The awards will vest in March 2022. Following a two year holding period they will become exercisable from March 2024. These awards were granted at a
share price of 126.37 pence. The value of Carolyn McCall’s vesting shares at the award date would have been £875,665, and for Chris Kennedy £531,927.
4. In the 2020 Annual Remuneration Report, the amount shown for share awards for Carolyn McCall in 2020 was the indicative vesting value of the 2018 LTIP award that was subject to
performance conditions measured to 31 December 2020. The figure shown in the table above represents the subsequent value received on the vesting date of 29 March 2021 using
the share price on that date (122.2 pence). These awards are subject to a two year holding period.
5. There were no buyout awards in 2020 or 2021. Details of the buyout awards in 2019 can be found in the 2019 Annual Report and Accounts, which can be found on our website.
The aggregate emoluments for all Directors as required under Schedule 5 (SI 2008/410), is the total remuneration shown in the table above less share
awards but including gains on exercise of options and amounts receivable under LTIPs, plus the total emolument figures for Non-executive Directors
shown on page 149.
Further information in relation to each of the elements of remuneration for 2021 set out in the table above is detailed below.
An explanation for 2020 is set out in detail in our 2020 Annual Report and Accounts and an explanation for 2019 is set out in detail in
our 2019 Annual Report and Accounts, both of which can be found on our website.
www.itvplc.com/investors
Salary
As disclosed in last year’s report, in line with the wider employee group there were no salary increases for 2021. Carolyn McCall’s salary
remained at £943,256 and Chris Kennedy’s salary remained at £674,850.
Taxable benefits and pension
The benefits provided to the Executive Directors are the cost of private medical insurance and car-related benefits.
The Executive Directors were not part of an ITV pension scheme but receive a cash allowance in lieu of pension. ITV was a first mover in
reducing executive pension levels. In 2017, the level for the Chief Executive was reduced from 25% of salary to 15% of salary (prior to the
2018 Corporate Governance Code (the Code) coming into force). In accordance with the Code the Committee determined that directors
joining from 1 January 2019 would receive pension contributions in line with the wider employee group, therefore Chris Kennedy received
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a cash allowance in lieu of pension of 9% of salary. This is aligned with the maximum matching percentage amount payable to employees
in the ITV Defined Contribution Pension plan, which is the pension scheme offered to the majority of Group employees. To bring Carolyn
McCall in line with the policy and the wider employee group, her cash allowance will be reduced to 9% from 1 January 2023.
Annual Incentive – Bonus (cash and shares)
Annual incentives are provided to Executive Directors through the bonus, with one-third of any award deferred into shares under the
Deferred Share Award Plan (DSA). The performance conditions that apply to the bonus are set on an individual basis and are linked to
the Company’s corporate, financial and strategic priorities.
The majority of the 2021 bonus (75%) was based on the achievement of corporate and financial targets, with bonus outcomes determined
in accordance with pre-set target ranges. In line with the principles applied in previous years, the financial outcomes used for the bonus
are adjusted (both positively and negatively) for certain items, such as acquisitions and currency movements to ensure a fair like-for-like
comparison with the targets set at the start of the year. As part of the assessment of performance, the Committee also undertook
a holistic review of overall performance, to ensure that outcomes were a fair reflection of the underlying business performance.
The corporate and financial targets applied for 2021, together with performance against those targets and the resulting level of bonus,
are set out in the table below. As the Company entered 2021, a third lockdown came into effect in England and there continued to be
considerable uncertainty and volatility in the market as a result of the pandemic. The risk of further variants requiring ongoing government
intervention and restrictions created significant uncertainties that could impact both scripted and unscripted programming as well as the
timing of major sporting events. These factors impacted operational objectives for the year, and expectations regarding the advertising
market for 2021. As signalled in last year’s Remuneration Report, the financial targets for the year were set to reflect both this external
context and the planned investments which were considered to be essential to delivery of the long-term strategy. The target range for
cash conversion was lower than prior years to reflect the fact that 2021 was an anomalous year. Due to COVID, significant cash outflows
were deferred from 2020 to 2021, hence cash conversion in 2021 was expected to be lower than usual.
Performance measure
ITV adjusted EBITA1
ITV cash conversion
ITV cost savings
Performance required
Weighting
60%
5%
10%
20%
£485m
52%
£30m
50%
£535m
56%
£34m
100%
£585m
60%
£38m
Performance
achieved
Payout level
(% of maximum)
£820.9m
80.3%
£37.1m
100
100
88.75
1. The ITV EBITA outcome was adjusted for translational currency movements and investments not accounted for in the original target, without these adjustments, the unadjusted EBITA
outcome was £813 million, meaning that results significantly outperformed the performance required to achieve a 100% payout against this element, irrespective of the approach adopted.
The remainder of the bonus (25%) was based upon the Committee’s assessment of the contribution each Executive Director made to the overall
strategy through the delivery of specific targets. The Committee applies suitable judgement when assessing performance in this regard.
Area of focus
Achievement
Shared objectives
Execution of the More than TV strategy with emphasis on
diversifying revenue streams through development of new
and existing on-demand propositions.
Maximise shareholder value appreciation by effective external
engagement on ITV’s full portfolio of businesses (including
Production and Content).
CEO objectives
Delivery of the new M&E operating model and ways of working
to drive the new on demand led strategy.
Drive ITV’s digital transformation strategy.
Deliver the vision to be the most flexible employer in Media
to increase organisational agility and minimise cost.
Deliver ITV Diversity Acceleration Plan to increase
representation on-screen and behind the camera
demonstrating progress towards ITV published targets.
Successfully progressed the More than TV Strategy, delivering
key priorities and ahead of budget growth in subscription
revenue up 56% and UK subscribers up 33% on BritBox UK
and ITV Hub+.
Actively engaged with investors throughout the year, improving
market understanding of ITV’s operational breadth, production
capabilities and new technologies.
Accelerated delivery of the M&E operating model, deepening
strategic and creative relationships with advertisers and
introducing a ‘Media for Equity’ fund.
Continued roll-out of digital transformation strategy with
ahead of schedule growth in the digital businesses, creating
a digital culture driving ways of working efficiencies.
Delivered the smart working vision accelerating cultural,
infrastructure change and flexibility for employees.
Led development and publication of the ITV Diversity
Acceleration Plan (see page 54).
Group CFO & COO
objectives
Increase Partnerships and other revenues (including Pay
and Distribution TV revenues) and profits in line with plan,
by engaging new and expanding existing partnerships.
Grew Partnerships and other related revenues to £213m in
2021 (£208m in 2020) as ITV continued to build strong
partnerships globally.
Implement initial phase of the Finance and HR
transformation programme.
Successful implementation of phase 1 of the global Finance
and HR digital transformation programme to schedule.
Deliver the Property and Accommodation strategy for 2022
and beyond.
Successful delivery of the P&A strategy, including consolidation
of London office space.
Deliver improvements in diversity and inclusion in the
finance function.
Progressed D&I across Finance, supported the CEO in
developing the ITV Diversity Acceleration Plan (see page 54).
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As noted above, there was strong achievement against the objectives set at the start of the year. The Committee therefore agreed
that this element should deliver an outcome of 90% of maximum for the CEO and 85% of maximum for the Group CFO & COO.
Consistent with the requirements of the Code, the Committee takes into account wider performance before approving the formulaic
outcomes from incentive plans. Where appropriate the Committee has scope to apply judgement and discretion. To assist the Committee
with determining whether adjustments are required, the Committee applies a framework which considers performance from multiple
perspectives, including the underlying strength of results, the execution of strategic priorities, performance indicators which do not form
part of the formulaic assessment, and non-financial factors, such as culture and our focus on duty of care. The Committee has a track
record of adjusting outcomes where appropriate, with negative discretion applied in both 2018 and 2019, and the cancellation of the
bonus for 2020.
In 2021, ITV demonstrated its resilience in what was a testing year for the economy as a result of the pandemic. Although the advertising
market proved to be more buoyant than forecast at the start of the year, ITV significantly outperformed all external expectations
regarding performance with the year end EBITA of £813 million representing a 42% increase on 2020. This outstanding financial
performance was coupled with the continued investment in a number of strategic priorities which would support the ongoing
transformation of the business. Following a holistic review of performance, the Committee was fully satisfied that the outstanding
performance in the year fully justified bonus outcomes towards the upper end of the payout range. In light of the year’s performance,
the business was also delighted to announce that discretion would be applied to increase 2021 payouts under the colleague bonus.
The bonus award for the year would have been £1,750, but was increased by 14.3% to £2,000. The overall payout under the colleague
bonus for 2021 was £6 million. The business has also increased the maximum opportunity to £2,000 for future years.
Carolyn McCall
Chris Kennedy
Outcome
(% of maximum)
96.38
95.12
Total value
£1,636,361
£1,059,177
Value delivered in
shares under
the DSA
£545,454
£353,059
Value paid in cash
£1,090,907
£706,118
The value delivered in shares under the DSA is deferred for three years and released on the third anniversary of the award subject
to continued employment. In line with the Remuneration Policy, bonus awards (including deferred elements) remain subject to malus
and clawback provisions which seek to safeguard against payments for failure.
Long Term Incentive awards
The LTIP awards made in 2019 were subject to performance measured to 31 December 2021. The indicative value of these awards
is set out below.
Carolyn McCall
Chris Kennedy
Number of
shares awarded
Value at
award date £
Number of
shares vesting1
1,934,498
1,175,121
2,444,625
1,485,000
692,937
420,928
Value at
31 December
20212 £
765,557
465,042
1. The vesting figures shown in the table above reflect the 35.82% of the total award that met performance conditions on 31 December 2021. The vesting shares will become
exercisable after a two year holding period on 28 March 2024.
2. The share price used to value the shares at 31 December 2021 is the average share price for the final quarter of 2021 (110.48 pence). The share price used to calculate the number
of shares under award was 126.37 pence (the average of the share prices on the three days before grant – 23, 26, 27 March 2019).
The targets for the 2019 awards were set prior to the onset of the pandemic and were therefore set in the context of a different economic
outlook. Details of performance against the targets set are shown in the table below. The strong recovery in profitability in 2021, enabled
partial vesting of the EPS component despite the impact of the pandemic. Although total non-advertising revenue grew by 24% in 2021,
vesting did not occur on this element due to the impact of the pandemic across the three year performance period. While Family SOV
performance was strong, growth in online viewing fell short of the extremely challenging targets that were set at the start of the
performance period. Overall, the Remuneration Committee is satisfied that the final vesting outcome is supported by overall performance
over the period.
Adjusted EPS
Total non-advertising revenues
Viewing health:
– ITV Family SOV
– Online viewing
Weightings
40%
40%
10%
10%
Threshold
(20% vesting)
12.5p
Maximum
(100% vesting)
17p
3% growth pa
6.5% growth pa
21.2%
23.2%
+200m hours growth
+450m hours growth
Performance
achieved
Payout level
(% of maximum)
15.3p
1.9%
22.3%
184m
27.20
0
8.62
0
For each of the measures, the following interim vesting points applied between threshold and maximum: EPS – 16 pence (80% of element), Total non-advertising revenue – 5% (60%),
SOV 21.9% (80%), online viewing – 300 million (60%). Straight line vesting applies between the threshold, interim and maximum vesting points.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Chairman and Non-executive Directors
The table below sets out in a single figure the total remuneration for Non-executive Directors for the financial year. The figures for
2020 reflect their decision to take a 20% reduction in their fees for the period from 1 April to 31 October 2020. The level of fees paid
to Non-executive Directors remains unchanged since 2016, for further details see page 151.
Peter Bazalgette (Chairman)
Salman Amin
Edward Bonham Carter
Graham Cooke
Margaret Ewing
Roger Faxon
Mary Harris
Anna Manz
Sharmila Nebhrajani
Duncan Painter
Fees
Taxable benefits1
Total
Notes
3
4
5
2021
£000
450
70
95
66
85
–
90
76
70
70
1,072
2020
£000
398
62
84
41
75
59
80
67
4
62
932
2021
£000
2020
£000
2
–
–
–
–
–
2
–
–
–
4
2
–
–
–
–
1
1
–
–
–
4
2021
£000
452
70
95
66
85
–
92
76
70
70
1,076
20202
£000
400
62
84
41
75
60
81
67
4
62
936
2019
£000
453
71
96
–
86
74
94
77
–
71
1,022
1. The amounts disclosed in the table above relate to the reimbursement of taxable relevant travel and accommodation expenses (and associated taxes) for attending Board
meetings and related business. In addition, Peter Bazalgette received private healthcare.
2. The 2020 fees shown in the table reflect the decision of the Non-executive Directors to take a voluntary reduction of 20% in fees for the period 1 April 2020 to 31 October 2020,
the period during which the Company had furloughed staff.
3. Graham Cooke joined the Board on 1 May 2020 and the Audit and Risk Committee on 1 November 2021.
4. Roger Faxon stepped down from the Board on 10 December 2020, he is included for comparative purposes.
5. Sharmila Nebhrajani joined the Board and the Remuneration Committee on 1 December 2020.
Restricted Share awards made in 2021
On 13 May 2021 awards were made under the ITV plc Executive Share Plan (the ITV ESP) to Carolyn McCall and Chris Kennedy as
set out below.
Carolyn McCall
Chris Kennedy
% salary
awarded
Number of share
options (nil cost)1
132.5
112.5
1,013,062
615,390
Value at
award date
£1,249,814
£759,206
Vesting
period ends
13 May 2024
13 May 2024
Holding period
Release date
2 years
2 years
13 May 2026
13 May 2026
1. Awards were granted based on the average share price on the 3-days preceding the award which was 123.37 pence. The closing share price on the date of grant was 126.95 pence.
The ITV ESP was approved by shareholders at the 2021 AGM. The awards are over restricted shares with grant levels reduced by 50%
compared to the annual LTIP awards granted in previous years.
Awards will normally vest after three years following the date of award subject to the satisfaction of a performance underpin.
Any vested awards would then be subject to a two-year holding period.
For the awards granted in 2021, the Remuneration Committee will retain the ability to reduce vesting of the Restricted Shares
(including to nil) where:
• Adjusted Return on Capital Employed is below the Company’s cost of capital; and/or
• There is a material weakness in the underlying financial health or sustainability of the business
When assessing the latter, the Committee will take into account all factors deemed relevant at the time, including for example, progress
against execution of the strategy, performance against financial and non-financial KPIs and the nature of the wider trading environment.
In line with best practice, the Remuneration Committee will retain the discretion to adjust any incentive awards where vesting outcomes
are considered to be inappropriate. Further detail on the assessment of the performance underpin will be disclosed at the time of vesting
in 2024.
As a further safeguard malus and clawback provisions may be operated at the discretion of the Committee in respect of any element of
these awards. Under malus, unvested share awards (including any portion of the award subject to a post-vesting holding period) can be
reduced (down to zero if considered appropriate) or be made subject to additional conditions. Clawback allows for repayment of shares
previously received following vesting or release from a holding period if applicable. Malus/clawback can be operated up to six years from
the relevant date of grant for Restricted Share awards. The circumstances in which the operation of these provisions would be applied may
be considered from time to time but currently include material misstatement of financial results, gross misconduct or fraud and material
reputational damage. The Committee maintains sufficient scope in the ITV ESP rules to exercise discretion and judgement in line with the
spirit of the Code.
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Remuneration Policy application in 2022
Executive Directors
The following section provides details of how the Policy will be implemented in 2022.
Salary
Salaries are paid in line with the Policy. In line with the wider employee group both Executive Directors received an increase of 3% from
1 January 2022.
Carolyn McCall
Chris Kennedy
2022 Salary
£971,554
£695,096
Taxable benefits and pension
These are provided in line with the Policy. Both Executive Directors receive private medical cover, car-related benefits, and a cash allowance
in lieu of participation in any ITV pension scheme.
Carolyn McCall’s pension benefits for 2022 remain unchanged (15% of salary). Chris Kennedy receives a cash allowance in lieu of pension
of 9% of salary.
As advised in last year’s report, in 2020 the Company undertook a review of its pension policy for the wider employee base. Following the
completion of this review, the Committee has agreed that the contribution rate for Carolyn McCall will be reduced to 9% from 1 January
2023, fully aligning both Executive Directors with the wider employee group.
Annual Incentive – Bonus (cash and shares)
The maximum bonus opportunity for 2022 remains unchanged: Carolyn McCall – 180% of salary; and Chris Kennedy – 165% of salary.
Awards made to Executive Directors through the bonus will be paid two-thirds in cash and one-third deferred into shares under the DSA.
The performance measures and weightings for 2022 bonuses will be broadly similar to previous years but with the addition of an element
linked to ESG performance. For 2022, 10% will be assessed against a scorecard of ESG measures linked to our carbon footprint, the
sustainability of our UK productions and commissions and progress towards our diversity goals. The balance of the award will be linked
to EBITA (60%), cash conversion (10%) and individual strategic targets (20%). Overall the Committee is satisfied that the target ranges
are realistic but highly stretching taking into account forecasts for the advertising market and planned strategic investments. The Board
considers the actual targets for 2022 to be commercially sensitive at this time, however, envisage providing retrospective disclosure of
these targets in next year’s report.
The Committee may adjust bonus targets or outcomes to reflect significant one-off events (e.g. major transactions), foreign exchange
movements or material changes to assumed plan conditions to ensure that the plan continues to reward performance fairly.
The Committee may amend the bonus pay-out should any formulaic assessment of performance not reflect overall performance in the year.
Restricted Share awards
Awards in 2022 will be made to the Executive Directors with a value of 132.5% of salary for Carolyn McCall and 112.5% of salary for
Chris Kennedy. These levels remain unchanged from the awards made in 2021.
Awards will normally vest after three years following the date of award subject to the satisfaction of a performance underpin. Any vested
awards would then be subject to a two-year holding period.
For 2022 awards, in line with the performance underpin that applied to awards made in 2021, the Remuneration Committee will retain
the ability to reduce vesting of the Restricted Shares (including to nil) where:
• Adjusted Return on Capital Employed is below the Company’s cost of capital; and/or
• There is a material weakness in the underlying financial health or sustainability of the business
When assessing the latter, the Committee will take into account all factors deemed relevant at the time, including for example, progress
against execution of the strategy, performance against financial and non-financial KPIs and the nature of the wider trading environment.
In line with best practice, the Remuneration Committee will retain the discretion to adjust any incentive awards where vesting outcomes
are considered to be inappropriate. Further detail on the assessment of the financial underpin will be disclosed at the time of vesting.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Malus and clawback: Malus and clawback provisions may be operated at the discretion of the Committee in respect of any cash and
deferred share elements of the bonus and Restricted Share awards. Under malus, unvested share awards (including any Restricted Share
awards subject to a post-vesting holding period) can be reduced (down to zero if considered appropriate) or be made subject to additional
conditions. Clawback allows for repayment of bonuses previously paid and/or shares previously received following vesting or release from
a holding period if applicable. Malus/clawback can be operated up to four years following the start of the relevant bonus year for bonuses
(for cash and shares), and up to six years from the relevant date of grant for Restricted Share awards. The circumstances in which the
operation of these provisions would be applied may be considered from time to time but currently include material misstatement of
financial results, gross misconduct or fraud and material reputational damage. The Committee maintains sufficient scope in the ITV plc
Executive Share Plan rules to exercise discretion and judgement in line with the spirit of the Code.
Non-executive Directors
There has not been an increase in fees paid to the Non-executive Directors since 2016. Current fees are as set out below.
Chairman
Board fee
Additional fees for:
Senior Independent Director
Audit and Risk Committee Chair
Audit and Risk Committee member
Remuneration Committee Chair
Remuneration Committee member
In addition to his fee, Peter Bazalgette receives private medical insurance.
Details of Committee membership can be found on page 142.
1 January 2022
£
1 January 2021
£
% Change
450,000
65,054
450,000
65,054
25,000
20,000
5,371
20,000
5,371
25,000
20,000
5,371
20,000
5,371
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Comparison of Directors to wider employees
In line with the requirements in The Companies (Directors’ Remuneration Policy and Directors’ Remuneration Report) Regulations 2019,
which implement Articles 9a and 9b of European Directive 2017/828/EC1 (commonly known as the Revised Shareholder Rights Directive
or SRD), the table below provides details of the percentage change in the base salary, benefits and bonus of the Directors between
31 December 2019 and 31 December 2021 compared with the average percentage change for other employees.
The figures for all Directors are calculated based on remuneration received in the relevant year as set out in the tables on page 146 and 149.
For base salary/fees, part year figures have been pro-rated for the purposes of this disclosure. In addition, the figures below reflect the
voluntary decision taken by members of the Board to take a 20% cut in salary/fees for the period from April to October 2020. There was
also no global salary review in 2021 and no annual bonus payments paid for 2020 to the Executive Directors and wider workforce.
Average employee
Salman Amin
Peter Bazalgette (Chair)
Edward Bonham Carter
Graham Cooke
Margaret Ewing
Mary Harris
Chris Kennedy (Group CFO & COO)
Anna Manz
Carolyn McCall (CEO)
Sharmila Nehbrajani
Duncan Painter
2020-2021
2019-2020
Notes
Salary/fee
% change
Benefits
% change
Bonus
% change
Salary/fee
% change
Benefits
% change
Bonus
% change
1
2
2
2
2, 5
2
2
3, 4
2
3, 4
2, 6
2
3.58
13.2
13.2
13.2
14.8
13.2
13.2
13.2
13.2
13.2
13.2
13.2
5.18
139.5
24.4
139.5
–
–
154.5
11.9
139.5
11.9
–
139.5
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
4.26
(11.7)
(11.7)
(11.7)
–
(11.7)
(11.7)
(9.68)
(11.7)
(9.68)
–
(11.1)
5.86
(81.4)
(17.7)
(92.0)
–
(91.8)
(84.3)
(9.24)
(88.3)
(9.24)
–
(88.3)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
1. The percentage change in benefits is the average change for all UK employees (excluding the CEO and Group CFO & COO ) with any of the same benefits as the CEO and Group CFO & COO.
2. Calculated using the fees and taxable benefits disclosed under the Non-executive Directors’ remuneration in the table on page 149. Taxable benefits for Non-executive Directors
comprise expense reimbursements relating to attendance at Board meetings rather than conventional employee benefits. The increases seen in the period 2020-2021 are primarily
due to the ability for Directors to attend some meetings in person during 2021, against the majority of meetings being held on a virtual basis during 2020. In addition, Peter
Bazalgette receives private healthcare.
3. Calculated using the data from the single figure table on page 146. Benefits include the cost of medical insurance and car-related benefits.
4. The Executive Directors are the only employees of the parent company, and therefore there is no comparator data for this sample. In the interests of transparency, the percentage
change in pay for all UK employees has been disclosed on a voluntary basis. As the majority of employees are based in the UK and share the same benefits as the Executive Directors,
overseas employees have not been included.
5. Graham Cooke joined the Board in May 2020. As there were no physical Board meetings held during his tenure in 2020, there were no taxable benefits paid in 2020. To enable
a comparison for the purposes of this disclosure, his 2020 fees have been pro-rated
6. Sharmila Nebhrajani joined the Board In December 2020 and received fees for this month only in 2020, and there were no benefits paid in 2020. To enable a comparison for the
purposes of this disclosure, her 2020 fees have been pro-rated.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportGovernance | Remuneration Report continued
CEO pay ratio
Year
2021
2020
2019
Methodology
25th percentile pay ratio
Median pay ratio
75th percentile pay ratio
Option A
Option A
Option A
98:1
33:1
89:1
72:1
24:1
66:1
52:1
18:1
49:1
The employee at the 25th percentile, median and 75th percentile was determined based on the single figure of total remuneration for
every UK employee, Option A in the Reporting Regulations. This method is the most statistically accurate approach and aligned with
majority practice in the FTSE 350.
Our 2020 ratios have been updated to reflect the final actual 2020 remuneration values for the CEO and all other employees. Our 2021 pay
ratios are based on the current CEO single figure and the indicative value of share awards that were subject to performance measured to
31 December, based on the average share price over the final quarter of the year. The 2021 ratios will be restated in the 2022 Remuneration
Report to reflect the updated CEO single figure and the actual value of shares on the vesting date.
The total remuneration of each comparator employee has been calculated using the actual values received in respect of the full financial
year and in accordance with the methodology used to calculate the single figure of remuneration for the CEO. We have not omitted any
component from their pay and benefits and no adjustments have been made to their actual remuneration.
The full-time equivalent remuneration values for the individuals in the table above are as follows:
2021
Salary
Total remuneration
Updated for 2020
Salary
Total remuneration
CEO
25th percentile
£943,256
£3,533,328
£32,556
£35,878
CEO
25th percentile
£833,290
£1,150,176
£32,307
£35,199
Median
£43,851
£48,548
Median
£45,909
£47,184
75th percentile
£56,000
£67,246
75th percentile
£58,628
£63,788
The median pay ratio for 2021 is considered to be consistent with the pay, reward and progression policies during the year for the
Company’s UK employees taken as a whole. The total remuneration values for the comparator employees remain consistent year-on-
year. There was no Company-wide annual pay increase in January 2021, but we remain committed to ensuring colleagues earn at least
the real Living Wage or higher, and we implemented the increased rates that were announced by the Living Wage Foundation.
An annual bonus arrangement extends to all of our employees and is paid in March each year. The 2021 bonus opportunity was up to £1,750,
and based on ITV’s financial performance it paid out in full. The Company has increased the bonus opportunity to £2,000 for 2022 onwards,
and also decided to increase the 2021 bonus payment to this higher amount to recognise the contribution all employees make to ITV’s success.
The increase in our 2021 pay ratios, compared to 2020, is attributable to the actions we took in relation to remuneration arrangements
in 2020 to reduce costs and manage our cash flow as a result of the pandemic. A significant proportion of the remuneration for the
CEO is performance related and the level of actual performance outcomes has a corresponding effect on the CEO pay ratios. With
the reinstatement of annual bonuses for 2021 and the higher vesting level of the 2019 LTIP award, the total remuneration figure for
the CEO is more comparable to 2019, and the pay ratios have therefore also increased accordingly.
Other Disclosures
Payments to past Directors
There were no payments made to past Directors in 2021.
Payments for loss of office
There were no payments made to Directors for loss of office in 2021.
Directors’ share interests and post-cessation shareholding
The Committee continues to recognise the importance of Directors being shareholders so as to align their interests with other shareholders.
Shareholding guidelines are in place, which encourage Executive Directors to build up a holding of ITV plc shares based on a percentage of
base salary. Normally, 50% of the requirement must be obtained within three years of appointment and the remainder within five years.
Where the value of shares required to be held increases as a result of a salary increase (or an increase in the relevant percentage), the
Executive Directors will have three years from such increase to achieve compliance. The Committee may change the guidelines so long
as they are not, overall, in the view of the Committee, less onerous.
Non-executive Directors are required to build and then maintain a holding of 100% of their base fee over the six years from the date of
appointment to the Board (unless for some reason they are unable to retain their fees).
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Interests in share awards following departure enable departing Executive Directors to remain aligned with the interest of shareholders
for an extended period after leaving the Company. Deferred Share Awards, legacy LTIP and ESP awards subject to a holding period will
normally vest (and be released from their holding periods) at the normal time. This means that Executive Directors may retain a significant
interest in shares for up to five years following departure from the Company. Following adoption of the policy in 2021, Executive Directors
will normally be required to retain an interest equivalent to two times their annual ESP grant (265% for the Chief Executive and 225%
for the Group CFO & COO) for two years following departure. In order to enforce this requirement, on vesting relevant shares will be
automatically transferred to a secure nominee arrangement until the appropriate level of interest has been achieved. The shares will
be retained in this arrangement until the end of the two year period.
The figures set out below represent shareholdings in the ordinary share capital of ITV plc beneficially owned by Directors and their family
interests at 31 December 2021. To show alignment with the shareholding guidelines the net number of unvested share awards not subject
to performance conditions are included for the Executive Directors. The Committee continues to keep both the shareholding guidelines
and actual Director shareholdings under review and will take appropriate action should they feel it necessary.
Executive Directors
Carolyn McCall
Chris Kennedy
Non-executive Directors
Salman Amin
Peter Bazalgette
Edward Bonham Carter
Graham Cooke
Margaret Ewing
Mary Harris
Anna Manz
Sharmila Nebhrajani
Duncan Painter
Interests in shares
Unconditional
shares held at
31 December
20211
Restricted
shares held at
31 December
20212
Notes
% shareholding
guidelines met3
Unconditional
shares held at
31 December
2020
% of salary/fees
required
to be held under
shareholding
guidelines
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
868,131
267,006
1,145,159
532,386
50,674
357,245
50,000
–
37,700
70,627
33,565
3,000
82,078
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
67
57
100
100
85
–
78
100
95
6
100
254,962
87,831
50,674
357,245
50,000
–
37,700
59,815
33,565
–
–
400
225
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
1. Shares beneficially held by Directors and family interests.
2. Unvested restricted share awards (under the DSA, LTIP or ESP) not subject to performance conditions, accounted for on a net of tax basis.
3. In order to reflect economic exposure, shareholding guidelines are assessed on the greater of the share price on 31 December 2021 (110.55 pence) and the value at acquisition/grant.
4. Carolyn McCall was appointed to the Board on 8 January 2018 and has until 2023 to meet her shareholding guideline.
5. Chris Kennedy was appointed to the Board on 21 February 2019 and has until 2024 to meet his shareholding guideline.
6. Edward Bonham Carter was appointed to the Board on 11 October 2018 and has until 2024 to meet his shareholding guideline.
7. Graham Cooke was appointed to the Board on 1 May 2020 and has until 2026 to meet his shareholding guideline.
8. Margaret Ewing was appointed to the Board on 31 October 2017 and has until 2023 to meet her shareholding guideline.
9. Anna Manz was appointed to the Board on 1 February 2016 and has until 2022 to meet her shareholding guideline.
10. Sharmila Nebhrajani was appointed to the Board on 10 December 2020 and has until 2026 to meet her shareholding guideline.
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Outstanding interests under share plans
The following tables provide details of the Executive Directors’ interests in outstanding share awards.
At
1 January
2021
Notes
Awarded
in year
Vested
in year
Exercised
in year6
Lapsed
in year
At
31 December
2021
Share price
used for award
(pence)
Share
option
price
(pence)
Share price
at exercise
(pence)
Vesting date
Holding period
ends
Carolyn McCall
Buyout awards
28 March 2018
1 209,049
– 209,049 209,049
28 March 2019
2
947,876
–
– 947,876
–
–
–
–
145.25
169.60
LTIP
28 March 2018
3 1,641,997
– 144,989
– 1,497,008
144,989
145.25
28 March 2019
3 1,934,498
6 April 2020
3 3,575,495
–
–
ESP
13 May 2021
4
– 1,013,062
DSA5
28 March 2019
6 April 2020
309,860
692,767
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Chris Kennedy
Buyout awards
28 March 2019
28 March 2019
28 March 2019
LTIP
166,179
24,532
147,187
– 166,179 166,179
24,532 24,532
–
– 147,187 147,187
28 March 2019
3
1,175,121
6 April 2020
3 2,171,954
–
–
ESP
13 May 2021
4
–
615,390
DSA5
6 April 2020
SAYE
7 April 2020
389,111
24,426
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
– 1,934,498
126.37
–
3,575,495
69.91
–
1,013,062
123.37
309,860
692,767
126.37
69.91
–
–
–
126.37
126.37
126.37
1,175,121
126.37
2,171,954
69.91
615,390
123.37
389,111
69.91
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
122.84
28 March
2021
106.70 19 Dec 2019
19 Dec
2021
28 March
2021
28 March
2022
–
–
– 6 April 2023
28 March
2023
28 March
2024
6 April
2025
– 13 May 2024
13 May
2026
28 March
–
2022
– 6 April 2023
28 March
122.84
2021
145.45 2 Sept 2021
145.45 2 Sept 2021
28 March
2022
–
– 6 April 2023
28 March
2024
6 April
2025
– 13 May 2024
13 May
2026
– 6 April 2023
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
24,426
92.11
73.69
– 1 June 2023
1. The buyout award made in 2018 relate to the 2016-17 easyJet bonus – one-third deferred into shares for three years (209,049 ITV shares). The value reflects award forfeited under
previous easyJet incentive arrangements and will vest and release over the same time horizons as the award that was forfeited.
2. The buyout award made in 2019 relates to 2016 easyJet long-term incentive based on performance to September 2019. This award was made subject to ITV performance to
31 December 2019. This award vested at 62.35% and the vesting shares were subject to a holding period and released in December 2021.
3. Awards under the LTIP are subject to performance over a three year period. Any proportion of the award that meets the performance conditions will become exercisable after
a two year holding period.
4. Awards under the ESP vest after three years subject to a financial underpin condition being met. The award will then become exercisable after a two year holding period. The face
value of awards granted in the financial year to Carolyn McCall under the ESP was £1,249,814 and to Chris Kennedy was £759,206.
5. There were no DSA awards made in 2021 for 2020 performance.
6. For all awards exercised during the year, sufficient shares were sold to cover income tax and national insurance liabilities, with the balance of shares retained by each Executive
Director. The shares are included in the balance of unconditional shares in the table on page 153.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Performance conditions that apply to the unvested awards under the 2020 LTIP are summarised in the table below.
Adjusted EPS
Annual non-NAR growth
ITV Family SOV
Online viewing, hours of VOD consumption growth
TSR v. cross sector of UK companies
Weighting
Threshold
Maximum
20%
40%
10%
10%
20%
12.5p
3%
21.2%
250m
Median
17p
6.5%
23.5%
500m
Upper quartile
TSR will be assessed against a comparator group of FTSE 350 companies that predominantly operate in the UK (excluding financial
services and extractive industries). With the exception of the SOV target, there will be straight-line vesting between the threshold
and maximum levels.
External directorships
With specific approval of the Board, Executive Directors may undertake external appointments as a non-executive director of other
publicly quoted companies and retain any related fees paid to them. During the year, the Executive Directors retained fees for the
directorships set out below.
Carolyn McCall
Chris Kennedy
Company
Burberry Group plc1
Bridgepoint Group plc2
Whitbread plc
2021
£000
100
16
82
1. Carolyn McCall will step down from her appointment to Burberry Group plc on 2 April 2022.
2. Carolyn McCall was appointed a Non-executive Director of Bridgepoint Group plc on 12 July 2021. In addition to the fee shown in the table for her role as a Non-executive Director,
on 21 July 2021 she received an initial fee that after tax was used to acquire shares in Bridgepoing Group plc on admission.
The Board and Committee are satisfied that these commitments do not compromise their duties as Executive Directors of ITV plc.
Service contracts
The Directors’ service contracts and letters of appointment are available for inspection at the Company’s registered office.
Executive Directors: Executive Directors have rolling service contracts that provide for 12 months’ notice on either side. There are no
special provisions that apply in the event of a change of control.
Carolyn McCall
Chris Kennedy
Date of appointment
Nature of contract
8 January 2018
21 February 2019
Rolling
Rolling
Notice period
from Company
12 months
12 months
Notice period
from Director
Compensation for
early termination
12 months
12 months
None
None
Non-executive Directors: Each Non-executive Director, including the Chairman, has a contract of service with the Company. Non-executive
Directors will serve for an initial term of three years, subject to election and then annual re-election by shareholders, unless otherwise
terminated earlier by and at the discretion of either party upon one month’s written notice (12 months for the current Chairman). After the
initial three year term, reappointment is on an annual basis.
All Non-executive Directors are subject to re-election at the AGM in 2022. Details of appointment and tenure are set out in the table
on page 105.
Committee membership and advisers
The Directors who were members of the Committee when matters relating to the Executive Directors’ remuneration for the year were
considered are set out on page 142.
The Committee obtains advice from various sources in order to ensure it makes informed decisions. The Executive Directors are invited
to attend Committee meetings as appropriate. No individual is involved in decisions relating to their own remuneration.
The Group HR Director is the main internal adviser and provides updates on remuneration, employee relations and human resource issues.
Deloitte LLP was appointed by the Committee as the independent adviser on remuneration policy and the external remuneration
environment with effect from September 2017 following a review of other advisers in the market place. Total fees for advice provided
to the Committee during the year amounted to £96,850 on a time/material basis (exclusive of VAT and expenses). Deloitte are members
of the Remuneration Consultants Group and abide by its Code of Conduct in relation to remuneration consulting in the UK.
The Committee regularly reviews the quality and objectivity of the advice it receives from Deloitte in private sessions and this is challenged
as a part of the Board evaluation process. It is satisfied that the advice it has received has been objective and independent, and that any
conflicts have been appropriately managed. The Committee is satisfied that the Deloitte LLP engagement partner and advisory team that
provide remuneration advice to the Committee, do not have any connections with the Company or individual directors that may impair
their independence.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportGovernance | Remuneration Report continued
The wider UK Deloitte firm provided ITV with a number of other services during the year relating to risk and internal audit, tax, financial
advice and consultancy. The members of the executive remuneration consulting team are not incentivised to cross-sell non-related
services to ITV.
Relative importance of spend on pay
The table below shows pay for all employees compared with other key financial indicators.
Employee pay1
Ordinary dividend
Employee headcount2
2021
£m
553
0
6,315
2020
£m
473
0
6,273
% Change
17
–
0.7
1. Employee pay is the total remuneration paid to all employees across ITV on a full-time equivalent basis. More detail is set out in note 2.1 of the Financial Statements.
2. Employee headcount is the monthly average number of employees across ITV on a full-time equivalent basis. More detail is set out in note 2.1 of the Financial Statements.
There were no share buybacks during either year.
Historical performance
The graph below shows the TSR performance of the Company against the FTSE 100 index over the ten year period to 31 December 2021.
The FTSE 100 was chosen as ITV has been a member of the FTSE 100 during the ten year period.
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
)
2
1
0
2
y
r
a
u
n
a
J
1
t
a
0
0
1
o
t
d
e
s
a
b
e
r
(
R
S
T
31/12/2011
31/12/2012
31/12/2013
31/12/2014
31/12/2015
31/12/2016
31/12/2017
31/12/2018
31/12/2019
31/12/2020
31/12/2021
ITV
FTSE 100
Source: Thomson Reuters Datastream
Chief Executive remuneration
The table below provides a summary of the total remuneration received by the Chief Executive over the last ten years, including details
of the annual bonus pay-out and long-term incentive award vesting level in each year.
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
Carolyn McCall
Carolyn McCall
Carolyn McCall
Carolyn McCall
Peter Bazalgette (for the six month period served as Executive Chairman)
Adam Crozier (for the six month period served)
Adam Crozier
Adam Crozier
Adam Crozier
Adam Crozier
Adam Crozier
Total
remuneration
£000
Bonus %
of maximum
Long-term incentive
award vesting % of
maximum
3,533
1,150
3,122
3,695
225
2,050
3,632
3,881
4,842
8,399
2,915
96.38
–
87.5
73.6
–
97.9
40
96
94
93
91
35.82
8.83
62.35
–
–
63
80
75
75
87
12
The long-term incentive award vesting percentage relates to the proportion of the award that met performance conditions in the relevant
financial year.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Shareholder voting
Votes cast by proxy and at the meeting by poll in respect of the Executive Directors’ remuneration at the 2021 AGM were as follows:
Resolution
Number of shares
Voting for %
Number of shares
Voting against %
Total votes cast
Votes withheld
Annual Report on Remuneration
Remuneration Policy
ITV Executive Share Plan
2,919,746,914
2,708,902,059
2,944,366,873
99.40
92.23
92.45
17,477,480
228,270,767
240,430,241
0.60 2,937,224,394
250,148,922
7.77 2,937,172,826 250,200,490
2,576,202
7.55
3,184,797,114
This Remuneration Report was approved by the Board on 3 March 2022 and has been signed on behalf of the Directors by –
Mary Harris
Chair, Remuneration Committee
3 March 2022
157
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportGovernance | Director’s Report
Directors’ Report
The Directors present their Annual Report and the audited consolidated and parent company financial statements for the year ended
31 December 2021. The Directors’ Report comprises this report and the entire Governance section including the Chairman’s Governance
Statement. In accordance with the Financial Conduct Authority’s Listing Rules, the information to be included in the 2021 Annual Report
and Accounts, where applicable, under LR 9.8.4, is set out in this Directors’ Report. Other information that is relevant to this report, and
which is incorporated by reference, can be located as follows:
Information
Carbon and greenhouse gas emissions
Corporate Governance Report
Culture
Directors’ service contracts
Employee engagement and involvement
Employee equality, diversity, reward, investment and inclusion
Future developments of the business of the Group
Membership of the Board during the 2021 financial year
Research and development
Stakeholder engagement and Company’s business relationships
Page number
See page 52
See pages 98 to 122
See pages 116 to 119
See page 105
See pages 114 to 115
See pages 56 to 58
See pages 22 to 23
See page 105
See pages 32 to 47
See pages 107 to 113
Corporate
Articles of Association: The Articles of Association may only be amended by special resolution of the shareholders. The current Articles
were adopted as the Articles of Association of the Company at the conclusion of the 2021 AGM and are available on our website.
www.itvplc.com/investors/governance
Auditor: The external auditor for the 2021 financial year was PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. The Independent Auditors’ Report starting
on page 164 sets out the information contained in the Annual Report which has been audited by the external auditor.
Following an external audit tender undertaken by the Audit and Risk Committee in 2019 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP was duly appointed
as the external auditor at the close of the 2021 AGM, with its appointment taking effect from, and including, the 2021 financial year.
The Audit and Risk Committee considered the performance and audit fees of the external auditor, and the level of non-audit work
undertaken. It recommended to the Board that a resolution for the reappointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for a further year
as the Company’s auditor be proposed to shareholders at the AGM on 28 April 2022.
Change of control: No person holds securities in the Company carrying special rights with regard to control of the Company. All of
the Company’s share schemes contain provisions relating to a change of control. Outstanding awards and options would normally vest
and become exercisable on a change of control, subject to the satisfaction of any performance conditions and proration for time
where appropriate.
Certain of the Group’s debt and derivative instruments have change of control clauses whereby the counterparty can require ITV to
repay or redeem the instruments in the event of a change of control (although in some cases only if it is accompanied by a credit rating
downgrade to sub investment grade). The Company is not aware of any other significant agreements to which it is a party that take
effect, alter or terminate upon a change of control of the Company.
Other agreements: The Company does not have any agreements with any Director or employee that would provide compensation for
loss of office or employment resulting from change of control following a takeover bid.
Dividends: The Board has proposed a final dividend of 3.3 pence for the year ended 31 December 2021 subject to shareholder approval at
the AGM on 28 April 2022. The final dividend will be paid on 26 May 2022 to shareholders on the register on 19 April 2022 (the record date).
The ex-dividend date is 14 April 2022. For more information please refer to page 64.
Political contributions: It is the Company’s policy not to make cash contributions to any political party. However, within the normal
activities of the Company’s national and regional news-gathering operations, there may be occasions when an activity might fall within
the broader definition of ‘political expenditure’ contained within the Companies Act 2006. Shareholder authority for such expenditure
was given at the 2021 AGM. During 2021 there were no payments made by the Group falling within this definition (2020: nil). The Directors
will seek to renew this authority at the 2022 AGM.
Branches: Branches of the Group outside the United Kingdom are indicated in the Subsidiary undertakings and investments section
on pages 256 to 260.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Directors
Appointments: A table showing Directors who served in the year and to the date of this report can be found on page 105. Biographies
for Directors currently in office can be found on pages 100 and 101 and on our website.
www.itvplc.com/about/board-of-directors
The appointment and replacement of Directors is governed by the Articles of Association, the UK Corporate Governance Code, the
Companies Act 2006 and related legislation. The Directors may from time to time appoint one or more Directors. Any such Director
shall hold office only until the next AGM and shall then be eligible for appointment by the Company’s shareholders in accordance with
the Corporate Governance Code. Subject to annual shareholder approval, Non-executive Directors are appointed for an initial three year
period and annually thereafter. Each Director will retire and submit themselves for election at the forthcoming AGM.
Conflicts of interest: The Board has delegated the authorisation of any conflicts to the Nominations Committee and has adopted
a Conflicts of Interest Policy. The Board has considered in detail the current external appointments of the Directors that may give rise
to a situational conflict and has authorised potential conflicts where appropriate. This authorisation can be reviewed at any time but
will always be subject to annual review.
Powers including in relation to issuing or buying back shares: Subject to applicable law and the Company’s Articles of Association,
the Directors may exercise all powers of the Company, including the power to authorise the issue and/or market purchase of the Company’s
shares (subject to an appropriate authority being given to the Directors by shareholders in a general meeting and any conditions attaching
to such authority). The Articles and a schedule of Matters Reserved for the Board can be found on our website (below).
At the 2021 AGM, the Directors were given the following authority:
• to allot a maximum of 1.34 billion shares, representing approximately one-third of the Company’s issued share capital, extending to
2.68 billion if used for a rights issue;
• to allot a maximum of 402.5 million shares, without first offering them to existing shareholders in proportion to their holdings,
representing approximately 10% of the Company’s issued share capital; and
• to purchase in the market a maximum of 402.5 million shares, representing up to approximately 10% of the Company’s issued
share capital.
No shares were allotted or bought back under these authorities during the 2021 financial year and up to the date of this report. These
standard authorities will expire on 29 July 2022 or at the conclusion of the 2022 AGM, whichever is earlier. The Directors will seek to
renew the authorities at the AGM in 2022.
Insurance and indemnities: The Company maintains liability insurance for its Directors and officers that is renewed on an annual basis.
The Company has also entered into deeds of indemnity with its Directors and certain directors of associated companies. A copy of the
indemnity can be found on our website. The indemnity, which constitutes a qualifying third-party indemnity as defined in Section 234
of the Companies Act 2006, was in force during the 2021 financial year.
www.itvplc.com/investors/governance
Disclosures
Listing Rule 9.8.4 disclosures: There are no disclosures to be made under Listing Rule 9.8.4, other than that the Trustee of the
Employees’ Benefit Trust (EBT) waived its rights to receive dividends on shares it holds which do not relate to restricted shares
held under the ITV Deferred Share Award Plan. See note 4.2.
Financial risk management: The Directors have carried out a robust assessment of the principal and emerging risks facing the
Company, including in relation to its business model, future performance, solvency and liquidity. Details of our principal risks and
associated mitigations, together with details of our approach to risk management, are set out on pages 72 to 87. Note 4.2 to the
financial statements gives details of the Group’s financial risk management policies and related exposures. Note 4.2 is incorporated
by reference and deemed to form part of this report.
Going concern: The going concern statement is set out on page 178. The statement is incorporated by reference and deemed to
form part of this report.
Data: As a part of our business activity, ITV processes large amounts of personal data. ITV recognises that to enable this use of personal
data to transform our business and to meet the expectations of our viewers, advertisers and colleagues, it is critical that we continue to
build on our approach to applying privacy in a lawful and ethical way. A programme of work to support this has been led by our Global
Data Protection Officer. The work includes making improvements to our data governance framework and delivering our data privacy
function to protect rights, engender trust and make data available for commercial purposes. ITV has a number of policies, procedures
and tools in place to support this, including our Privacy and Data Protection Policy and an Information Security Policy that governs the
processing and security of data. Compliance with these policies is mandatory and forms part of the Code of Ethics and Compliance.
All colleagues undergo regular training to remind them of their responsibilities under these policies. Privacy and data protection is kept
under review by the Audit and Risk Committee.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportGovernance | Director’s Report continued
Subsequent events
• New sustainability-linked Revolving Credit Facility: On 14 January 2022, we agreed a new syndicated £500 million Revolving Credit
Facility (RCF) with Barclays Bank PLC, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse International, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., National Westminster Bank PLC and
Wells Fargo Bank N.A. See note 5.3 for further detail.
• The Voice of Holland: In early 2022, allegations of inappropriate behaviour on the set of The Voice of Holland were made public,
resulting in a mid-season suspension of series 12. A provision has been made to cover the committed costs relating to the series in
production, impairment of the carrying value of work in progress and other costs. See note 5.3 for further detail.
• BritBox UK: To give ITV greater control over BritBox UK and enable its integration into ITVX, on 2 March 2022, the BBC ceased to be
a shareholder in BritBox SVOD Limited (BritBox UK). See note 5.3 for further details.
Pensions
The Company operates a number of pension arrangements which provide retirement and death benefits for colleagues.
ITV Pension Scheme (the Scheme): The Scheme is predominantly a defined benefit (DB) scheme, which is closed to future accrual,
but also includes a small defined contribution (DC) section closed to future contributions.
ITV Pension Scheme Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc) is a corporate Trustee and manages the Scheme under a trust which is
separate from the Company. Members of the trustee board are formally appointed as directors of ITV Pension Scheme Limited. There are
six directors including the Chair – four appointed by the Company and two nominated by the members. The Company appointed Trustee
directors include the Chair and two professional independent Trustees.
Currently, the Trustee has two committees: Investment, and Corporate Affairs. The Corporate Affairs Committee is convened as and
when appropriate for dealing with any corporate activities that may arise. The Trustee board and each committee hold regular meetings
throughout the year at which key issues and more routine business matters are dealt with. A budget is agreed each year. The Trustee board
manages risk through its meeting agendas and has a conflicts of interest policy and a register of interests policy, which are reviewed
regularly. It is the responsibility of the Trustee to have in place appropriate training for its directors and effective committee structures.
The Trustee directors receive regular training throughout the year and also have the support of various professional advisers. The Group
pensions department helps identify training opportunities. Training is delivered both by attendance at external courses and with targeted
training to support specific agenda items at the start of the relevant trustee board meeting. Where appropriate, longer training sessions
are organised. Comprehensive records are kept of all training completed by each Trustee director. The trustee board completes regular
assessments of its advisers.
The Chair confirms in an annual statement that the Trustee meets its legal duties in relation to the DC section as required under
the Pensions Regulator’s Code of Practice 13.
Full valuations are carried out every three years. The latest completed actuarial valuation of the main DB scheme was due as at
1 January 2020 and has now been agreed in principle with the formalities expected to be completed by 31 March 2022.
ITV Defined Contribution Plan (the Plan): The trust based Plan was established to accept contributions from 1 March 2017 for ex-DB
members and DC members who transferred from the Scheme. Eligible fixed term and permanent employees are invited to join the Plan
after completing the required time in the Company’s auto-enrolment (AE) arrangement – the AE Section of the Plan, which was set up
on 1 April 2020. These individuals are given the opportunity to transfer funds from the AE plan and make backdated contributions within
permitted levels.
ITV DC Trustee Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc) is a corporate Trustee and manages the DC assets, which are held under trust
separately from the Company. Members of the trustee board are formally appointed as directors of ITV DC Trustee Limited. There are five
directors including the Chair — three appointed by the Company and two nominated by the members. It is the responsibility of the Trustee
to have in place appropriate training for its directors. The governance framework for managing the Plan and developing the board is in line
with that in place for the ITV Pension Scheme.
The Chair confirms in an annual statement that the Trustee meets its legal duties in relation to the DC Plan as required under the Pensions
Regulator’s Code of Practice 13.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Ulster Television Pension and Assurance Scheme (the UTV Scheme): The UTV Scheme provides DB benefits. It is closed to future
accrual with effect from 31 March 2019.
UTV Pension Scheme Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of ITV plc) is a corporate Trustee and manages the DB assets, which are held under
trust separately from the Company. Members of the trustee board are formally appointed as directors of UTV Pension Scheme Limited.
There are five directors including the Chair — three appointed by the Company (including a professional Trustee as chairman) and two
nominated by the members. It is the responsibility of the Trustee to have in place appropriate training for its directors. The governance
framework for managing the UTV Scheme and developing the board is in line with that in place for the ITV Pension Scheme.
Full valuations are carried out every three years. The latest completed actuarial valuation was carried out as at 1 July 2020. The trustee
board has adopted the Pensions Regulator’s integrated risk management framework taking a holistic approach and looking at how risks
around the employer covenant, funding and investment strategy are all linked and inter-dependent. A cashflow driven investment strategy
was introduced from March 2018.
The People’s Pension: Since 2013, employers within the Group have been required to enrol all eligible individuals into a pension scheme
automatically (auto-enrolment). This applies to all eligible individuals who are contracted to work for us, regardless of their contract
type or tax status (i.e. it applies to workers and not simply employees). For freelancers and employees not eligible to join the DC Plan,
the auto-enrolment plan is provided by a company called The People’s Pension under a master trust which is run by an independent
board of trustee directors and eligible individuals are enrolled into this arrangement.
Pension Scheme indemnities: Qualifying pension scheme indemnity provisions, as defined in Section 235 of the Companies Act 2006,
were in force for the financial year ended 31 December 2021 and remain in force for the benefit of each of the directors of ITV Pension
Scheme Limited, ITV DC Trustee Limited and UTV Pension Scheme Limited. These indemnity provisions cover, to the extent permitted by
law, certain losses or liabilities incurred as a director or officer of ITV Pension Scheme Limited, ITV DC Trustee Limited and UTV Pension
Scheme Limited.
Shares
Issued share capital: At the date of this report, there were 4,025,409,194 ordinary shares of 10 pence each in issue, all of which are fully
paid up and quoted on the London Stock Exchange.
Rights: The rights attaching to the Company’s ordinary shares are set out in the Articles of Association. There are no securities carrying
special rights.
Restrictions: There are no restrictions on the transfer of ordinary shares in the capital of the Company other than those which may be
imposed by law from time to time. The Company is not aware of any agreements between shareholders that may result in restrictions
on the transfer of securities and/or voting rights. With regard to the deadline for exercising voting rights, votes are exercisable at a general
meeting of the Company in respect of which the business being voted upon is being heard. Votes may be exercised in person, by proxy or,
in relation to corporate members, by corporate representatives. The Articles provide a deadline for submission of proxy forms of not less
than 48 hours before the time appointed for the holding of the meeting or adjourned meeting. However, when calculating the 48-hour
period, the Directors can, and have, decided not to take account of any part of a day that is not a working day. In accordance with the
Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules (DTRs), Persons Discharging Managerial Responsibility are required to seek approval to deal
in ITV shares. The Company is not aware of any agreements between shareholders that may result in restrictions on the transfer of
securities and/or voting rights.
Share schemes: Details of employee share schemes are set out in note 4.8 of the Financial Statements. The Company has an Employees’
Benefit Trust (EBT) funded by loans to acquire shares for the potential benefit of employees. Details of shares held by the EBT as at 31
December 2021 are set out in note 4.8. During the year, shares have been released from the EBT in respect of share schemes for employees.
The Trustee of the EBT has the power to exercise all voting rights in relation to any investment (including ordinary shares) held within the EBT.
Substantial shareholders:Information regarding interests in voting rights provided to the Company pursuant to the DTRs is published
on a Regulatory Information Service and on the Company’s website.
As at 3 March 2022, the information in the table below had been received, in accordance with DTR5, from holders of notifiable interests
(voting rights) in the Company’s issued share capital. However, these holdings are likely to have changed since notified to the Company;
notification of any change is not required until the next applicable threshold is crossed.
The number of shares is based on announcements made by each relevant shareholder using the Company’s issued share capital at that date.
Liberty Global Incorporated Limited
Ameriprise Financial, Inc and its group
% of interest
in shares
9.90
5.08
Nature of
interest
in shares
Total number
of shares
as notified
Indirect 398,515,510
Indirect 204,366,654
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportThe Directors are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and Accounts and the
financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulation.
Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial
year. Under that law the directors have prepared the group financial statements in
accordance with UK-adopted international accounting standards and the company
financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted
Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 101
“Reduced Disclosure Framework”, and applicable law).
Under company law, Directors must not approve the financial statements unless they
are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the group and
company and of the profit or loss of the group for that period. In preparing the financial
statements, the directors are required to:
• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
•
state whether applicable UK-adopted international accounting standards have
been followed for the group financial statements and United Kingdom Accounting
Standards, comprising FRS 101 have been followed for the company financial
statements, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the
financial statements;
• make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate
to presume that the group and company will continue in business.
The Directors are responsible for safeguarding the assets of the group and company
and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and
other irregularities.
The Directors are also responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are
sufficient to show and explain the group’s and company’s transactions and disclose
with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the group and company
and enable them to ensure that the financial statements and the Directors’
Remuneration Report comply with the Companies Act 2006.
The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the company’s
website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and
dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
By order of the Board
Chris Kennedy
Group CFO & COO
3 March 2022
ITV plc
Registered Number: 4967001
Governance | Director’s Report continued
Statement of Directors’
Responsibilities
The Directors consider that the Annual
Report and Accounts and accounts,
taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and
understandable and provides the
information necessary for shareholders
to assess the group’s and company’s
position and performance, business
model and strategy.
Each of the Directors, whose names and
functions are listed in the Board of Directors
section on pages 100 to 101 confirm that,
to the best of their knowledge:
• the Group financial statements, which
have been prepared in accordance with
UK-adopted international accounting
standards, give a true and fair view of
the assets, liabilities, financial position
and profit of the group;
• the Company financial statements, which
have been prepared in accordance with
United Kingdom Accounting Standards,
comprising FRS 101, give a true and fair
view of the assets, liabilities and financial
position of the Company; and
• the Strategic Report contained on pages
2 to 97 includes a fair review of the
development and performance of the
business and the position of the Group
and Company, together with a description
of the principal risks and uncertainties
that it faces.
In the case of each Director in office at the
date the Directors’ Report is approved:
• so far as the Director is aware, there is no
relevant audit information of which the
Group’s and Company’s auditors are
unaware; and
• they have taken all the steps that they
ought to have taken as a Director in
order to make themselves aware of any
relevant audit information and to
establish that the Group’s and Company’s
auditors are aware of that information.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Financial Statements
In this
section
The financial statements have been presented in a style that attempts to make them less complex and
more relevant to shareholders and other stakeholders. We have grouped the note disclosures into five
sections: ‘Basis of Preparation’, ‘Results for the Year’, ‘Operating Assets and Liabilities’, ‘Capital Structure
and Financing Costs’ and ‘Other Notes’. Each section sets out the accounting policies applied in producing
the relevant notes, along with details of any key judgements and estimates used. The purpose of this
format is to provide readers with a clearer understanding of what drives financial performance of the
Group. The aim of the text in boxes is to provide commentary on each section, or note, in plain English.
Keeping
it simple
Notes to the financial statements provide information required by statute, accounting standards or
Listing Rules to explain a particular feature of the financial statements. The notes are a part of the financial
statements and will also provide explanations and additional disclosure to assist readers’ understanding
and interpretation of the Annual Report and the financial statements.
Contents
Independent Auditors’ Report to the members of ITV plc
Primary Statements
Consolidated Income Statement
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
Section 1: Basis of Preparation
Section 2: Results for the Year
2.1 Profit before tax
2.2 Exceptional items
2.3 Taxation
2.4 Earnings per share
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities
3.1 Working capital
3.2 Property, plant and equipment
3.3 Intangible assets
3.4 Investments
3.5 Provisions
3.6 Pensions
Section 4: Capital Structure and Financing Costs
4.1 Net debt
4.2 Borrowings
4.3 Managing market risks: derivative financial instruments
4.4 Net financing costs
4.5 Fair value hierarchy
4.6 Lease liabilities
4.7 Equity
4.8 Share–based compensation
Section 5: Other Notes
5.1 Related party transactions
5.2 Contingent assets and liabilities
5.3 Subsequent events
5.4 Subsidiaries exempt from audit
ITV plc Company Financial Statements
Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements
164
172
172
173
174
175
177
178
182
182
188
190
193
195
195
200
202
207
208
210
219
219
221
223
233
234
236
237
238
240
240
241
242
243
245
247
163
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Financial Statements | Independent Auditors’ Report to the members of ITV plc
Financial Statements | Independent auditors’ report to the members of ITV plc
Independent Auditors’ Report to the
members of ITV plc
Report on the audit of the financial statements
Opinion
In our opinion:
• ITV plc's Group financial statements and parent company financial statements (the ‘financial statements’) give a true and fair view of the
state of the Group's and of the parent company's affairs as at 31 December 2021 and of the Group's profit and the Group's cash flows for the
year then ended;
• the Group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with UK-adopted international accounting standards;
• the parent company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting
Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards, comprising FRS 101 ‘Reduced Disclosure Framework’, and applicable law); and
• the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
We have audited the financial statements, included within the Annual Report, which comprise: the consolidated and parent company
Statements of Financial Position as at 31 December 2021; the Consolidated Income Statement, the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive
Income, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows, and the consolidated and parent company Statements of Changes in Equity for the year
then ended; and the notes to the financial statements, which include a description of the significant accounting policies.
Our opinion is consistent with our reporting to the Audit and Risk Committee.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under
ISAs (UK) are further described in the Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We believe that
the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Independence
We remained independent of the Group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements
in the UK, which includes the FRC’s Ethical Standard, as applicable to listed public interest entities, and we have fulfilled our other ethical
responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.
To the best of our knowledge and belief, we declare that non-audit services prohibited by the FRC’s Ethical Standard were not provided.
Other than those disclosed in the Audit and Risk Committee Report, we have provided no non-audit services to the company or its controlled
undertakings in the period under audit.
Our audit approach
Context
The context of our audit is set by 2021 being our first year as external auditors of the Group. During our audit transition, we shadowed the prior
year audit undertaken by the predecessor auditor and reviewed the predecessor auditors’ working papers. We performed a review of the half
year financial information in accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements (UK and Ireland) 2410, and performed process
walkthroughs to understand and evaluate the key financial processes and controls across the Group. We also performed early audit procedures
in advance of the year-end in the UK and in our in-scope territories. These procedures served to inform the determination of our final 2021
Group audit scope, areas of focus and audit approach.
Our areas of focus and audit approach were responsive to the continuing impact of COVID-19 as certain territories were placed under
government restrictions at differing times during the audit. The impacts of, and recovery from, the pandemic, both from a financial reporting
perspective and as it related to how we conducted our work largely remotely, were continuously assessed throughout the year.
As part of our audit, we made enquiries of management to understand their process to assess the extent of the potential impact of climate
change risks on the Group and its financial statements. Management’s assessment has considered the climate-related risks disclosed in the
Annual Report including the Group’s journey to net zero, and potential exposure to carbon pricing, extreme weather events and advertising
restrictions. In particular, management considered the extent to which:
• The Group may incur costs in the transition to net zero, for example, replacement to renewable energy buildings and vehicles;
• The Group may be exposed to an increase in government carbon pricing/taxations to encourage carbon reduction;
• The Group may be exposed to physical climate risks in the form of extreme weather events which could impact productions; and
• The Group may be impacted by changing advertising regulations such as restrictions or bans on advertising high carbon products and services.
As disclosed within the basis of preparation section of the financial statements, management considers that the impact of climate change does
not give rise to a material financial statement impact.
In response, we used our understanding of the Group to evaluate management’s assessment; in particular, we considered how climate change
risks, both physical and transitional, would impact the assumptions made in the forecasts prepared by management used in their impairment
analyses and in their going concern and viability assessments. We concluded that climate change risks do not materially impact the Group’s
financial statements. We also read the disclosures made in relation to climate change in the other information within the Annual Report, and
considered their consistency with the financial statements and our knowledge from our audit.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
164
164
Overview
Audit scope
• We performed full scope audit procedures over 9 components and performed specified audit procedures on a further 3 components,
covering components in the UK, USA, The Netherlands and Italy.
• Taken together, the entities over which audit work was performed accounted for 85% of the Group's revenue and 88% of the Group's profit
before tax and operating exceptional items.
• Due to the restrictions on travel and social distancing measures imposed at differing times in the year as a result of the continuing COVID-19
pandemic, the Group engagement team used video conferencing to oversee the component auditor work and conducted remote discussions
and review activities to understand and supervise the work of the international teams.
Key audit matters
• Valuation of gross defined benefit pension scheme obligations (Group)
• Valuation of complex pension scheme assets (Group)
• Presentation of exceptional items, including valuation of the Box Clever provision (Group)
• Recoverability of investments in subsidiary undertakings (parent company)
Materiality
• Overall Group materiality: £28 million based on 5% of the Group's three-year average consolidated profit before tax and operating
exceptional items.
• Overall parent company materiality: £84.7 million based on 1% of total assets. For the purposes of the Group audit, we applied a lower
materiality of £18 million to parent company balances and transactions, other than those which were eliminated on consolidation in the
Group financial statements.
• Performance materiality: £21 million (Group) and £63.5 million (parent company).
The scope of our audit
As part of designing our audit, we determined materiality and assessed the risks of material misstatement in the financial statements.
Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in the auditors’ professional judgement, were of most significance in the audit of the financial
statements of the current period and include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not due to fraud)
identified by the auditors, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy; the allocation of resources in the audit;
and directing the efforts of the engagement team. These matters, and any comments we make on the results of our procedures thereon, were
addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a
separate opinion on these matters.
This is not a complete list of all risks identified by our audit.
Valuation of gross defined benefit pension scheme obligations (Group)
Key audit matter
How our audit addressed the key audit matter
Refer to the Audit and Risk Committee Report on page 129 and to
note 3.6 in the financial statements.
The Group had gross defined benefit scheme obligations of
£3,943 million recognised at 31 December 2021, which are significant
in the context of the overall balance sheet of the Group.
The valuation of defined benefit pension scheme obligations involves
the exercise of judgement and technical expertise in choosing
appropriate actuarial assumptions such as the discount rate, inflation,
and mortality rates. Management engaged external actuarial experts
to assist them in selecting appropriate assumptions and to calculate
the schemes’ liabilities.
The methodologies and assumptions utilised are judgemental and
could significantly impact the magnitude of the obligations recognised.
We utilised our in-house actuarial experts to evaluate whether the
assumptions and methodology used in calculating the defined benefit
obligations were reasonable by:
• Assessing whether the mortality rate and other demographic
assumptions were reasonable based on the consideration of the
specifics of each plan and industry benchmarks;
• Evaluating the appropriateness of the discount and inflation rate
assumptions by assessing the methodology used to set them and
comparing the assumptions with our internally developed
benchmarks based on national data;
• Reviewing the methodology and actuarial models used by external
actuaries to assess their appropriateness and testing the balance
sheet liabilities and movements over the year by performing a roll-
forward of the liabilities.
Based on our procedures, we concluded that the key assumptions
utilised lay within acceptable ranges, the methodology used to
calculate the liability was appropriate, and that the liability calculation
had not been materially misstated. We assessed the related disclosures
included in the Group financial statements and consider them to be
appropriate.
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Valuation of complex pension scheme assets (Group)
Key audit matter
How our audit addressed the key audit matter
Refer to the Audit and Risk Committee Report on page 129 and to
note 3.6 in the financial statements.
The Group had gross defined benefit scheme assets of £3,873 million
recognised at 31 December 2021, which are significant in the context
of the overall balance sheet of the Group.
The valuations of complex pension scheme assets such as Pooled
Investment Vehicles (PIVs), property investments and longevity
swaps are inherently subjective. As such, there is judgement in
determining the fair value of the assets including the selection of
appropriate valuation methodologies and other assumptions. Given
the judgement and the quantum of these assets, this is a heightened
area of audit risk.
We obtained independent confirmations from the investment
managers to confirm the valuation of the scheme assets at the
balance sheet date.
We understood management’s processes and controls for monitoring
and review of complex asset valuations.
We specifically instructed our in-house valuations experts to consider
whether the assumptions and methodology used in valuing the assets
were reasonable in relation to the longevity swap contract.
For complex PIVs, we also requested and reviewed, where available,
third party investment manager controls reports; details of any
transactions close to the year end and; details of the latest audited
financial statements, to determine whether there were any
inconsistencies with the year-end values being attributed.
Based on the procedures performed, we noted no material issues
arising from our work.
Presentation of exceptional items, including valuation of the Box Clever provision (Group)
Key audit matter
How our audit addressed the key audit matter
Refer to the Audit and Risk Committee Report on page 130 and to
notes 2.2 and 3.5 in the financial statements.
The Group recorded significant exceptional items of £196 million
which were included on the face of the consolidated income
statement, and disclosed within the Annual Report.
The presentation of items as exceptional can be judgemental and
have a significant impact on the readers of the financial statements.
Due to the quantum and number of exceptional items in the year, we
focused on the presentation of these items to ensure they were
treated consistently with the Group’s accounting policy.
The Group had recorded a provision of £52 million for the liability
that might arise as a result of the Box Clever Financial Support
Directions issued by the Pensions Regulator, with the increase in the
provision of £21 million recorded as an exceptional charge in the year.
There is continued uncertainty as to the quantum of the amount for
which ITV may be liable.
We substantiated a sample of exceptional items to corroborating
evidence. We assessed management’s rationale for the designation of
certain items as exceptional against the Group’s policy, considering
the nature and value of these items and whether they were ‘one off’
in nature.
Specifically, with respect to the Box Clever provision, we enquired of
management and external legal counsel on the latest status of the
dispute, and circulated and obtained a letter of legal enquiry from the
external legal counsel. We reviewed correspondence with
management’s actuarial advisors and assessed the basis for
management’s estimate of the provision at year-end.
We assessed the appropriateness and completeness of the
disclosures included in the Group financial statements and assessed
the levels of equal prominence of GAAP and Non GAAP measures
within the Annual Report.
Based on our procedures, we were satisfied that the treatment and
classification of exceptional items is consistent with the Group’s
policy, and the Annual Report disclosures, including the Box Clever
matter, are appropriate.
Recoverability of investments in subsidiary undertakings (parent company)
Key audit matter
How our audit addressed the key audit matter
Refer to note iii in the parent company financial statements.
The parent company had £3,080 million of investments in subsidiary
undertakings. There is a risk that the performance of the subsidiary
undertakings is not sufficient to support their carrying value and the
assets may be impaired.
We evaluated management’s assessment of impairment indicators
and considered the consistency with other audit procedures
performed. We found that management’s view that there were no
impairment indicators was appropriate.
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How we tailored the audit scope
We tailored the scope of our audit to ensure that we performed enough work to be able to give an opinion on the financial statements as a
whole, taking into account the structure of the Group and the parent company, the accounting processes and controls, and the industry in
which they operate.
The Group is organised and managed across three divisions: Media & Entertainment (M&E), ITV Studios and Central Services. Within the M&E
and ITV Studios divisions, given the shared systems and control environment in the UK, we identified each individual UK business as a
component. Outside of this, we identified each component at an individual entity level.
Based on our risk and materiality assessments, we determined which components required an audit of their complete financial information
having consideration to the relative significance of each component to the Group, and the overall coverage obtained over each material line
item in the consolidated financial statements.
Due to its high concentration of the Group's overall profit before tax and operating exceptional items, we identified one financially significant
component, M&E, which, in our view, required an audit of its complete financial information.
We identified an additional eight components (inclusive of the parent company) as requiring a complete audit in order to achieve the required
coverage in respect of each material line item in the financial statements. To further supplement this coverage, an audit over specific line items
was performed in two additional components which held balances relating to the Box Clever provision and the earnout on the Talpa acquisition
respectively, and specified procedures over deferred revenue and production WIP were performed at one component in Italy, due to their
overall size and in order to achieve the required coverage over these specific financial statement line items.
Audit work over the UK components was performed by the UK Group engagement team in addition to central procedures over tax, treasury,
legal claims, defined benefit pension schemes, impairment assessments, going concern and consolidation adjustments. Audit procedures over
four components were performed by other PwC network firms in The Netherlands, USA and Italy.
Where the work was performed by international component audit teams, we determined the level of involvement we needed to have in the
audit work at those components to be able to conclude whether sufficient appropriate audit evidence had been obtained as a basis for our
opinion on the Group financial statements as a whole. Our oversight procedures included the issuance of formal, written instructions to
component auditors setting out the work to be performed and regular communication throughout the audit cycle including regular component
calls, remote review of component auditor work papers and participation in audit clearance meetings via video call due to the continued COVID-
19 restrictions.
Taken together, the components where we performed our audit work accounted for 85% of consolidated revenue, and 88% of consolidated
profit before tax and operating exceptional items. This was before considering the contribution to our audit evidence from performing audit
work at the Group level, including disaggregated analytical review procedures, which covers a significant portion of the Group’s smaller and
lower risk components that were not directly included in our Group audit scope.
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Materiality
The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. We set certain quantitative thresholds for materiality. These, together
with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit and the nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures on the
individual financial statement line items and disclosures and in evaluating the effect of misstatements, both individually and in aggregate on
the financial statements as a whole.
Based on our professional judgement, we determined materiality for the financial statements as a whole as follows:
Financial statements – Group
Financial statements – parent company
Overall materiality
How we determined it
£28 million
5% of the Group's three-year average
consolidated profit before tax and operating
exceptional items
Rationale for benchmark applied
We consider the most appropriate benchmark
on which to calculate materiality was the
Group's adjusted profit before tax and
operating exceptional items. Given the
volatility in profitability as a result of COVID-19
in 2021 and 2020, we based our materiality on
the average for three years of the Group's
profit before tax and operating exceptional
items. We believe that an average for three
years is appropriate, as users’ views of
materiality for the financial statements should
not be significantly affected by the impact of,
including the recovery from, COVID-19 on
trading performance in the current year.
£84.7 million
Materiality for the parent company financial
statements was based on 1% of total assets.
Our lower materiality of £18 million for the
balances and transactions which do not
eliminate upon consolidation in the Group
financial statements was based on our
calculation and allocation of component
materiality for the Group audit.
Balances and transactions that eliminate upon
consolidation were audited to a higher
materiality.
We consider a total asset measure to reflect
the nature of the parent company, which
primarily acts as a holding company for the
Group’s investments.
For each component in the scope of our Group audit, we allocated a materiality that is less than our overall Group materiality. The range of
materiality allocated across components was between £4.5 million and £25 million.
We use performance materiality to reduce to an appropriately low level the probability that the aggregate of uncorrected and undetected
misstatements exceeds overall materiality. Specifically, we use performance materiality in determining the scope of our audit and the nature
and extent of our testing of account balances, classes of transactions and disclosures, for example in determining sample sizes. Our
performance materiality was 75% of overall materiality, amounting to £21 million for the Group financial statements and £63.5 million for the
parent company financial statements.
In determining the performance materiality, we considered a number of factors – the history of misstatements, risk assessment and
aggregation risk and the effectiveness of controls – and concluded that an amount at the upper end of our normal range was appropriate.
We agreed with the Audit and Risk Committee that we would report to them misstatements identified during our audit above £1.4 million
(Group and parent company audit) as well as misstatements below those amounts that, in our view, warranted reporting for qualitative reasons.
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Conclusions relating to going concern
Our evaluation of the directors' assessment of the Group's and the parent company's ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of
accounting included:
• A critical assessment of management's base case and downside scenarios, challenging and obtaining corroborating evidence for the key
assumptions, and verifying that the forecasts have been subject to board review and approval;
• Examining the Group's available financing, including related covenants, and maturity profile to assess liquidity through the assessment
period;
• Reviewing the key inputs into the model management used to develop their scenarios to ensure that these were consistent with our
understanding and the inputs used in other key accounting judgements in the financial statements such as impairment;
• Assessing the historical reliability of management forecasting by comparing budgeted results to actual performance;
• Performing our own independent sensitivity analysis to assess appropriate downside scenarios.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or
collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Group's and the parent company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least
twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of
the financial statements is appropriate.
However, because not all future events or conditions can be predicted, this conclusion is not a guarantee as to the Group's and the parent
company's ability to continue as a going concern.
In relation to the directors' reporting on how they have applied the UK Corporate Governance Code, we have nothing material to add or draw
attention to in relation to the directors' statement in the financial statements about whether the directors considered it appropriate to adopt
the going concern basis of accounting.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Reporting on other information
The other information comprises all of the information in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our auditors’ report
thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information, which includes reporting based on the Task Force on Climate-related Financial
Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, accordingly, we do
not express an audit opinion or, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in this report, any form of assurance thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether
the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit, or otherwise appears to
be materially misstated. If we identify an apparent material inconsistency or material misstatement, we are required to perform procedures to
conclude whether there is a material misstatement of the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based
on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that
fact. We have nothing to report based on these responsibilities.
With respect to the Strategic Report and Directors' Report, we also considered whether the disclosures required by the UK Companies Act 2006
have been included.
Based on our work undertaken in the course of the audit, the Companies Act 2006 requires us also to report certain opinions and matters as
described below.
Strategic Report and Directors' Report
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit, the information given in the Strategic Report and Directors' Report for
the year ended 31 December 2021 is consistent with the financial statements and has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal
requirements.
In light of the knowledge and understanding of the Group and parent company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we
did not identify any material misstatements in the Strategic Report and Directors' Report.
Directors’ Remuneration
In our opinion, the part of the Remuneration Report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.
Corporate governance statement
The Listing Rules require us to review the directors' statements in relation to going concern, longer-term viability and that part of the corporate
governance statement relating to the company's compliance with the provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code specified for our
review. Our additional responsibilities with respect to the corporate governance statement as other information are described in the Reporting
on other information section of this report.
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Based on the work undertaken as part of our audit, we have concluded that each of the following elements of the corporate governance
statement is materially consistent with the financial statements and our knowledge obtained during the audit, and we have nothing material to
add or draw attention to in relation to:
• The directors' confirmation that they have carried out a robust assessment of the emerging and principal risks;
• The disclosures in the Annual Report that describe those principal risks, what procedures are in place to identify emerging risks and an
explanation of how these are being managed or mitigated;
• The directors' statement in the financial statements about whether they considered it appropriate to adopt the going concern basis of
accounting in preparing them, and their identification of any material uncertainties to the Group's and parent company's ability to continue
to do so over a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of the financial statements;
• The directors' explanation as to their assessment of the Group's and parent company's prospects, the period this assessment covers and why
the period is appropriate; and
• The directors' statement as to whether they have a reasonable expectation that the parent company will be able to continue in operation
and meet its liabilities as they fall due over the period of its assessment, including any related disclosures drawing attention to any necessary
qualifications or assumptions.
Our review of the directors' statement regarding the longer-term viability of the Group was substantially less in scope than an audit and only
consisted of making inquiries and considering the directors' process supporting their statement; checking that the statement is in alignment
with the relevant provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code; and considering whether the statement is consistent with the financial
statements and our knowledge and understanding of the Group and parent company and their environment obtained in the course of the
audit.
In addition, based on the work undertaken as part of our audit, we have concluded that each of the following elements of the corporate
governance statement is materially consistent with the financial statements and our knowledge obtained during the audit:
• The directors' statement that they consider the Annual Report, taken as a whole, is fair, balanced and understandable, and provides the
information necessary for the members to assess the Group's and parent company's position, performance, business model and strategy;
• The section of the Annual Report that describes the review of effectiveness of risk management and internal control systems; and
• The section of the Annual Report describing the work of the Audit and Risk Committee.
We have nothing to report in respect of our responsibility to report when the directors' statement relating to the parent company's
compliance with the Code does not properly disclose a departure from a relevant provision of the Code specified under the Listing Rules
for review by the auditors.
Responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit
Responsibilities of the directors for the financial statements
As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors' Responsibilities, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial
statements in accordance with the applicable framework and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view. The directors are also
responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from
material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the Group’s and the parent company’s ability to continue as a
going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors
either intend to liquidate the Group or the parent company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement,
whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditors' report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is
not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements
can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the
economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities,
outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of
detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Based on our understanding of the Group and industry, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations
related to health and safety regulations, anti-bribery and corruption laws, tax legislation, data privacy, broadcasting and media regulations, and
UK Listing Rules, and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also
considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006. We evaluated
management's incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls),
and determined that the principal risks were related to posting inappropriate journal entries to manipulate the financial performance of the
Group and management bias in accounting estimates. The Group engagement team shared this risk assessment with the component auditors
so that they could include appropriate audit procedures in response to such risks in their work. Audit procedures performed by the Group
engagement team and/or component auditors included:
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• Enquiry of management, those charged with governance and the Group's legal counsel around actual and potential fraud and non-
compliance with laws and regulations;
• Reviewing legal confirmations from external lawyers;
• Enquiry of tax and compliance functions to identify any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations;
• Challenging assumptions made by management in determining their significant judgements and accounting estimates (refer to key audit
matters);
• Identifying and testing journal entries, in particular journal entries posted with unusual account combinations and journals posted by
unexpected users; and
• Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation.
There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above. We are less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance with
laws and regulations that are not closely related to events and transactions reflected in the financial statements. Also, the risk of not detecting
a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate
concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.
Our audit testing might include testing complete populations of certain transactions and balances, possibly using data auditing techniques.
However, it typically involves selecting a limited number of items for testing, rather than testing complete populations. We will often seek to
target particular items for testing based on their size or risk characteristics. In other cases, we will use audit sampling to enable us to draw a
conclusion about the population from which the sample is selected.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the FRC's website at:
www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditors' report.
Use of this report
This report, including the opinions, has been prepared for and only for the company’s members as a body in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part
16 of the Companies Act 2006 and for no other purpose. We do not, in giving these opinions, accept or assume responsibility for any other
purpose or to any other person to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save where expressly agreed by our prior
consent in writing.
Other required reporting
Companies Act 2006 exception reporting
Under the Companies Act 2006 we are required to report to you if, in our opinion:
• we have not obtained all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
• adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from
branches not visited by us; or
• certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
• the parent company financial statements and the part of the Remuneration Report to be audited are not in agreement with the accounting
records and returns.
We have no exceptions to report arising from this responsibility.
Appointment
Following the recommendation of the Audit and Risk Committee, we were appointed by the members on 29 April 2021 to audit the financial
statements for the year ended 31 December 2021 and subsequent financial periods. This is therefore our first year of uninterrupted
engagement.
Other matter
As required by the Financial Conduct Authority Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rule 4.1.14R, these financial statements form part of the
ESEF-prepared annual financial report filed on the National Storage Mechanism of the Financial Conduct Authority in accordance with the ESEF
Regulatory Technical Standard (ESEF RTS). This auditors’ report provides no assurance over whether the annual financial report has been
prepared using the single electronic format specified in the ESEF RTS.
Jonathan Lambert (Senior Statutory Auditor)
for and on behalf of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors
London
03 March 2022
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Financial Statements | Primary Statements
Financial Statements | Primary Statements
Consolidated Income Statement
For the year ended 31 December
Revenue
Operating costs
Operating profit
Presented as:
Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) before exceptional items
Operating exceptional items
Amortisation and impairment
Operating profit
Financing income
Financing costs
Net financing costs
Share of profits after tax of joint ventures and associated undertakings
Gain on sale of non-current assets
Loss on sale of subsidiaries and investments
Profit before tax
Taxation
Profit for the year
Profit/(loss) attributable to:
Owners of the Company
Non-controlling interests
Profit for the year
Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share
Note
2.1
2.1
2.2
3.3, 3.4
4.4
4.4
4.4
3.4
3.2
2.3
4.7.6
2.4
2.4
2021
£m
3,453
(2,934)
519
2020
£m
2,781
(2,425)
356
784
(196)
(69)
519
8
(58)
(50)
12
–
(1)
480
(92)
388
378
10
388
9.4p
9.3p
561
(118)
(87)
356
2
(46)
(44)
9
4
–
325
(44)
281
285
(4)
281
7.1p
7.1p
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Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
For the year ended 31 December
Profit for the year
Other comprehensive (expense)/income:
Items that are or may be reclassified to profit or loss
Revaluation of financial assets
Net gain/(loss) on cash flow hedges and costs of hedging
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations (net of hedging)
Items that will never be reclassified to profit or loss
Remeasurement (losses)/gains on defined benefit pension schemes
Income tax credit/(charge) on items that will never be reclassified
Other comprehensive expense for the year, net of income tax
Total comprehensive income for the year
Total comprehensive income/(expense) attributable to:
Owners of the Company
Non-controlling interests
Total comprehensive income for the year
Note
4.7.4
4.7.3
4.7.3
3.6
2.3
4.7.6
2021
£m
388
2020
£m
281
–
15
16
(58)
3
(24)
364
355
9
364
4
(6)
(19)
5
(1)
(17)
264
268
(4)
264
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Financial Statements | Primary Statements continued
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment
Intangible assets
Investments in joint ventures, associates and equity investments
Derivative financial instruments
Distribution rights
Contract assets
Defined benefit pension surplus
Other pension asset
Deferred tax asset
Current assets
Programme rights and other inventory
Trade and other receivables due within one year
Trade and other receivables due after more than one year
Trade and other receivables
Contract assets
Current tax receivable
Derivative financial instruments
Restricted cash
Cash and cash equivalents
Current liabilities
Borrowings
Lease liabilities
Derivative financial instruments
Trade and other payables due within one year
Trade payables due after more than one year
Trade and other payables
Contract liabilities
Current tax liabilities
Provisions
Net current assets
Non-current liabilities
Borrowings
Lease liabilities
Derivative financial instruments
Defined benefit pension deficit
Deferred tax liabilities
Other payables
Provisions
Net assets
Attributable to equity shareholders of the parent company
Share capital
Share premium
Merger and other reserves
Translation reserve
Fair value reserve
Retained earnings
Total equity attributable to equity shareholders of the parent company
Non-controlling interests
Total equity
Note
31 December 2021
£m
31 December 2020*
£m
3.2
3.3
3.4
4.3
3.1.2
3.1.6
3.6
3.6
2.3
3.1.1
3.1.3
3.1.3
3.1.6
2.3
4.3
4.1
4.1
4.1, 4.2
4.6
4.3
3.1.4
3.1.5
3.1.6
2.3
3.5
4.1, 4.2
4.6
4.3
3.6
2.3
3.1.5
3.5
4.7.1
4.7.1
4.7.2
4.7.3
4.7.4
4.7.5
4.7.6
254
1,478
98
–
21
6
26
62
37
1,982
313
589
42
631
543
32
3
50
686
2,258
(290)
(21)
(5)
(849)
(18)
(867)
(359)
(20)
(120)
(1,682)
576
(732)
(71)
(37)
(96)
(12)
(67)
(25)
(1,040)
1,518
403
174
215
41
13
634
1,480
38
1,518
285
1,545
77
2
18
7
22
62
34
2,052
308
458
46
504
409
6
6
50
618
1,901
(7)
(22)
(7)
(959)
(54)
(1,013)
(271)
(25)
(59)
(1,404)
497
(1,078)
(83)
(24)
(110)
(20)
(61)
(22)
(1,398)
1,151
403
174
224
7
18
296
1,122
29
1,151
* £50 million of cash, the use of which is restricted to meeting the commitments under the asset-backed pension agreements has been presented as restricted cash in 2021. The comparative
balances for 31 December 2020 have also been restated.
The financial statements on pages 172 to 260 were approved by the Board of Directors on 3 March 2022 and were signed on its behalf by:
Chris Kennedy
Group CFO and COO
174
174
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Translation
reserve*
£m
Fair value
reserve
£m
Retained
earnings
£m
18
296
Non-
controlling
interests
£m
29
Total
£m
1,122
Total
equity
£m
1,151
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
Attributable to equity shareholders of the parent company
Balance at 1 January 2021
Total comprehensive income
for the year
Profit for the year
Other comprehensive
(expense)/income
Net gain on cash flow hedges and costs
of hedging
Exchange differences on translation of
foreign operations (net of hedging)
Remeasurement losses on defined
benefit pension schemes
Income tax (charge)/credit reclass**
Income tax (charge)/credit on other
comprehensive income/(expense)
Total other comprehensive
income/(expense)
Total comprehensive
income/(expense) for the year
Transactions with owners, recorded
directly in equity
Contributions by and distributions
to owners
Equity dividends
Movements due to share-based
compensation
Tax on items taken directly to equity
Total transactions with owners
Changes in non-controlling interests
Balance at 31 December 2021
Share
capital
£m
403
Share
premium
£m
Merger
and other
reserves
£m
174
224
Note
4.7
4.7.3
4.7.3
3.6
2.3
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
4.8
2.3
4.7.6
4.7
–
–
–
–
403
–
–
–
–
174
–
–
–
(9)
215
7
–
15
17
–
7
(5)
34
34
–
–
–
–
–
41
–
378
378
10
388
–
–
–
(4)
(1)
(5)
–
–
(58)
(3)
15
17
(58)
–
9
3
(52)
(23)
(5)
326
355
–
(1)
–
–
–
(1)
9
15
16
(58)
–
3
(24)
364
–
–
–
–
–
13
–
–
12
1
13
(1)
634
12
1
13
(10)
1,480
(1)
–
–
(1)
1
38
(1)
12
1
12
(9)
1,518
* See note 4.3 for further breakdown of Translation Reserve, including Hedging Reserve and Cost of Hedging Reserve.
**
Income tax on other comprehensive income has been reallocated to the relevant reserves from Retained Earnings in the current year.
175
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Financial Statements | Primary Statements continued
Financial Statements | Primary Statements continued
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity continued
Balance at 1 January 2020
Total comprehensive
income/(expense) for the year
Profit/(loss) for the year
Other comprehensive
income/(expense)
Revaluation of financial assets
Net loss on cash flow hedges and costs
of hedging
Exchange differences on translation of
foreign operations (net of hedging)
Remeasurement gains on defined
benefit pension schemes
Income tax charge on other
comprehensive income/(expense)
Total other comprehensive
(expense)/income
Total comprehensive
(expense)/income for the year
Transactions with owners, recorded
directly in equity
Contributions by and distributions
to owners
Equity dividends
Movements due to share-based
compensation
Tax on items taken directly to equity
Total transactions with owners
Changes in non-controlling interests
Balance at 31 December 2020
Attributable to equity shareholders of the parent company
Share
capital
£m
403
Note
4.7
Share
premium
£m
Merger
and other
reserves
£m
Translation
reserve*
£m
Fair value
reserve
£m
Retained
earnings
£m
174
224
32
14
1
Non–
controlling
interests
£m
30
Total
£m
848
Total
equity
£m
878
4.7.4
4.7.3
4.7.3
3.6
2.3
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
4.8
2.3
4.7.6
4.7
–
–
–
–
403
–
–
–
–
174
–
–
–
–
224
–
–
(6)
(19)
–
–
(25)
(25)
–
–
–
–
–
7
–
285
285
(4)
281
4
–
–
–
–
4
4
–
–
–
–
–
18
–
–
–
5
(1)
4
4
(6)
(19)
5
(1)
(17)
–
–
–
–
–
–
4
(6)
(19)
5
(1)
(17)
289
268
(4)
264
–
–
6
3
9
(3)
296
6
3
9
(3)
1,122
(1)
–
–
(1)
4
29
(1)
6
3
8
1
1,151
* See note 4.3 for further breakdown of Translation Reserve, including Hedging Reserve and Cost of Hedging Reserve.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
176
176
Financial Statements | Primary Statements continued
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
For the year ended 31 December
Cash flows from operating activities
Cash generated from operations before exceptional items
Cash flow relating to operating exceptional items:
Operating exceptional items
(Decrease)/Increase in exceptional payables
Decrease in exceptional prepayments and other receivables
Note
2.1
2.2
Cash outflow from exceptional items
Cash generated from operations
Defined benefit pension deficit funding
Interest received
Interest paid*
Net taxation paid
Net cash inflow from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Acquisition of property, plant and equipment
Acquisition of intangible assets
Acquisition of investments
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment
Proceeds from sale of subsidiaries and available for sale investments
Loans granted to associates and joint ventures
Loans repaid by associates and joint ventures
Net cash outflow from investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
Bank and other loans – amounts repaid
Bank and other loans – amounts raised
Payment of lease liabilities**
Acquisition of non-controlling interests
Dividends paid to non-controlling interests
Purchase of own shares via employees’ benefit trust
Net cash outflow from financing activities
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January***
Effects of exchange rate changes and fair value movements
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December***
4.1
4.1
£m
(196)
(111)
–
(74)
10
(53)
(119)
(22)
(23)
(19)
–
–
(5)
4
(18)
21
(26)
(11)
(1)
–
2021
£m
714
(307)
407
(236)
171
(65)
(35)
71
618
(3)
686
£m
(118)
47
3
(59)
13
(34)
(88)
(35)
(31)
(18)
4
5
(2)
5
(7)
5
(22)
(2)
(1)
(1)
2020
£m
761
(68)
693
(168)
525
(72)
(28)
425
196
(3)
618
Interest paid includes interest on bank, other loans, derivative financial instruments and lease liabilities.
*
** Net cash flow on lease liabilities in note 4.1 of £29 million (2020: £26 million) includes interest on lease liabilities included in interest paid of £3 million (2020: £4 million).
*** In 2021, £50 million of cash, the use of which is restricted to meeting the commitments under the asset-backed pension agreements has been restated as restricted cash. The comparative
balances for all periods have also been restated.
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 1: Basis of Preparation
In this
section
This section sets out the Group’s accounting policies that relate to the financial
statements as a whole. Where an accounting policy is specific to one note, the policy
is described in the note to which it relates. This section also shows new UK-adopted
accounting standards, amendments and interpretations, and whether they are
effective in 2021 or later years. We explain how these changes are expected to
impact the financial position and performance of the Group.
The financial statements consolidate those of ITV plc (‘the Company’) and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the
‘Group’) and the Group’s interests in associates and jointly controlled entities. The Company is registered in England
and Wales.
On 31 December 2020, IFRS as adopted by the European Union at that date was brought into UK law and became
UK-adopted International Accounting Standards, with future changes being subject to endorsement by the UK
Endorsement Board. ITV plc transitioned to UK-adopted International Accounting Standards in its consolidated
financial statements on 1 January 2021. This change constitutes a change in accounting framework. However, there
is no change on recognition, measurement or disclosure in the financial year reported as a result of the change
in framework.
These Group financial statements were prepared in accordance with UK-adopted International Accounting Standards
and with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 as applicable to companies reporting under those standards.
The accounting policies have been applied consistently in the financial years presented, other than where new policies
have been adopted.
The financial statements are principally prepared on the basis of historical cost. Where other bases are applied, these
are identified in the relevant accounting policy.
The parent company financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 101
‘Reduced Disclosure Framework’ (‘FRS 101’).
The notes form part of the financial statements.
Going concern
The management and Board of Directors of ITV plc continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation and its impact
on business performance and the Group’s liquidity position.
As at 31 December 2021, the Group was in a net debt position of £414 million (2020: £545 million), including gross
borrowings of £1,150 million (2020: £1,213 million) offset by unrestricted cash of £686 million (2020: £618 million)
and restricted cash of £50 million (2020: £50 million).
The Group had, in addition to £686 million of unrestricted cash, a £630 million committed and undrawn Revolving
Credit Facility (RCF) expiring in December 2023 (which was subsequently refinanced on 14 January 2022 to a
£500 million RCF maturing in January 2027) and a £300 million committed bilateral facility expiring in June 2026,
of which £148 million was available at 31 December 2021, providing £1,464 million of liquidity.
Both RCFs are subject to leverage and interest cover semi-annual covenant tests that require the Group to maintain a
leverage ratio of below 3.5x and interest cover above 3.0x (as defined in the RCF documentation). As at 31 December 2021,
the Group had covenant net debt of £278 million and its financial position was well within its covenants. The leverage
and interest cover tests will be tested again on 30 June 2022.
There are no financial covenants in relation to the bonds in issue although there are cross default provisions. Within the
next 12 months, the Group’s €335 million Eurobond will reach maturity (September 2022).
The Directors have prepared forecasts for three cash flow scenarios (mid, high and low cases), for the period of three
years from 1 January 2022 (in line with the viability assessment period). The mid case scenario is the basis for the 2022
Board approved budget. The key assumptions in the scenarios relate to fluctuations in the advertising market due to
audience and/or market decline, and therefore the Group’s advertising revenue, and the scale and timing of productions
for ITV Studios. All scenarios assume increased production costs in the medium term in relation to inflation and COVID-
19 protocols as well as continued structural changes in the advertising market and viewing habits. The Directors have
also considered a number of sensitivities to the mid case scenario to arrive at a severe but plausible scenario that has
been used to assess the appropriateness of preparing these consolidated financial statements using the going concern
basis. These sensitivities include an increase in pension contributions, settlements in respect of ongoing litigation, lost
and/or delayed Studios productions, and a decline in advertising revenue in comparison to 2021. In the severe but
plausible downside scenario the Group experiences significant loss of profit and cash outflows but remains able to
operate within its financial covenants and has sufficient liquidity.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
178
178
The Directors will continue to monitor the changing impact of COVID-19 and the Group’s performance against the
scenarios. In 2021, a 3.3 pence dividend (equivalent to 5.0 pence for the full year) was proposed, subject to approval by
shareholders at the AGM on 28 April 2022 (2020: nil). The Directors intend to at least maintain this dividend over the
medium term (this was included in all scenarios modelled). The Directors will continue to balance shareholder returns
with a commitment to maintain investment grade metrics over the medium term and to continue to invest in the
Group’s strategy.
Consequently, the Directors are confident that the Group will have sufficient funds to continue to meet its liabilities as
they fall due for at least 12 months from the date of approval of these consolidated financial statements and therefore
have prepared the consolidated financial statements on a going concern basis.
Subsidiaries, joint ventures, associates and investments
Subsidiaries are entities that are directly or indirectly controlled by the Group. Control exists where the Group is
exposed, or has rights to variable returns from its involvement with the investee and has the ability to affect those
returns through its power over the investee. In assessing control, potential voting rights that are currently exercisable
or convertible are taken into account.
A joint venture is a joint arrangement in which the Group holds an interest under a contractual arrangement where the
Group and one or more other parties undertake an economic activity that is subject to joint control. The Group
accounts for its interests in joint ventures using the equity method. Under the equity method, the investment in the
entity is stated as one line item at cost plus the investor’s share of retained post-acquisition profits or losses, less any
dividends received and other changes in net assets.
An associate is an entity, other than a subsidiary or joint venture, over which the Group has significant influence.
Significant influence is the power to participate in, but not control or jointly control, the financial and operating
decisions of an entity. These investments are also accounted for using the equity method.
Investments are entities where the Group concludes it does not have significant influence and are held at fair value
unless the investment is a start-up business, in which case it is valued initially at cost as a proxy for fair value.
Current/non-current distinction
Current assets include assets held primarily for trading purposes, cash and cash equivalents, and assets expected to be
realised in, or intended for sale or use in, the course of the Group’s operating cycle. All other assets are classified as non-
current assets.
Current liabilities include liabilities held primarily for trading purposes, liabilities expected to be settled in the course of
the Group’s operating cycle and those liabilities due within one year from the reporting date. All other liabilities are
classified as non-current liabilities.
Classification of financial instruments
The financial assets and liabilities of the Group are classified into the following financial statement captions in the
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position in accordance with IFRS 9 ‘Financial Instruments’:
• Financial assets/liabilities at fair value through OCI – measured at fair value through other comprehensive income –
separately disclosed as financial assets/liabilities in current and non-current assets and liabilities or equity
investments in non-current assets
• Financial assets/liabilities at fair value through profit or loss – separately disclosed as derivative financial instruments
in current and non-current assets and liabilities and included in other payables (put option liabilities and contingent
consideration) or convertible loan receivable within other receivables
• Financial assets measured at amortised cost – separately disclosed as cash and cash equivalents and trade and
other receivables
• Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost – separately disclosed as borrowings and trade and other payables
Judgement is required when determining the appropriate classification of the Group’s financial instruments, requiring
assessment of contractual provisions that do or may change the timing or amount of contractual cash flows. Details of
the accounting policies for measurement of the above instruments are set out in the relevant note. Where
unconditional rights to set off financial instruments exist, the Group presents the relevant instruments net in the
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.
Recognition and derecognition of financial assets and liabilities
The Group recognises a financial asset or liability when it becomes a party to the contract. Financial instruments are no
longer recognised in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position when the contractual cash flows expire or when
the Group no longer retains control of substantially all the risks and rewards under the instrument.
179
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 1: Basis of Preparation continued
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash balances and call deposits with a maturity of less than or equal to three months
from the date of acquisition. The carrying value of cash and cash equivalents is considered to approximate fair value.
Restricted cash
Restricted cash comprises cash that is held in a restricted bank account as a replacement asset in the pension funding
arrangements and is not available to the Group for general business use. The carrying value of restricted cash is considered
to approximate fair value.
Foreign currencies
The primary economic environment in which the Group operates is the UK and therefore the consolidated financial
statements are presented in pounds sterling (‘£’).
Where Group companies based in the UK transact in foreign currencies, these transactions are translated into pounds
sterling at the exchange rate on the transaction date. Foreign currency monetary assets and liabilities are translated
into pounds sterling at the year end exchange rate. Where there is a movement in the exchange rate between the date
of the transaction and the year end, a foreign exchange gain or loss is recognised in the income statement. Non-
monetary assets and liabilities measured at historical cost are translated into pounds sterling at the exchange rate on
the date of the transaction.
The assets and liabilities of Group companies outside of the UK are translated into pounds sterling at the year end
exchange rate. The revenue, expenses and other comprehensive income of these companies are translated into pounds
sterling at the average monthly exchange rate during the year. Where differences arise between these rates, they are
recognised in the translation reserve within other comprehensive income.
The Group’s net investments in companies outside the UK may be hedged where the currency exposure is considered
to be material. Hedge accounting is implemented on certain foreign currency firm commitments, for which the
effective portion of any foreign exchange gains or losses is recognised in other comprehensive income (note 4.3).
Exchange differences arising on the translation of the Group’s interests in joint ventures and associates are recognised in
the translation reserve within other comprehensive income.
On disposal of a foreign subsidiary, an interest in a joint venture or an associate, the related translation reserve is
released to the income statement as part of the gain or loss on disposal.
Where a forward currency contract is used to manage foreign exchange risk and hedge accounting is not applied, any
impact of movements in currency for both the forward currency contracts and the assets and liabilities is taken to the
income statement.
Accounting judgements and estimates
The preparation of financial statements requires management to exercise judgement in applying the Group’s
accounting policies. It also requires the use of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets,
liabilities, income and expenses. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis, with revisions recognised in the period in
which the estimates are revised and in any future periods affected.
The areas involving material judgement or complexity are set out below. Additional detail on the judgements and sources
of estimation uncertainty applied by management are set out in the accounting policies section of the relevant notes:
Area
Key judgements
Key sources of estimation uncertainty
Defined benefit pension
(See note 3.6)
Provisions related to
Box Clever
(see note 3.5)
Estimates of the assumptions for valuing the
defined benefit obligation
The basis for calculating the
provision
Estimates of the amount required to settle the
potential liability
Employee-related
provisions (See note 3.5)
The individuals who are included in
the calculation
Estimates of the amounts required to settle the
liability
Acquisition-related
liabilities
(See note 3.1.4 and 3.1.5)
Whether future amounts payable
are linked to employment
Estimates of cash-flow forecasts to support the
calculation of the future liabilities. (Key source of
estimation uncertainty in 2020 only)
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
180
180
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
In addition to the above, there are a number of areas which involve a high degree of estimation and are significant to
the financial statements but are not expected to have a material impact on them in the next 12 months. The key areas
underlying estimation uncertainty include the reviews of onerous contracts and impairment provisions in relation to sports
rights, impairment of intangible assets and taxation. More detail on each of these items is given in the relevant notes.
The Directors recognise the climate crisis and the potential impact it may have on both the wider world and the success
of the business. The threat continues to evolve and businesses globally have a responsibility to take meaningful action
to mitigate and prevent further climate change. The Directors are committed to reducing the impact of the business on
the environment. Climate related risks have been identified as an emerging business risk, however the Directors do not
view them as a source of material estimation uncertainty for the Group. For further detail, see the Risks and
Uncertainties section of the Strategic Report.
New or amended accounting standards
The following new standards and/or amendments are effective 1 January 2021, but have not had a significant impact
on the Group’s results or Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.
Accounting standard
Requirement
Amendments to IFRS 9,
IAS 39, IFRS 7, IFRS 4 and
IFRS 16 Interest Rate
Benchmark Reform –
Phase 2 (issued on 27
August 2020)
Amendments to IFRS 17
and Extension of the
Temporary Exemption
from applying IFRS 9
(Amendments to IFRS 4)
IFRS 16 ‘Leases’
The IASB issued amendments to IFRS 9, IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and
Measurement and IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures, that address issues that
might affect financial reporting after the reform of an interest rate benchmark, including
its replacement with alternative benchmark rates.
The amendments defer the date of initial application of IFRS 17 by two years to annual
periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023 and change the fixed expiry date for the
temporary exemption in IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts from applying IFRS 9 Financial
Instruments, so that entities will be required to apply IFRS 9 for annual periods beginning
on or after 1 January 2023 instead of 1 January 2021.
In response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the amendments to IFRS 16 ‘Leases’
to allow lessees not to account for rent concessions as lease modifications if they are a
direct consequence of COVID-19 and meet certain conditions
Accounting standards effective in future periods
The Directors have considered the impact on the Group of new and revised accounting standards, interpretations or
amendments that are not yet effective and do not expect them to have a significant impact on the Group’s results and
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 2: Results for the Year
In this
section
This section focuses on the results and performance of the Group. On the following
pages, you will find disclosures explaining the Group’s results for the year,
segmental information, exceptional items, taxation and earnings per share.
2.1 Profit
before tax
Keeping
it simple
This section analyses the Group’s profit before tax by reference to the activities
performed by the Group and an analysis of key operating costs.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (adjusted EBITA) (as defined
in the APMs) is the Group’s key profit indicator. This reflects the way the business
is managed and how the Directors assess the performance of the Group. This
section therefore also shows each division’s contribution to total revenue and
adjusted EBITA.
Accounting policies
Revenue measurement and recognition
The Group derives revenue from the transfer of goods and services. Revenue recognition is based on the delivery of
performance obligations and an assessment of when control is transferred to the customer. Revenue is recognised
either when the performance obligation in the contract has been performed (‘point in time’ recognition) or ‘over time’
as control of the performance obligation is transferred to the customer.
Customer contracts can have a wide variety of performance obligations, from production contracts to format licences
and distribution activities. For these contracts, each performance obligation is identified and evaluated. Under IFRS 15
the Group needs to evaluate if a format or licence represents a right to access the content (revenue recognised over
time) or represents a right to use the content (revenue recognised at a point in time). The Group has determined that
most format and licence revenues are satisfied at a point in time due to there being limited ongoing involvement in the
use of the licence following its transfer to the customer.
The transaction price, being the amount to which the Group expects to be entitled and has rights to under the contract
is allocated to the identified performance obligations. The transaction price will also include an estimate of any variable
consideration where the Group’s performance may result in additional revenues. Variable consideration is estimated
based on the achievement of agreed targets, such as audience targets. Variable consideration is recognised only to the
extent that it is probable that a significant reversal of revenue recognised will not occur when the uncertainty
associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved.
Revenue is stated exclusive of VAT and equivalent sales taxes.
Complexity in advertising revenue measurement and recognition is driven by a combination of automated and manual
processes involved in measuring the value delivered to the customer and therefore the value of variable consideration due.
In assessing the transaction price, any non-cash consideration received from a customer is included. Non-cash
consideration is measured at fair value. It takes into account the value of what the Group is receiving rather than the
value of what the Group is giving up.
Complex one-off contracts in all classes of revenue are assessed individually and judgement is exercised in identifying
performance obligations and allocating price to them. Timing of revenue recognition is another area of judgement
particularly in respect of contracts particularly in the ITV Studios division to assess whether revenue should be
recognised at a point in time or over time.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
182
182
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Revenue recognition criteria for the Group’s key classes of revenue are as follows:
Segment
Major classes of revenue
Payment terms
ITV Studios
Programme
production
Format licences
• Revenue generated from the programmes produced for broadcasters
and OTT platforms in the UK, US and internationally is recognised at
the point of delivery of an episode and acceptance by the customer.
Revenue from producer for hire contracts, where in an event of
cancellation cost is recovered plus a margin, is recognised over time
• A licence is granted for the exploitation of a format in a stated territory,
• Payment term is over
the term of the
contract
• Payment term is over
media and period. Licence revenue is recognised when the licence
period has commenced (point in time)
the term of the
contract
Programme
distribution rights
• A licence is granted for the transmission of a programme in a stated
• Payment term is over
territory, media and period and revenue is recognised at the point when
the contract is signed, the content is available for download and the
licence period has started (point in time)
the term of the
contract
Segment
Major classes of revenue
Payment terms
Media & Entertainment
Total advertising
revenue
• Net advertising revenue is generated from selling spot airtime on linear
TV and is recognised at the point of transmission
Subscriptions
• Online advertising revenue from video on demand (VOD) is generated
from selling advertising on the ITV Hub and is recognised at the point
of delivery
• Revenue from the sponsorship of programmes across ITV linear
channels and online is recognised over the period of transmission
• Pay revenue is generated from the provision of HD channels, catch up
content and licences to ready-made programmes in the form of box
sets to third parties and is recognised either over the term of the
contract or per subscriber or download (point in time)
• Revenue from subscription services is recognised over the subscription
period
• Received in the month
after transmission
• Received in the month
after campaign is
delivered
• Received prior to
transmission
• Payment term is over
the term of the
contract or
subscription period
SDN
• Revenue is generated from the carriage fee or capacity of the digital
• Payment term is over
Partnerships and
other revenue
multiplex and is recognised over the term of the contract
the term of the
contract
• Revenue from platforms such as Sky and Virgin Media O2, and third-
• Payment term is over
party commissions
• Interactive revenue is earned from entries to competitions and is
recognised as the event occurs (point in time)
the term of the
contract
• Payment term is within
two months of the
competition being
aired
In October 2020, the Group announced a restructure of its Broadcast segment to better reflect and serve the changing
viewing habits. As part of the restructure, which came into effect from 1 April 2021, Broadcast has been renamed
Media & Entertainment (M&E).
As part of the restructure, Gaming, Live Events and Merchandising has been transferred from M&E to ITV Studios and is
now reported within Global Formats and Distribution, as this revenue stream better aligns with ITV Studios. As a result,
we have re-presented the revenue and adjusted EBITA for 2020 to reflect this transfer. Gaming, Live Events and
Merchandising had revenue for 2021 of £7 million (31 December 2020: £5 million) and adjusted losses before interest,
tax and amortisation of £2 million (31 December 2020: £nil). The comparative information has been re-presented to
reflect this change.
We have also re-categorised non-advertising revenues to reflect how revenues are now reviewed internally within the
M&E segment. Subscriptions is a new category consisting of subscription revenue generated directly from streaming
services and includes ITV Hub+ and BritBox UK. Partnerships and other revenue is also a new category and includes
revenues from platforms, such as Sky and Virgin Media O2, competitions revenue, third-party commission and
commercial revenue from our creative partnerships. The Direct to Consumer category is no longer used. The
comparative information has been re-presented to reflect these changes.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 2: Results for the Year continued
The results for the year aggregate these classes of revenue into the following categories:
ITV Studios UK
ITV Studios US
ITV Studios International
Global Formats and Distribution
Total ITV Studios*
Total advertising revenue (‘TAR’)
Subscriptions
SDN
Partnerships and other revenue
Media & Entertainment
Total revenue**
2021
£m
683
372
407
298
1,760
1,957
42
70
213
2,282
4,042
2021
% of total
Re-presented***
2020
£m
Re-presented***
2020
% of total
535
234
343
263
1,375
1,577
27
73
208
1,885
3,260
44%
48%
56%
42%
48%
58%
*
ITV Studios UK, ITV Studios US and Studios International revenues are mainly programme production. Global Formats and Distribution revenue is from
programme distribution rights, format licences and gaming, live events and merchandising
** Includes internal supply as discussed in the APMs (page 61)
*** 2020 revenue is re-presented to reflect the change in composition of the operating segments following the reorganisation of M&E mentioned above
Segmental information
Operating segments, which have not been aggregated, are determined in a manner that is consistent with how the
business is managed and reported to the Management Board. The Management Board is regarded as the chief operating
decision-maker and considers the business, primarily from an operating activity perspective.
Following the restructure, the Groups' segments are now Media & Entertainment and ITV Studios, the results of which
are outlined in the following tables:
Total segment revenue
Intersegment revenue
Revenue from external customers
ITV Studios(i)
2021
£m
Media &
Entertainment
2021
£m
Consolidated
2021
£m
1,760
(583)
1,177
2,282
(6)
2,276
4,042
(589)
3,453
Adjusted EBITA(ii)
215
598
813
Total segment revenue
Intersegment revenue (i)
Revenue from external customers (iii)
Re-presented
ITV Studios
2020
£m
Re-presented
Media &
Entertainment
2020
£m
1,375
(472)
903
1,885
(7)
1,878
Consolidated
2020
£m
3,260
(479)
2,781
Adjusted EBITA(ii) (iii)
152
421
573
(i) Intersegment revenue originates mainly in the UK
(ii) Adjusted EBITA is EBITA adjusted to exclude exceptional items and includes the benefit of production tax credits. It is stated after the elimination of
intersegment revenue and costs
(iii) 2020 revenue and adjusted EBITA is re-presented to reflect the change in composition of the operating segments following the reorganisation of M&E
mentioned above
The Group’s principal operations are in the United Kingdom. Revenue from external customers in the United Kingdom is
£2,365 million (2020: £1,985 million), and revenue from external customers in other countries is £1,088 million (2020:
£796 million). Revenue of £485 million (2020: £312 million) was generated in the US during the year. The Operating and
Financial Performance Review provides further detail on ITV’s international revenues. The US represented £431 million
of non-current assets at year end.
Intersegment revenue, which is earned on arm’s length terms, is mainly generated from the supply of ITV Studios
programmes to Media & Entertainment for transmission primarily on the ITV network. This revenue stream is a
measure that informs the Group’s strategic priority of building a strong international content business, as producing
and retaining rights to the shows broadcast on the ITV network benefits the Group further from subsequent
international content and format sales.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
In preparing the segmental information, centrally managed costs have been allocated between reportable segments
on a methodology driven principally by revenue, headcount or building occupancy of each segment. This is consistent
with the basis of reporting to the Board of Directors.
There are two media buying agencies (2020: two) acting on behalf of a number of advertisers that represent the
Group’s major customers. These agencies are the only customers that individually represent over 10% of the Group’s
revenue, with £593 million (2020: £471 million) and £353 million (2020: £303 million) respectively, revenue derived from
these customers. This revenue is attributable to the Media & Entertainment segment.
Timing of revenue recognition
The following table includes classes of revenue from contracts disaggregated by the timing of recognition:
Total advertising revenue, subscriptions, SDN and other M&E
Programme production, programme distribution rights
Format licences
Total external revenue
2021
£m
2020*
£m
Products and services
transferred at a point in time
2021
£m
2020*
£m
Products and services
transferred over time
1,952
914
74
2,940
1,582
687
94
2,363
324
184
5
513
296
116
6
418
* 2020 re-presented to reflect the change in composition of the operating segments following the M&E reorganisation
Forward bookings
The following table includes revenue from contracts signed before the reporting date that is to be recognised in
periods after the reporting date (i.e. the performance obligations remain unsatisfied or partially unsatisfied at the
reporting date):
Media & Entertainment
ITV Studios*
Total revenue
*
Includes internal supply.
2022
£m
150
181
331
2023
£m
90
162
252
2024
£m
64
19
83
Beyond
£m
107
13
120
The Group applies the practical expedients in IFRS 15 and, therefore, does not disclose information about remaining
performance obligations that have original expected durations of less than one year or where the price is not yet
known (e.g. net advertising revenue (NAR)).
ITV Studios
ITV Studios is the Group’s international content business, creating and producing programmes and formats that return
and travel, namely drama, entertainment and factual entertainment.
ITV Studios UK is the largest commercial producer in the UK and produces programming for the Group’s own channels,
accounting for 70% of ITV main channel spend on commissioned programming (2020: 68%). Programming is also sold
to other UK broadcasters and OTT platforms.
ITV Studios US is the leading unscripted independent producer of content in the US and is growing its scripted presence
by increasing investment in high-profile dramas.
ITV Studios also operates in ten other international locations, together called ITV Studios International, being Australia,
Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark where content is produced for
local broadcasters and international OTT platforms. This content is either locally created IP or formats that have been
created elsewhere by ITV, primarily in the UK, the Netherlands and in Israel.
ITV Studios Global Formats and Distribution division operates three centres of excellence – The Creative Network,
Global Distribution and Global Entertainment. This enables the Group to create more hits, to build better brands and
formats internationally and to monetise them effectively. Global Formats and Distribution license ITV’s finished
programmes, formats and third-party content internationally. Within this business, the Group also finances productions
both on and off ITV to acquire global distribution rights.
Media & Entertainment
As detailed above, with effect from 1 April 2021, Broadcast has been renamed Media & Entertainment (‘M&E’) with two
business streams – Broadcast and Streaming. The Broadcast business is the home of ITV main channel, ITV3 and ITV4
channels, and continues to deliver ITV’s USP of mass simultaneous reach. The Streaming business focuses on driving
digital viewing by providing content that appeals to audiences who do most or all of their viewing on demand, and
serving it to them in whatever way they want to access it. It includes our advertiser funded channels of ITV Hub, ITV2,
ITVBe and CITV and SVOD through ITV Hub+ and BritBox.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 2: Results for the Year continued
Adjusted EBITA
The Directors assess the performance of the reportable segments based on a measure of adjusted EBITA. The Directors
use this non-IFRS measurement basis as it excludes the effect of transactions that could distort the understanding of
the Group’s performance for the year and comparability between periods. See the Operating and Financial
Performance Review on pages 32 to 47 for the detailed explanation of the Group’s use of adjusted performance
measures. A reconciliation of adjusted EBITA to reported profit before tax is provided as follows:
Adjusted EBITA
Production tax credits
EBITA before exceptional items
Operating exceptional items
Amortisation and impairment
Net financing costs
Share of profits of joint ventures and associated undertakings
Gain on sale of non-current assets
Loss on sale of subsidiaries and investments
Reported profit before tax
Note
2.2
4.4
2021
£m
813
(29)
784
(196)
(69)
(50)
12
–
(1)
480
Cash generated from operations
A reconciliation from profit before tax to cash generated from operations before exceptional items is as follows:
Cash flows from operating activities
Reported profit before tax
Add back:
Gain on sale of non-current assets (exceptional items)
Loss on sale of subsidiaries and investments (exceptional items)
Share of profits of joint ventures and associated undertakings
Net financing costs
Operating exceptional items
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment (net of exceptional items)
Amortisation and impairment
Share-based compensation
(Increase)/decrease in programme rights and distribution rights
(Increase)/decrease in receivables and contract assets
Increase/(decrease) in payables and contract liabilities
Movement in working capital
Cash generated from operations before exceptional items
Note
4.4
2.2
3.2
4.8
2021
£m
480
–
1
(12)
50
196
59
69
12
(6)
(270)
135
(141)
714
2020
£m
573
(12)
561
(118)
(87)
(44)
9
4
–
325
2020
£m
325
(4)
–
(9)
44
118
57
87
6
16
2
119
137
761
Operating costs
The major components of operating costs of £2,934 million (2020: £2,425 million) are network schedule costs of
£1,100 million (2020: £935 million), other net costs of production of £957 million (2020: £755 million), staff costs of
£553 million (2020: £473 million), depreciation, amortisation and impairment of £128 million (2020: £144 million)
and operating exceptional items of £196 million (2020: £118 million).
Staff costs
Staff costs before exceptional items can be analysed as follows:
Wages and salaries
Social security and other costs
Share-based compensation (see note 4.8)
Pension costs
Total staff costs
Less: staff costs allocated to productions
FTEE staff costs (non-production)
Exceptional staff costs are disclosed separately in note 2.2.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
186
186
2021
£m
441
69
12
31
553
(221)
332
2020
£m
382
55
6
30
473
(191)
282
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Full-time equivalent employees (FTEE) include those FTEEs that are allocated to the cost of productions during the
year, however they exclude short-term contractors and freelancers who are engaged on productions. The weighted
average FTEE over the year is:
ITV Studios
Media & Entertainment
The monthly average number of people employed over the year is:
ITV Studios
Media & Entertainment
2021
3,816
2,499
6,315
2021
4,109
2,509
6,618
2020
3,893
2,380
6,273
2020
4,064
2,451
6,515
As a result of the M&E restructure, a significant number of technology employees are now allocated to the M&E
division resulting in the increase in FTEE. This is in line with the updated strategy. Details of Directors’ emoluments,
share options, pension entitlements and long-term incentive scheme interests are set out in the Remuneration Report.
ITV plc Executive Directors’ gains on share options for 2021 are set out in the ITV plc Company financial statements.
Depreciation
Depreciation in the year was £59 million (2020: £57 million), of which £39 million (2020: £36 million) relates to ITV
Studios and £20 million (2020: £21 million) to Media & Entertainment. A further £8 million in respect of accelerated
depreciation following a change in useful life of the related assets in relation to the move to a new London site has
been included in exceptional items. See notes 2.2 and 3.3 for further details.
Audit fees
The Group’s auditor in 2021 is PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC). In previous years, the position was held by KPMG LLP
(KPMG). The Group may engage PwC on assignments additional to its statutory audit duties where its expertise and
experience with the Group are important and are in line with Group’s policy on auditor independence. In 2021, no non-
audit fees, other than in respect of audit-related assurance services (being the review of the interim results for the six
months to 30 June 2021) were paid to PwC (2020: KPMG: £nil). Fees paid to PwC and its associates during the year
(2020: paid to KPMG and its associates) are set out below:
For the audit of the Group’s annual financial statements
For the audit of subsidiaries of the Group
Audit-related assurance services
Total audit and audit-related assurance services
Other assurance services
Total non-audit services*
Total fees paid to auditor
PWC
2021
£m
1.8
1.5
0.2
3.5
–
–
3.5
KPMG
2020
£m
0.9
0.9
0.3
2.1
–
–
2.1
* See details of non-audit services policy in the Audit and Risk Committee Report on page 136.
** Fees paid to KPMG in 2021 in relation to the completion of prior period subsidiary financial statements was £0.2 million.
There were no fees payable in 2021 to PwC or in 2020 to KPMG or their associates for the auditing of financial
statements of any associate or pension scheme of the Group, internal audit, and services relating to corporate finance
transactions entered into or proposed to be entered into, by or on behalf of the Group or any of its associates.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 2: Results for the Year continued
2.2
Exceptional
items
Keeping
it simple
Exceptional items are excluded from management’s assessment of profit because
by their size or nature they could distort the Group’s underlying quality of earnings.
They are typically gains or losses arising from events that are not considered part
of the core operations of the business. These items are excluded to reflect
performance in a consistent manner and are in line with how the business is
managed and measured on a day-to-day basis.
Accounting policies
Exceptional items as described above are highlighted on the face of the Consolidated Income Statement. See the
Operating and Financial Performance Review on pages 32 to 47 for the detailed explanation of the Group’s use of
adjusted performance measures. Gains or losses on disposal of non-core assets are also considered exceptional due
to their nature and impact on the Group’s underlying quality of earnings.
Exceptional items
Operating and non-operating exceptional items are analysed as follows:
(Charge)/credit
Operating exceptional items:
Acquisition-related expenses
Restructuring, transformation and property costs
Pension related costs
COVID-19
Sports rights
Transponder onerous contract
Employee-related tax provision
Other
Total operating exceptional items
Tax on operating exceptional items
Total operating exceptional items net of tax
Non-operating exceptional items:
Financing exceptional item: acquisition-related
Total non-operating exceptional items
Tax on non-operating exceptional items
Total exceptional items net of tax
Ref.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
2021
£m
(109)
(16)
(21)
–
(1)
(16)
(22)
(11)
(196)
16
(180)
(10)
(10)
–
(190)
2020
£m
(13)
(11)
(37)
(11)
(23)
(19)
–
(4)
(118)
22
(96)
–
–
–
(96)
A. Acquisition-related expenses
Acquisition-related expenses of £109 million (2020: £13 million) relate to performance-based, employment-linked
expected payments to former owners, with the Talpa acquisition accounting for the majority of the amount charged
in 2021. On 23 July 2021, the final determination of the second and final earnout on the Talpa acquisition was received
from the independent arbiter, resulting in an additional amount payable of €125 million (£108 million).
B. Restructuring, transformation and property costs
Restructuring costs of £8 million (2020: £11 million) relate to one-off significant restructuring and transformation
programmes of the business. Significant programmes in the year were the finalisation of the Media & Entertainment
restructure, which commenced in the latter half of 2020, and a significant Board-approved business transformation
programme, which commenced in 2021. This programme includes the implementation of a new cloud-based ERP
solution, a software as a service (SaaS) solution where the implementation costs are expensed as incurred. The
implementation commenced in 2021 and is expected to continue throughout 2022. Additional exceptional costs
related to the business transformation programme of between £60 million and £65 million are expected to be incurred
over the next two years.
Following the decision to move to Broadcast Centre in early 2022, £8 million (2020: £nil) of property costs and move
related costs have been recognised as exceptional, including accelerated depreciation following a change in useful life
of the related assets. Additional exceptional costs related to the property move of between £20 million and £25 million
are expected to be incurred over the next two years.
C. Pension related costs
During the prior year, a provision was recognised for an estimate of the settlement in relation to the Box Clever case
for £31 million. The provision has been increased by £21 million in 2021 reflecting an increase in managements estimate
of the provision required. The treatment of this increase as exceptional is consistent with the recognition of the
£31 million provision in 2020 as an exceptional charge. See 3.5 for further details. The comparative balance for
31 December 2020 has been reclassified from ‘Other’ exceptional costs to provide clearer reporting.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
On 20 November 2020, a High Court ruling determined that pension schemes need to address inequalities between
men and women in Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) for those members that transferred out of the Schemes
between May 1990 and October 2018. A past service cost for GMP Equalisation in transfers out of £1 million was
recognised in the prior year. Also during 2020, the Group completed the rectification of historical benefits of the
members of the Network Section of Section A of the ITV Pension Scheme. The change in benefits of £5 million was
recognised as an exceptional past service cost in the prior year. Further details are provided in note 3.6.
D. COVID-19 directly related costs
Costs directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic have been recognised as exceptional items. These included £9 million
in 2020 related to the costs incurred in productions shutting down and restarting in a safe environment and additional
one-off costs to maintain production during the lockdown for certain daytime shows. Despite the ongoing impact of
COVID-19 on the business of ITV throughout 2021, there were no directly related costs.
E. Sports rights
The impact of COVID-19 on the planned sporting schedule and the consequential impact on TAR, along with changing
forecasts of audience mix and revenues for certain sporting events, resulted in the recognition of a £23 million
provision for impairment of specific sports rights in 2020. It is not possible to split this impairment between that
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and underlying market movements. The Group has recognised a net increase of
£1 million to this specific provision in 2021. The remaining provision (£5 million) will be utilised in 2022.
F. Transponder onerous contract
During 2020, we commenced a review of the efficiency of our transponder capacity usage with a view to reducing our
capacity requirements. This has allowed us to reorganise our channels over fewer transponders with the result that we
have cleared all channels from two transponders and are no longer utilising them. In 2020, we provided for an onerous
contract of £19 million from the date the first transponder was cleared and in 2021, the second transponder capacity
was cleared and a second onerous contract provision was recognised for £16 million. The comparative cost in 2020 for
31 December 2020 has been reclassified from ‘Other’ exceptional costs to provide clearer reporting.
G. Employee-related tax provisions
The determination of the employment tax status of some individuals contracted by the Group is complex. In March
2021, HMRC issued an initial assessment on several individuals engaged by the Group during the tax year 2016/17 as
employed for tax purposes. In June 2021, HMRC updated guidance on factors determining the employment tax status
of TV and Radio presenters. Following this assessment and HMRC’s updated guidance, the Group has undertaken a
review of the tax status of individuals and used best endeavours to estimate that circa £22 million may be assessed as
payable for periods up to 31 December 2020. Landmark court cases are being heard by the Court of Appeal in early
2022. Whilst the Group is not involved in these cases, judgements handed down will impact on how employment tax
status is determined for TV and Radio presenters generally and will therefore have a bearing on how much tax might
be payable by the Group. As a consequence of this, the final amount payable for periods up to December 2020 could be
significantly different to the £22 million currently provided.
H. Other
Included in other are legal costs in relation to litigation outside the normal course of business and a provision for costs
related to The Voice of Holland.
In early 2022 allegations of inappropriate behaviour on the set of The Voice of Holland were made public, resulting in a
mid-season suspension of series 12. A provision has been made to cover the committed costs relating to the series in
production, impairment of the carrying value of work in progress and other costs. An external investigation of the
allegations is currently ongoing. While unquantifiable at present, there may be further financial impact on the Group.
I. Acquisition-related (net financing exceptional item)
Exceptional finance costs of £10 million relate principally to interest accrued on exceptional acquisition-related
expenses.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 2: Results for the Year continued
2.3
Taxation
Keeping
it simple
This section sets out the Group’s tax accounting policies, the current and deferred
tax charges or credits in the year (which together make up the total tax charge or
credit in the Consolidated Income Statement), a reconciliation of profit before tax
to the tax charge for the period and the movements in deferred tax assets and
liabilities.
Accounting policies
The tax charge for the year is recognised in the Consolidated Income Statement, the Consolidated Statement of
Comprehensive Income and directly in equity, according to the accounting treatment of the related transactions.
The tax charge comprises both current and deferred tax. The calculation of the Group’s tax charge involves estimation
and judgement in respect of certain items whose tax treatment cannot be fully determined until a resolution has been
reached by the relevant tax authority.
Current tax
Current tax is the expected tax payable or receivable on the taxable income or loss for the year and any adjustment in
respect of previous years.
The Group recognises liabilities for anticipated tax issues based on estimates and judgement of the additional taxes
that are likely to become due. Amounts are accrued based on management’s interpretation of specific tax law and
the likelihood of settlement. Where the final tax outcome of these matters is different from the amounts that were
initially recorded, such differences will impact the current tax and deferred tax provisions in the period in which such
determination is made.
Deferred tax
Deferred tax arises due to certain temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for
financial reporting purposes and those for taxation purposes.
The following temporary differences are not provided for:
• The initial recognition of goodwill
• The initial recognition of assets or liabilities that affect neither accounting nor taxable profit other than in a
business combination
• Differences relating to investments in subsidiaries to the extent that they will probably not reverse in the
foreseeable future
The amount of deferred tax provided is based on the expected manner of realisation or settlement of the carrying
amount of assets and liabilities. Deferred tax is calculated using tax rates that are enacted or substantively enacted
at the balance sheet date.
A deferred tax asset is recognised only to the extent that it is probable that sufficient taxable profit will be available
to utilise the temporary difference. Recognition of deferred tax assets, therefore, involves judgement regarding the
timing and level of future taxable income.
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are disclosed net to the extent that they relate to taxes levied by the same authority
and the Group has the right of set-off.
Taxation – Consolidated Income Statement
The total taxation charge in the Consolidated Income Statement is analysed as follows:
Current tax:
Current tax charge on profit before exceptional items
Current tax credit on exceptional items
Adjustments related to prior periods
Deferred tax:
Origination and reversal of temporary differences
Deferred tax credit on exceptional items
Impact of changes to statutory tax rates
Adjustments related to prior periods
Total taxation charge in the Consolidated Income Statement
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
190
190
2021
£m
(108)
11
(97)
(7)
(104)
1
5
(4)
2
10
12
(92)
2020
£m
(73)
21
(52)
7
(45)
3
–
(2)
1
–
1
(44)
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
In order to understand how, in the Consolidated Income Statement, a tax charge of £92 million (2020: £44 million) arises
on a profit before tax of £480 million (2020: £325 million), the taxation charge that would arise at the standard rate of UK
corporation tax is reconciled to the actual tax charge as follows:
Profit before tax
Notional taxation charge at UK corporation tax rate of 19% (2020: 19%) on profit before tax
Non-taxable income/non-deductible expenses
Overseas non-deductible exceptional expenses
Prior year adjustments
Other taxes
Current year losses not recognised
Impact of overseas tax rates
Impact of changes in tax rates
Movement on tax provisions
Production tax credits
Total taxation charge in the Consolidated Income Statement
2021
£m
480
(91)
(9)
(26)
3
(7)
(1)
10
(4)
(5)
38
(92)
2020
£m
325
(62)
(1)
–
7
(4)
(3)
3
(2)
3
15
(44)
Non-deductible expenses are expenses that are not expected to be allowable for tax purposes. Similarly, non-taxable
income is income that is not expected to be taxable.
Adjustments to prior periods primarily arise where an outcome is obtained on certain tax matters, which differs from
expectations held when the related provision was made. Where the outcome is more favourable than the provision
made, the difference is released, lowering the current year tax charge. Where the outcome is less favourable than our
provision, an additional charge to current year tax will occur. The current tax charge includes a £7 million charge relating
to prior years, and the deferred tax credit includes a £10 million credit relating to prior years. This adjustment has arisen
following changes in estimates of taxes that have already become due, or will become due in the future.
In 2021 we introduced a policy of paying for losses available for Group tax relief across UK entities and in addition to this
a historical payment for consortium relief received from Freesat (UK) Limited was made during the year, resulting in a
payment of £6 million (2020: nil), this is included in the prior year adjustments.
Other taxes of £7 million charge (2020: £4 million charge) includes state taxes of £3 million in the US, local taxes of
£3 million in Germany, Italy and France plus £1 million of irrecoverable withholding tax in the UK.
The impact of overseas tax rates reflects the fact that some of our profits are earned in territories other than the UK and
taxed at rates different from the UK corporation tax rate. In 2021, the total impact is £10 million credit (2020: £3 million
credit) due to losses arising in higher taxed jurisdictions, which were recognised through deferred tax, giving rise to a
reconciling benefit.
An increase in the UK corporation tax rate from 19% to 25% (effective 1 April 2023) was announced on 3 March 2021,
the rate change was substantively enacted on 24 May 2021. This will increase the Group's future current tax charge
accordingly and the impact on deferred tax is forecast to be a £4 million charge through the Consolidated Income
Statement with an associated credit through other comprehensive income or equity.
In line with our accounting policy on current tax, provisions are held on the balance sheet within current tax liabilities
in respect of uncertain tax positions where management believes that it is probable that future payments of tax will
be required.
The production tax credits included within the reconciliation above are UK High-End Television (HETV) tax credits and
Children’s Television tax credits, which are part of a group of incentives provided to support the creative industries in
the UK. The ability to access these tax credits is fundamental when assessing the viability of investment decisions in the
production of high-end drama and children’s programmes. Under IFRS, these production tax credits are reported within
the total taxation charge in the Consolidated Income Statement. However, ITV considers them to be a contribution to
production costs, and therefore working capital in nature, and excludes them from its adjusted tax charge, including
them instead within Adjusted EBITA.
The effective tax rate is 19.2% (2020: 13.5%), and is the tax charge on the face of the Consolidated Income Statement
expressed as a percentage of the profit before tax. The tax rate is higher than in 2020 primarily due to the exceptional
earnout payment in relation to the Talpa BV acquisition, which is not deductible for tax purposes. As explained in the
Finance Review, the Group uses an adjusted tax rate to show how tax impacts total adjusted earnings in a way that is
more aligned with the Group’s cash tax position. The adjusted tax rate is 19.9% (2020: 18.0%).
In 2021, the current year movement recognised in the Consolidated Income Statement on origination and reversal
of temporary differences (excluding exceptional items) is a credit of £1 million, compared with a credit of £3 million
in 2020.
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Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 2: Results for the Year continued
Taxation – Other comprehensive income (OCI) and equity
As analysed in the table below a deferred tax charge of £2 million (2020: £8 million credit) has been recognised on
actuarial movements on pensions. Included in other temporary differences, a deferred tax charge of £1 million (2020:
£nil) on gilts, a deferred tax charge of £4 million (2020: £5 million) on derivatives and a £2 million deferred tax credit on
the cost of hedging (2020: £nil) has been recognised in other comprehensive income. A deferred tax credit of £2 million
(2020: £3 million) has been recognised in equity in respect of share-based payments.
A current tax charge of £3 million on foreign exchange movements net of hedging has been recognised in other
comprehensive income (2020: £2 million credit) plus a current tax credit of £11 million on pensions has been recognised in
other comprehensive income (2020: £nil). There is no current tax recognised in equity in relation to share-based payments
(2020: £nil).
Taxation – Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
The table below outlines the deferred tax assets/(liabilities) that are recognised in the Consolidated Statement of
Financial Position, together with their movements in the year:
Tangible assets
Intangible assets
Pension scheme
Tax losses
Share-based compensation
Other temporary differences
Tangible assets
Intangible assets
Programme rights
Pension scheme
Tax losses
Share-based compensation
Other temporary differences
At
1 January
2021
£m
Recognised in
the income
statement
£m
Recognised
in OCI
and equity
£m
Foreign exchange
£m
At
31 December
2021
£m
8
(41)
(5)
35
8
9
14
(3)
(5)
1
(3)
1
23
14
–
–
(2)
–
2
(3)
(3)
(1)
1
–
–
–
–
–
4
(45)
(6)
32
11
29
25
At
1 January
2020
£m
Recognised in
the income
statement
£m
Recognised
in OCI
and equity
£m
Foreign exchange
£m
At
31 December
2020
£m
7
(50)
1
8
37
6
9
18
1
10
(1)
(5)
–
(1)
(3)
1
–
–
–
(8)
–
3
5
–
–
(1)
–
–
(2)
–
(2)
(5)
8
(41)
–
(5)
35
8
9
14
At 31 December 2021, the net deferred tax asset position is £25 million (2020: £14 million), consisting of total deferred
tax assets of £134 million (2020: £110 million) and total deferred tax liabilities of £109 million (2020: £95 million).
The Consolidated Statement of Financial Position presents deferred tax after netting off balances within countries –
a deferred tax asset of £37 million and a deferred tax liability of £12 million (2020: deferred tax asset of £34 million
and a deferred tax liability of £20 million).
The deferred tax balances relate to:
• Property, plant and equipment temporary differences arising on assets qualifying for tax depreciation
• Temporary differences on intangible assets, including those arising on business combinations
• Programme rights – temporary differences on intercompany profits on stock
• Pension scheme deficit temporary differences on the IAS 19 pension deficit and SDN and LTVC pension
funding partnerships
• Temporary differences arising from the timing of the use of tax losses
• Share-based compensation temporary differences on share schemes
• Other temporary differences on provisions and financial instruments
The deferred tax balance associated with the pension deficit reflects the current tax benefit obtained in 2021 following
the employer contributions to the Group’s defined benefit pension scheme. The adjustment in other comprehensive
income to both the current tax and deferred tax balances relates to the actuarial gain recognised in the year and a prior
year adjustment.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
A deferred tax asset of £32 million has been recognised for tax losses where a full recovery is expected based on
forecasted taxable profits. A deferred tax asset of £559 million (2020: £425 million) in respect of capital losses of £2,237
million (2020: £2,237 million) has not been recognised due to uncertainties as to whether capital gains will arise in the
appropriate form and relevant territories against which such losses could be utilised. The increase in the deferred tax
asset in respect of the capital losses compared to the prior year is due to the future corporate tax rate change in the
UK. For the same reasons, total deferred tax assets of £15 million (2020: £17 million) in respect of overseas losses of £67
million (2020: £73 million) have not been recognised (including £2 million in respect of losses that expire between 2022
and 2027).
Subsidiaries of ITV PLC Group have undistributed earnings of £16 million (2020: nil) which, if paid out as dividends, would
be subject to tax in the hands of the recipient. An assessable temporary difference exists, but no deferred tax liability
has been recognised as ITV PLC Group is able to control the timing of the distributions from these subsidiaries and is
not expected to distribute these profits in the foreseeable future.
In October 2021, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) agreed a two-pillar solution to
address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy. We are working through the implications of
this and the financial impact it might have on ITV.
2.4
Earnings
per share
Keeping
it simple
Earnings per share (‘EPS’) is the amount of post-tax profit attributable to each share.
Basic EPS is calculated on the Group profit for the year attributable to equity
shareholders of £378 million (2020: £285 million) divided by 4,005 million
(2020: 4,002 million), being the weighted average number of shares in issue
during the year, which excludes EBT shares held in trust (see note 4.8).
Diluted EPS reflects any commitments made by the Group to issue shares in the
future and so it includes the impact of share options.
Adjusted EPS is presented in order to show the business performance of the Group
in a consistent manner and reflect how the business is managed and measured on a
day-to-day basis. Adjusted EPS reflects the impact of operating and non-operating
exceptional items on Basic EPS. Other items excluded from Adjusted EPS are
amortisation and impairment of intangible assets acquired through business
combinations; net financing cost adjustments; and the tax adjustments relating to
these items. Each of these adjustments is explained in detail in the section below.
The calculation of Basic EPS and Adjusted EPS, together with the diluted impact on each, is set out below:
Basic earnings per share
Profit for the year attributable to equity shareholders of ITV plc
Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue – million
Basic earnings per ordinary share
Diluted earnings per share
Profit for the year attributable to equity shareholders of ITV plc
Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue – million
Dilution due to share options
Total weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue – million
Diluted earnings per ordinary share
2021
£m
378
4,005
9.4p
2021
£m
378
4,005
46
4,051
9.3p
2020
£m
285
4,002
7.1p
2020
£m
285
4,002
23
4,025
7.1p
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Section 2: Results for the Year continued
Adjusted earnings per share
Profit for the year attributable to equity shareholders of ITV plc
Exceptional items (net of tax)
Profit for the year before exceptional items
Amortisation and impairment of acquired intangible assets
Gain on sale of non-current assets
Loss on sale of subsidiaries and investments
Adjustments to net financing costs
Adjusted profit
Total weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue – million
Adjusted earnings per ordinary share
Diluted adjusted earnings per share
Adjusted profit
Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue – million
Dilution due to share options
Total weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue – million
Diluted adjusted earnings per ordinary share
Details of the adjustments to earnings are as follows:
Ref.
A
B
C
C
D
2021
£m
378
180
558
37
–
1
15
611
4,005
15.3p
2021
£m
611
4,005
46
4,051
15.1p
2020
£m
285
96
381
52
(3)
–
6
436
4,002
10.9p
2020
£m
436
4,002
23
4,025
10.8p
A. Exceptional items (net of tax) £180 million (2020: £96 million)
Exceptional items of £196 million (2020: £118 million), net of related tax credit of £16 million (2020: £22 million).
See note 2.2 for the detailed composition of exceptional items.
B. Amortisation and impairment of acquired intangible assets of £37 million (2020: £52 million)
Amortisation and impairment of assets acquired through business combinations and investments of £69 million
(2020: £87 million), excluding amortisation of software licences and development of £20 million (2020: £19 million),
net of related tax credit of £12 million (2020: £16 million)
C. Loss/(gain) on sale of non-current assets and investments of £1 million loss (2020: gain of £3 million)
Loss on sale of investments of £1 million (2020: gain of £4 million), net of related tax credit of £nil (2020: related tax
charge of £1 million). 2020 gain was shown within exceptional items (A. above)
D. Adjustments to net financing costs £15 million (2020: £6 million)
Adjustments to net financing costs includes exceptional finance costs of £10 million (2020: £nil) relating principally
to interest accrued on exceptional acquisition-related expenses; foreign exchange, pension interest charges and the
unwind of discounting on acquisition related liabilities of £9 million (2020: £8 million), net of related tax credit of
£4 million (2020: £2 million)
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities
In this
section
This section shows the assets used to generate the Group’s trading performance
and the liabilities incurred as a result. On the following pages, there are notes
covering working capital, non-current assets and liabilities, acquisitions and
disposals, provisions and pensions.
Liabilities relating to the Group’s financing activities are addressed in section 4.
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are shown in note 2.3.
3.1
Working
capital
Keeping
it simple
Working capital represents the assets and liabilities the Group generates through
its trading activity. The Group therefore defines working capital as distribution
rights, programme rights, trade and other receivables, trade and other payables
and contract assets and liabilities.
Careful management of working capital ensures that the Group can meet its
trading and financing obligations within its ordinary operating cycle.
Working capital is a driver of the profit to cash conversion ratio, a key performance
indicator for the Group. For those subsidiaries acquired during the year, working
capital at the date of acquisition is excluded from the profit to cash calculation so
that only subsequent working capital movements in the period controlled by ITV
are reflected in this metric.
In the following note, you will find further information regarding working capital
management and analysis of the elements of working capital.
3.1.1 Programme rights and commitments
Accounting policies
Rights are recognised when the Group controls the respective rights and the risks and rewards associated with them.
Programme rights not yet utilised are included in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position at the lower of cost
and net realisable value. In assessing net realisable value for programmes in production, judgement is required when
considering the contracted sales price and estimated costs to complete.
Programme rights
Acquired programme rights (which include films) and sports rights are purchased for the primary purpose of
broadcasting on the ITV family of channels, including AVOD and SVOD platforms. These are recognised within current
assets the earlier of when payments are made or when the rights are ready for exploitation. The Group generally
expenses these rights through operating costs over a number of transmissions reflecting the pattern and value in
which the right is consumed.
Commissions, which primarily comprise programmes purchased, based on editorial specification and over which the
Group has some control, are recognised in current assets as payments are made and are generally expensed to
operating costs in full on first transmission. Where a commission is repeated on any platform, incremental costs
associated with the broadcast are included in operating costs.
The net realisable value assessment for acquired and commissioned rights (excluding sports rights) is based on
estimated airtime value, with consideration given to whether the number of transmissions purchased can be efficiently
played out over the licence period. The net realisable value is assessed on a portfolio basis unless specific indicators of
impairment are identified.
The net realisable value assessment for sports rights is based on the estimated airtime value on the transmission date
of the sporting event.
As a result of the impact of COVID-19 on the sporting schedule for 2020 and 2021 and the consequential impact on
TAR, along with changing forecasts of audience mix and revenues for certain sporting events, the Group recognised an
impairment for certain sporting events included in programme rights as well as onerous contract provisions for future
commitments. Further details are provided in note 3.5.
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Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities continued
The programme rights and other inventory at the year end are shown in the table below:
Acquired programme rights
Commissions
Sports rights
2021
£m
177
78
58
313
2020
£m
169
69
70
308
£13 million relates to stock that will be transmitted in 2023 and beyond (2020: £19 million transmitted in 2022 and beyond)
Programme and transmission commitments
Transmission commitments are the contracted future payments under transmission supply agreements that require the
use of transponder capacity for a period of up to ten years with payments increasing over time, limited by specific RPI caps.
Programming commitments are transactions entered into in the ordinary course of business with programme suppliers,
sports organisations and film distributors in respect of rights to broadcast on the ITV network (including ITV Hub and ITV
Hub+) and on BritBox UK.
In 2021, the Group has onerous contract provisions of £32 million (2020: £37 million) in respect of transponder capacity
usage and sports rights commitments. See note 3.5 for further details.
Commitments in respect of these transactions, which are not reflected in the Consolidated Statement of Financial
Position, are due for payment as follows:
2021
Within one year
Later than one year and not more than five years
2020
Within one year
Later than one year and not more than five years
Transmission
£m
Programme
£m
25
43
68
552
488
1,040
Transmission
£m
Programme
£m
35
95
130
479
465
944
Total
£m
577
531
1,108
Total
£m
514
560
1,074
3.1.2 Distribution rights
Accounting policies
Distribution rights are programme rights the Group buys from producers to derive future revenue, principally through
licensing to other broadcasters. These are classified as non-current assets as these rights are used to derive long-term
economic benefit for the Group.
Distribution rights are recognised initially at cost and charged through operating costs in the Consolidated Income
Statement over a period not exceeding five years, reflecting the value and pattern in which the right is consumed.
Advances paid for the acquisition of distribution rights are disclosed as distribution rights as soon as they are contracted.
These advances are not expensed until the programme is available for distribution. Up to that point, they are assessed
annually for impairment through the reassessment of the future sales expected to be earned from that title.
The net book value of distribution rights at the year end is as follows:
Distribution rights
During the year, £46 million was charged to the Consolidated Income Statement (2020: £19 million).
2021
£m
21
2020
£m
18
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
3.1.3 Trade and other receivables
Accounting policies
Trade receivables are recognised initially at the value of the invoice sent to the customer and subsequently at the
amounts considered recoverable (amortised cost). Where payments are not due for more than one year, they are
shown in the financial statements at their net present value to reflect the economic cost of delayed payment. The
Group provides goods and services to substantially all of its customers on credit terms.
The credit risk management practices of the Group include internal review and reporting of the ageing of trade and
other receivables by days past due. The Group applies the IFRS 9 simplified approach in measuring expected credit
losses, which use a lifetime expected credit loss allowance for all trade receivables.
To measure expected credit losses, trade receivables have been grouped by shared credit risk characteristics and days
past due. In addition to the expected credit losses, the Group may make additional provisions for the receivables of
particular customers if the deterioration of financial position was observed.
The carrying value of trade receivables is considered to approximate fair value. Trade and other receivables can be
analysed as follows:
Due within one year:
Trade receivables
Other receivables
Prepayments
Due after more than one year:
Trade receivables
Other receivables
Total trade and other receivables
2021
£m
434
107
48
589
33
9
42
631
2020
£m
360
49
49
458
33
13
46
504
£467 million (2020: £393 million) of total trade receivables, stated net of provisions for impairment, are aged as follows:
Current
Up to 30 days overdue
Between 30 and 90 days overdue
Over 90 days overdue
2021
£m
427
26
10
4
467
2020
£m
357
16
19
1
393
Movements in the Group’s provision for impairment of trade receivables and contract assets can be shown as follows:
At 1 January
Charged during the year
Unused amounts reversed
At 31 December
2021
£m
46
6
(9)
43
2020
£m
38
12
(4)
46
Of the provision total, £41 million relates to balances overdue by more than 90 days (2020: £45 million) and less than
£2 million relates to current balances (2020: less than £1 million).
£25 million of the provision relates to the overdue receivable for The Voice of China. The provision for this insured
receivable, net of insurance excess, was recognised as an exceptional expense in 2017.
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Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities continued
3.1.4 Trade and other payables due within one year
Accounting policies
Trade payables are recognised at the value of the invoice received from a supplier. The carrying value of current and
non-current trade payables is considered to approximate fair value. Trade and other payables due within one year can
be analysed as follows:
Trade payables
VAT and social security
Other payables
Acquisition-related liabilities – employment-linked contingent consideration
Acquisition-related liabilities – payable to sellers under put options agreed on acquisition
Accruals
2021
£m
91
60
122
3
22
551
849
2020*
£m
54
132
147
157
6
463
959
* A balance of £90 million, relating primarily to programme creditors, royalty payaways and bonus and social security accruals, originally included in other
payables has been represented as accruals.
3.1.5 Trade and other payables due after more than one year
Trade and other payables due after more than one year can be analysed as follows:
Trade payables
Other payables
Acquisition-related liabilities – employment-linked contingent consideration
Acquisition-related liabilities – payable to sellers under put options agreed on acquisition
Total trade and other payables due after more than one year
2021
£m
18
28
6
33
67
85
2020
£m
54
15
7
39
61
115
Trade payables due after more than one year relate to royalties (2020: royalties of £19 million and film creditors of
£35 million).
Acquisition-related liabilities or performance-based employment-linked earnouts are the estimated amounts payable
to previous owners. The estimated future payments that are accrued over the period the sellers are required to remain
with the business are treated as exceptional costs (see note 2.2). Those amounts not linked to employment are
estimated and recognised at acquisition at their time discounted value, with the unwind of the discount recorded
as part of finance costs.
Acquisition related liabilities at 31 December 2021 were £64 million (2020: £209 million) which represents the amount
accrued to date at their time discounted value. The total undiscounted estimated future payments of £79 million
(2020: £227 million) are sensitive to forecast profits as they are based on a multiple of earnings. The range of reasonably
possible outcomes for the undiscounted liability is between £66 million and £143 million. The liabilities due after more
than one year are expected to be settled between 2023 and 2026.
During the year, the final earnout on the Talpa acquisition was determined by an independent arbiter resulting in a
payment of €298 million (£256 million) and interest of €11 million (£10 million).
All earnouts are sensitive to forecast profits as they are based on a multiple of earnings and judgement is required
where there may be adjustments to forecasted profits or when earnouts are negotiated, hence the reason for the
range noted above.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
3.1.6 Contract assets and liabilities
Contract assets (accrued income) primarily relate to the Group’s right to consideration for work completed but not
billed at the reporting date. Many of the programmes the Studios division produces are sold internationally and also
used within the ITV network. Production work in progress is treated as a contract asset until the point the programme
is completed.
Contract liabilities (deferred income) primarily relate to the consideration received from customers in advance of
transferring a good or service. The following table provides movements in contract assets and liabilities in the period:
Balance at 1 January
Decrease due to balance transferred to trade receivables
Increases as a result of the changes in the measure of progress
Decreases due to revenue recognised in the period
Increase due to cash received
Balance at 31 December
Contract
assets
£m
416
(404)
537
–
–
549
2021
Contract
liabilities
£m
(271)
–
–
260
(348)
(359)
Contract
assets
£m
445
(409)
380
–
–
416
2020
Contract
liabilities
£m
(219)
–
–
208
(260)
(271)
Non-current contract assets of £6 million (2020: £7 million) is included in the above reconciliation. Contract assets include production work in progress of
£360 million (2020: £261 million).
3.1.7 Working capital management
Cash and working capital management has been a critical area of focus during 2020 and 2021. During the year, the cash
outflow from working capital was £141 million (2020: inflow of £137 million) derived as follows:
(Increase)/decrease in programme rights and distribution rights
(Increase)/decrease in receivables and contract assets
Increase/(decrease) in payables and contract liabilities
Working capital (outflow)/inflow
2021
£m
(6)
(270)
135
(141)
2020
£m
16
2
119
137
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Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities continued
3.2
Property,
plant and
equipment
Keeping
it simple
The following note shows the physical assets used by the Group to operate the
business, generating revenues and profits. These assets include office buildings
and studios, as well as equipment used in broadcast transmission, programme
production and support activities.
The cost of these assets is the amount initially paid for them or for right of use assets,
the discounted future lease payments. A depreciation expense is charged to the
Consolidated Income Statement to reflect annual wear and tear and the reduced
value of the asset over time. Depreciation is calculated by estimating the number of
years the Group expects the asset to be used (useful economic life). If there has been a
technological change or decline in business performance, the Directors review the
value of the assets to the business to ensure they have not fallen below their
depreciated value. If an asset’s value falls below its depreciated value, an additional
impairment charge is made against profit.
This note also explains the accounting policies followed by ITV and the specific
estimates made in arriving at the net book value of these assets.
Accounting policies
Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment losses. Certain items of
property, plant and equipment that were revalued to fair value prior to 1 January 2004 (the date of transition to IFRS) are
measured on the basis of deemed cost, being the revalued amount less depreciation up to the date of transition.
Right of use assets
A contract contains a lease if the contract conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time
in exchange for consideration. These assets are called right of use assets and have been included on the Group’s
balance sheet at a value equal to the discounted future lease payments. For leases recognised on transition to IFRS 16
‘Leases’ the value is also adjusted by any prepayments or lease incentives recognised immediately before the date of
initial application.
Depreciation
Depreciation is provided to write off the cost of property, plant and equipment less estimated residual value, on a
straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives. The annual depreciation charge is sensitive to the estimated useful
life of each asset and the expected residual value at the end of its life. The major categories of property, plant and
equipment are depreciated as follows:
Asset class
Depreciation policy
Freehold land
Freehold buildings
Leasehold improvements
Vehicles, equipment and fittings*
Right of use assets
* Equipment includes studio production and technology assets.
not depreciated
up to 60 years
shorter of residual lease term or estimated useful life
3 to 20 years
over the term of the lease
Assets under construction are not depreciated until the point at which the asset comes into use by the Group.
Impairment of assets
Property, plant and equipment that is subject to depreciation is reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes
in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Indicators of impairment may include
changes in technology and business.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment can be analysed as follows:
Freehold land
and buildings
£m
Improvements to leasehold
land and buildings
Long
£m
Short
£m
Vehicles,
equipment
and fittings
Owned
£m
Cost
At 1 January 2020
Additions
Foreign exchange
Disposals and retirements
At 31 December 2020
Additions
Reclassifications
Foreign exchange
Disposals and retirements
At 31 December 2021
Depreciation
At 1 January 2020
Charge for the year
Foreign exchange
Disposals and retirements
At 31 December 2020
Charge for the year
Reclassifications
Foreign exchange
Disposals and retirements
At 31 December 2021
Net book value
At 31 December 2021
At 31 December 2020
12
1
–
(1)
12
1
–
–
(1)
12
1
1
–
–
2
–
(2)
–
–
–
12
10
70
15
(1)
(4)
80
8
–
–
(1)
87
23
3
–
(4)
22
4
–
–
(1)
25
62
58
27
1
–
–
28
–
(2)
–
–
26
16
–
–
–
16
1
2
–
–
19
7
12
Right
of use
assets
£m
112
40
(1)
(4)
147
13
–
(1)
(5)
154
25
27
(1)
(4)
47
25
–
(1)
(7)
64
Total
£m
461
77
(2)
(47)
489
34
3
(2)
(10)
514
192
57
(1)
(44)
204
67
–
(1)
(10)
260
240
20
–
(38)
222
12
5
(1)
(3)
235
127
26
–
(36)
117
37
–
–
(2)
152
83
105
90
100
254
285
Included within property, plant and equipment are assets in the course of construction of £17 million (2020: £17 million).
Included within the depreciation charge for the year of £67 million (2020: £57 million) is £8 million (2020: £nil) in respect
of accelerated depreciation following a change in useful life of the related assets in relation to the move to a new
London site. This depreciation has been included in exceptional items. See notes 2.2 and 3.3 for further details.
Included in net book value of right of use assets is £89 million (2020: £99 million) related to properties and £1 million
(2020: £1 million) relating to vehicles, equipment and fittings.
Capital commitments
Following the decision to move to Broadcast Centre in early 2022, the Group signed new lease agreements for the next
13 years. The right of use assets, which will be recognised in 2022, will be approximately £45 million. The Group has
additional capital commitments of £6 million at 31 December 2021 (2020: £1 million).
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Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities continued
3.3
Intangible
assets
Keeping
it simple
The following note identifies the non-physical assets used by the Group to
generate revenue and profits.
These assets include formats and brands, customer contracts and relationships,
contractual arrangements, licences, software development, film libraries and
goodwill. The cost of these assets is the amount that the Group has paid or, where
there has been a business combination, the fair value of the specific intangible
assets that could be sold separately or which arise from legal rights. In the case of
goodwill, its cost is the amount the Group has paid in acquiring a business over and
above the fair value of the individual assets and liabilities acquired. The value of
goodwill is the ‘intangible’ value that comes from, for example, a uniquely strong
market position and the outstanding productivity of its employees.
The value of intangible assets, with the exception of goodwill, reduces over the
number of years the Group expects to use the asset, the useful economic life, via an
annual amortisation charge to the Consolidated Income Statement. Where there
has been a technological change or decline in business performance, the Directors
review the value of assets, including goodwill, to ensure they have not fallen below
their amortised value. Should an asset’s value fall below its amortised value, an
additional impairment charge is made against profit.
This note explains the accounting policies applied and the specific judgements and
estimates made by the Directors in arriving at the net book value of these assets.
Accounting policies
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the future economic benefits that arise from assets that are not capable of being individually
identified and separately recognised. Goodwill is stated at its recoverable amount being cost less any accumulated
impairment losses and is allocated to the business to which it relates.
All business combinations that have occurred since 1 January 2009 were accounted for using the acquisition method.
Under this method, goodwill is measured as the fair value of the consideration transferred (including the recognition of
any part of the business not yet owned (non-controlling interests)), less the fair value of the identifiable assets acquired
and liabilities assumed, all measured at the acquisition date. The identification of acquired assets and liabilities and the
allocation of the purchase price to them is considered a key judgement and is based on the Group’s understanding and
experience of the media business. Any contingent consideration expected to be transferred in the future is recognised
at fair value at the acquisition date and recognised within other payables. Contingent consideration classified as an
asset or liability that is a financial instrument is measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognised in the
Consolidated Income Statement. The determination of fair value is based on an estimate of discounted cash flows. The
key assumptions take into consideration the probability of meeting each performance target and the discount rate.
Where less than 100% of a subsidiary is acquired, and call and put options are granted over the remaining interest, a
non-controlling interest is initially recognised in equity at fair value, which is established based on the value of the put
option. A call option is recognised as a derivative financial instrument, carried at fair value. The put option is recognised
as a liability within other payables, carried at the present value of the put option exercise price, and a corresponding
charge is included in merger and other reserves. Any subsequent remeasurement of the put option liability is
recognised within finance income or cost.
Subsequent adjustments to the fair value of net assets acquired can only be made within 12 months of the acquisition
date, and only if fair values were determined provisionally at an earlier reporting date. These adjustments are
accounted for from the date of acquisition.
Acquisitions of non-controlling interests are accounted for as transactions with owners and therefore no goodwill is
recognised as a result of such transactions. Transaction costs incurred in connection with those business combinations,
such as legal fees, due diligence fees and other professional fees, are expensed as incurred. The Directors consider these
costs to reflect the cost of acquisition and to form a part of the capital transaction, and highlight them separately as
exceptional items.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Other intangible assets
Intangible assets other than goodwill are those that are distinct and can be sold separately or which arise from legal rights.
The main intangible assets the Group has valued are formats, brands, licences, contractual arrangements, customer
contracts and relationships and libraries.
Within ITV, there are two types of other intangible assets: those assets directly purchased by the Group for day-to-day
operational purposes (such as software licences and development) and intangible assets identified as part of an
acquisition of a business.
Intangible assets acquired directly by the Group are stated at cost less accumulated amortisation. Those separately
identified intangible assets acquired as part of an acquisition or business combination are shown at fair value at the
date of acquisition less accumulated amortisation.
Each class of intangible assets’ valuation method on initial recognition, amortisation method and estimated useful life
is set out in the table below:
Class of intangible asset
Amortisation method Estimated useful life Valuation method
Brands
Straight-line
8 to 14 years
Formats
Customer
contracts
Straight-line
Straight-line or
reducing balance
as appropriate
Straight-line
Customer relationships
Contractual arrangements Straight-line
Licences
Straight-line
Libraries and other
Software licences and
development
Sum of digits or
straight-line as
appropriate
Straight-line
up to 8 years
up to 6 years
5 to 10 years
up to 10 years
depending on
the contract
terms
11 to 29 years
depending on
term of licence
up to 20 years
Applying a royalty rate to the expected future
revenue over the life of the brand.
Expected future cash flows from those assets existing
at the date of acquisition are estimated. If applicable,
a contributory charge is deducted for the use of other
assets needed to exploit the cash flow. The net cash
flow is then discounted back to present value.
Expected future cash flows from those contracts
existing at the date of acquisition are estimated.
If applicable, a contributory charge is deducted for the
use of other assets needed to exploit the cash flow.
The net cash flow is then discounted back to present
value.
Start-up basis of expected future cash flows existing
at the date of acquisition. If applicable, a contributory
charge is deducted for the use of other assets needed
to exploit the cash flow. The net cash flow is then
discounted back to present value.
Public service broadcasting (PSB) licences are valued
as a start-up business with only the licence in place.
Initially at cost and subsequently at cost less
accumulated amortisation.
1 to 10 years
Initially at cost and subsequently at cost less
accumulated amortisation.
Cloud computing arrangements
Cloud computing arrangements are reviewed to determine if they are within the scope of IAS 38 Intangible Assets, IFRS
16 Leases, or a service contract. This is to determine if the Group has control of the software intangible asset. Control is
assumed if the Group has the right to take possession of the software and run it on its own or a third party’s computer
infrastructure or if the Group has exclusive rights to use the software whereby the supplier cannot make the software
available to other customers.
Configuration of the software involves the setting of various flags or switches within the application software or
defining values to set up the software’s existing code to function in a specified way. Customisation involves modifying
the software code in the application or writing additional code. Customisation generally changes or creates additional
functionalities within the software. In both situations, the Group also needs to assess if there is a separate intangible
asset. If no separate intangible asset is identified, then these costs are expensed when incurred. If an asset is identified,
it is capitalised and amortised over the life of the asset.
This represents a change in accounting policy as the Group previously capitalised all costs relating to the
implementation of cloud computing arrangements. No material adjustments were required to the Group’s intangible
assets following the change in accounting policy, however, the implementation cost of a new cloud-based ERP solution
which commenced in 2021 is being expensed (see note 2.2).
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Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities continued
Fair value on acquisition
Determining the fair value of the purchase consideration allocated to intangible assets arising on acquisition requires
judgement. The Directors make estimates regarding the timing and amount of future cash flows derived from
exploiting the assets being acquired. The Directors then estimate an appropriate discount rate to apply to the forecast
cash flows. Such estimates are based on current budgets and forecasts, extrapolated for an appropriate period taking
into account growth rates, operating costs and the expected useful lives of assets. Judgements are also made
regarding whether, and for how long, licences will be renewed; this drives our amortisation policy for those assets.
The Directors estimate the appropriate discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of
money and the risks specific to the assets or businesses being acquired.
Amortisation
Amortisation is charged to the Consolidated Income Statement over the estimated useful lives of intangible assets
unless such lives are judged to be indefinite. Indefinite life assets, such as goodwill, are not amortised but are tested for
impairment at each year end.
Impairment
Goodwill is not subject to amortisation and is tested annually for impairment and when circumstances indicate that the
carrying value may be impaired.
Other intangible assets are subject to amortisation and are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in
circumstances indicate that the amount carried in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position is less than its
recoverable amount.
Determining whether the carrying amount of intangible assets has any indication of impairment requires judgement.
Any impairment is recognised in the Consolidated Income Statement.
An impairment test is performed by assessing the recoverable amount of each asset, or for goodwill the cash-
generating unit (‘CGU’), or group of CGUs, related to the goodwill. Total assets (which include goodwill) are grouped at
the lowest levels for which there are separately identifiable cash flows. The identification of the relevant CGUs for
assessing impairment of goodwill is considered a key judgement. The Directors have identified 3 CGUs, Media &
Entertainment (formerly Broadcast), ITV Studios and SDN.
The recoverable amount is the higher of an asset’s fair value less costs to sell and value in use. The value in use is based
on the present value of the future cash flows expected to arise from the asset.
In testing for impairment, estimates are used in deriving cash flows and the discount rates. Such estimates reflect
current market assessments of the risks specific to the asset and the time value of money. The estimation process is
complex due to the inherent risks and uncertainties associated with long-term forecasting. If different estimates of the
projected future cash flows or a different selection of an appropriate discount rate or long-term growth rate were made,
these changes could materially alter the projected value of the cash flows of the asset, and as a consequence materially
different amounts would be reported in the financial statements.
Impairment losses in respect of goodwill cannot be reversed. In respect of assets other than goodwill, an impairment
loss is reversed if there has been a change in the estimates used to determine the recoverable amount. An impairment
loss is reversed only to the extent that the asset’s carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would
have been determined, net of depreciation or amortisation, if no impairment loss had been recognised.
There is a wide range of potential outcomes regarding the possible future performance of each of ITV Group’s cash-
generating units, Media & Entertainment, ITV Studios and SDN. In the impairment review the Directors used the
scenarios utilised for the viability statement. The Directors, however, do not consider that any reasonably possible
changes in the key assumptions would cause the recoverable amount of the Group’s cash-generating units to fall below
their carrying values and therefore they are not considered key sources of estimation uncertainty.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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204
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Intangible assets
Intangible assets can be analysed as follows:
Formats
and brands
£m
Customer
contracts and
relationships
£m
Contractual
arrangements
£m
Goodwill
£m
Libraries
and other
£m
Software
licences and
development
£m
Licences
£m
Cost
At 1 January 2020
Additions
Foreign exchange
At 31 December 2020
Additions
Acquisitions
Reclassifications
Foreign exchange
At 31 December 2021
Amortisation and
impairment
At 1 January 2020
Charge for the year
Foreign exchange
At 31 December 2020
Charge for the year
Reclassifications
Foreign exchange
At 31 December 2021
Net book value
At 31 December 2021
At 31 December 2020
3,897
–
(2)
3,895
–
1
–
(3)
3,893
2,654
–
–
2,654
–
–
–
2,654
1,239
1,241
530
–
17
547
–
–
–
(20)
527
382
42
11
435
41
–
(16)
460
67
112
441
–
–
441
–
1
–
(1)
441
422
6
(1)
427
5
–
1
433
8
14
11
–
–
11
–
–
–
–
11
11
–
–
11
–
–
–
11
–
–
176
–
–
176
–
–
–
–
176
118
6
–
124
5
–
–
129
47
52
103
1
(1)
103
–
–
–
1
104
91
1
(1)
91
1
–
1
93
11
12
Goodwill impairment tests
The carrying amount of goodwill for each CGU is represented as follows:
ITV Studios
Media & Entertainment
SDN
207
21
–
228
15
–
(3)
–
240
95
20
(1)
114
20
–
–
134
106
114
2021
£m
777
386
76
1,239
Total
£m
5,365
22
14
5,401
15
2
(3)
(23)
5,392
3,773
75
8
3,856
72
–
(14)
3,914
1,478
1,545
2020
£m
779
386
76
1,241
There has been no impairment charge for any CGU during the year (2020: £nil).
When assessing impairment, the recoverable amount of each CGU is based on value in use calculations. These calculations
require the use of estimates, specifically: pre-tax cash flow projections; long-term growth rates; and a pre-tax market
discount rate. Cash flow projections are based on the Group’s current long-term plan. Beyond the plan, these
projections are extrapolated using an estimated nominal long-term growth rate of 2% (2020: 1%). The growth rate
used is consistent with the long-term average growth rates for both the industry and the countries in which the CGUs
are located and is appropriate because these are long-term businesses.
The discount rate has been updated for each CGU to reflect the latest market assumptions for the risk-free rate, the
equity risk premium and the net cost of debt. There is currently no reasonably possible change in discount rate that
would reduce the headroom in any CGU to zero.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities continued
ITV Studios
The goodwill for ITV Studios has arisen as a result of the acquisition of production businesses since 1999. Significant
balances were created from the acquisition by Granada of United News and Media’s production businesses in 2000 and
the merger of Granada and Carlton in 2004 to form ITV plc. ITV Studios goodwill also includes the goodwill arising from
acquisitions since 2012, with the largest acquisitions being Leftfield in 2014, followed by Talpa in 2015.
The key assumptions on which the forecast cash flows for the whole CGU were based (as represented by the approved
financial budget for 2022 and forecast to 2024) include revenue (including international revenue and the ITV Studios
share of ITV output, growth in commissions and hours produced), margins and the pre-tax market discount rate. These
assumptions have been determined by using a combination of extrapolation of historical trends within the business,
industry estimates and in-house estimates of growth rates in all markets. No impairment was identified.
A pre-tax discount rate of 8.4% (2020: 7.7%) has been used in discounting the projected cash flows.
Following the organisational redesign by ITV Studios, with effect from 1 January 2020, the Directors considered how
assets and resources are shared across the ITV Studios division and the level of integration within the management
structure for the purposes of reporting and strategic decision-making. They concluded that a single ITV Studios CGU
continues to remain appropriate.
Media & Entertainment (formerly Broadcast)
The goodwill in this CGU arose as a result of the acquisition of broadcasting businesses since 1999, the largest of which
was the merger of Carlton and Granada in 2004 to form ITV plc, which was treated as an acquisition of Carlton for
accounting purposes. Media & Entertainment goodwill also includes the goodwill arising on acquisition of UTV Limited
in February 2016.
In October 2020, the Group announced a restructure of its Broadcast segment to better reflect and serve the changing
viewing habits. As part of the restructure, which came into effect from 1 April 2021, Broadcast has been renamed Media
& Entertainment (‘M&E’) with two business streams. The restructure did not have any impact on the composition of
the CGUs.
The main assumptions on which the forecast cash flow projections for this CGU are based (as represented by the
approved financial budget for 2022 and forecast to 2024) include: the performance and share of the television
advertising market; share of commercial impacts; programme and other costs; and the pre-tax market discount rate.
The key assumption in assessing the recoverable amount of Media & Entertainment goodwill is the size of
the television advertising market. In forming its assumptions about the television advertising market, the Group has
used a combination of long-term trends, industry forecasts and in-house estimates, which place greater emphasis on
recent experience. No impairment was identified.
An impairment charge of £2,309 million was recognised in the Media & Entertainment CGU in 2008, as a result of the
downturn in the short-term outlook for the advertising market. The current year impairment review, set out above,
results in significant headroom in excess of the 2008 impairment amount. Even though the advertising market has
improved since then and the impaired assets are still owned and operated by the Group, due to accounting rules the
impairment cannot be reversed.
A pre-tax discount rate of 8.4% (2020: 7.8%) has been used in discounting the projected cash flows.
SDN
Goodwill was recognised when the Group acquired SDN (the licence operator for DTT Multiplex A) in 2005.
It represented the wider strategic benefits of the acquisition specific to the Group, principally the enhanced ability
to promote Freeview as a platform, business relationships with the channels which are on Multiplex A and additional
capacity available from 2010.
SDN’s current multiplex licence expires towards the end of 2022. The government consulted on the future of the SDN
licence (as well as most of those held by Arqiva, the BBC and Channel 4) in 2020 and published its decision in September
2021. The government highlighted that it will give Ofcom the power to carry out the renewal of the SDN licence until
2034. Following this decision, we await the renewal from Ofcom, which we expect during 2022.
The main assumptions on which the forecast cash flows are based (as represented by the approved financial budget for
2022 and forecast to 2024) are: renewal of the licence to 2034; income to be earned from renewals of medium-term
contracts; the market price of available multiplex video streams; and the pre-tax market discount rate. These assumptions
have been determined by using a combination of current contract terms, recent market transactions and in-house
estimates of video stream availability and pricing. No impairment was identified.
A pre-tax discount rate of 11.7% (2020: 11.4%) has been used in discounting the projected cash flows.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
206
206
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
3.4
Investments
Keeping
it simple
The Group holds non-controlling interests in a number of different entities.
Accounting for these investments, and the Group’s share of any profits and losses,
depends on the level of control or influence the Group is granted via its interest.
The three principal types of non-consolidated investments are joint arrangements
(joint ventures or joint operations), associates, and equity investments.
A joint arrangement is an investment where the Group has joint control, with one or
more third parties. An associate is an entity over which the Group has significant
influence (i.e. power to participate in the investee’s financial and operating
decisions). Any other investment is an equity investment.
Accounting policies
For joint ventures and associates, the Group applies equity accounting. Under this method, it recognises the investment
in the entity at cost and subsequently adjusts this for its share of profits or losses, which are recognised in the
Consolidated Income Statement within non-operating items and included in adjusted profit.
Where the Group has invested in associates by acquiring preference shares or convertible debt instruments, the share
of profit recognised is usually £nil as no equity interest exists.
Equity investments are held at fair value unless the investment is a start-up business, in which case it is valued initially
at cost as a proxy for fair value.
The carrying amount of each category of our investments is represented as follows:
Joint ventures
£m
Associates
£m
Equity investments
£m
Total
£m
At 1 January 2020
Additions
Share of profits/(losses)
Disposals
Impairments/fair value adjustments
Foreign exchange
At 31 December 2020
Additions
Share of profits/(losses)
Impairments/fair value adjustments
Foreign exchange
At 31 December 2021
1
10
14
–
–
(1)
24
4
14
–
1
43
43
18
(4)
(1)
(1)
(3)
52
8
(2)
(7)
–
51
8
1
–
–
(8)
–
1
3
–
–
–
4
52
29
10
(1)
(9)
(4)
77
15
12
(7)
1
98
Significant investments in joint ventures include £34 million (2020: £19 million) invested in BritBox LLC in the US. The
Group’s associates include £31 million (2020: £30 million) relating to a 45% investment in Blumhouse TV Holdings LLC,
a film and television production company in the US. The equity investments relate primarily to Group’s Media for
Equity programme.
Please refer to page 256 for the list of principal investments held at 31 December 2021.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities continued
3.5
Provisions
Keeping
it simple
A provision is recognised by the Group where an obligation exists relating to events
in the past and it is probable that cash will be paid to settle it.
A provision is made where the Group is not certain how much cash will be required
to settle a liability, so an estimate is required. The main estimates relate to the cost
of holding properties that are no longer in use by the Group, the likelihood of
settling legal claims and contracts the Group has entered into that are now
unprofitable.
Accounting policies
A provision is recognised in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position when the Group has a present legal or
constructive obligation arising from past events, it is probable cash will be paid to settle it and the amount can be
estimated reliably. Provisions are determined by discounting the expected future cash flows by a rate that reflects
current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the liability. The unwinding of the
discount is recognised as a financing cost in the Consolidated Income Statement. The value of the provision is
determined based on assumptions and estimates in relation to the amount and timing of actual cash flows,
which are dependent on future events.
Provisions
The movements in provisions during the year are as follows:
At 1 January 2021
Additions
Utilised
Released
Foreign exchange
At 31 December 2021
Contract
provisions
£m
Property
provisions
£m
Legal and
Other
provisions
£m
37
17
(21)
–
(1)
32
3
3
–
–
–
6
41
70
(2)
(2)
–
107
Total
£m
81
90
(23)
(2)
(1)
145
Provisions of £120 million are classified as current liabilities (2020: £59 million). Unwind of the discount is £nil in 2021
and 2020.
Contract provisions £32 million (2020: £37 million)
Represent liabilities in respect of onerous contracts in relation to individual sports rights of £5 million (2020: £18 million)
and transmission capacity supply contracts of £27 million (2020: £19 million).
Sports rights
As a result of the impact of COVID-19 and consequential changes to the sporting schedule, along with resulting
changing forecasts of audience mix and revenues for certain sporting events, the Group recognised a provision for the
sporting events directly impacted by these changes in 2020. The provision is sensitive to the changes in the sporting
schedule and consequential impact on TAR.
In calculating the provision, management has made estimates and used assumptions in determining the nature,
amount and timing of potential outflows, including the commercial impacts of the target audience that will be
generated by those rights, scheduling of the events and revenue forecasts. A provision is recognised for rights where
the estimated revenues are less than the obligation held.
The provision held at 31 December 2021 is £5 million (2020: £18 million). The provision was increased by £1 million in the
year (2020: £37 million). £14 million (2020: £11 million) has been utilised during the year and £nil (2020: £8 million) was
released. The remaining provision is expected to be utilised in 2022.
Transponders
During 2020, we commenced a review of the efficiency of our transponder capacity usage with a view to reducing our
capacity requirements. This has allowed us to reorganise our channels over fewer transponders with the result that we
have cleared all channels from two transponders. We are no longer utilising them and therefore not generating
revenues. Management has applied judgement in its assessment that the individual element of the contract is separable
from the remaining elements of the contract, which are not considered onerous. The contracted future commitment to
October 2024 has therefore been recognised as a provision as there are no future economic benefits expected.
In 2020, we provided £19 million as an onerous contract for the first transponder from the date it was cleared and in
2021, £16 million for the second transponder capacity.
The total provision for onerous contracts at 31 December 2021 is £27 million (2020: £19 million), £7 million of the provision
was utilised during the year (2020: £2 million).
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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208
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Property provisions £6 million (2020: £3 million)
These provisions primarily relate to expected dilapidation costs at rental properties and include additions in the year for
the move of our London site.
Legal and Other provisions £107 million (2020: £41 million)
Represents provisions for potential liabilities and the related legal costs. These include £52 million (31 December 2020:
£31 million) for the potential liability that may arise as a result of the Box Clever Financial Support Directions (‘FSDs’)
being issued by the Pensions Regulator (‘tPR’), employee-related tax and other provisions of £39 million (2020: £nil),
a provision related to The Voice of Holland (£9 million) (2020: £nil) and other legal and related costs.
Box Clever Pension Scheme
The Box Clever Pension Scheme (‘the Scheme’) was managed from its establishment by an independent Trustee and
the Group has not had any commercial connection with the Box Clever business since it went into administrative
receivership in 2003. After court proceedings in the Upper Tribunal and Court of Appeal were dismissed, certain
companies within ITV were issued with FSDs by tPR on 17 March 2020. An FSD does not set out what form any financial
support should take, nor its amount, and those issues have not yet been resolved as part of the legal process.
The legislation provides that any contribution that ITV may make must be considered reasonable and have regard to
the Group’s financial circumstances. If an agreement is reached with tPR there may not be an immediate cash flow
impact. If an agreement cannot be reached, then settlement may be protracted and subject to further legal
proceedings over several years.
At 2003, the Scheme was estimated to have had a deficit on a buyout basis of £25 million. The most recent estimate of
the deficit in the Box Clever Group Pension Scheme is £110 million as at 30 April 2020 and remains management’s best
estimate of the deficit. This estimate was calculated on a buyout basis, using membership data and benefits currently
being provided in that Scheme, and based on membership data as of February 2020. Both of these valuations were of
the whole Scheme, encompassing liabilities in respect of former employees of Granada's joint venture partner, Thorn,
as well as former employees of the Group. Given the significant number of undecided issues as to the quantum and
form of financial support, the Group will strongly contest any attempt to impose liability in an amount the Directors
consider unreasonable.
The Directors continue to believe there are many important factors, that need to be taken into account in any decision,
and therefore there remains a great deal of uncertainty around the quantum and form of financial support to be
provided. The Company and tPR are in discussions to try to resolve the matter on a consensual basis. The provision
has been increased by £21 million to £52 million and represents the IAS 19 valuation using market conditions as at
31 October 2021 of management’s best estimate of the provision required. If this is not accepted, tPR may issue a
warning notice.
Employee-related
The determination of the employment tax status of some individuals contracted by the Group is complex. In March
2021, HMRC issued an initial assessment on several individuals engaged by the Group during the tax year 2016/17 as
employed for tax purposes. In June 2021, HMRC updated guidance on factors determining the employment tax status
of TV and Radio presenters. Following this assessment and HMRC’s updated guidance, the Group has undertaken a
review of the tax status of individuals and used best endeavours to estimate that circa £36 million may be assessed as
payable for periods up to 31 December 2021. Landmark court cases are being heard by the Court of Appeal in early
2022. Whilst the Group is not involved in these cases, judgements handed down will impact on how employment tax
status is determined for TV and Radio presenters generally and will therefore have a bearing on how much tax might
be payable by the Group. As a consequence of this, the final amount payable could be significantly different to the
£36 million currently provided. A further £3 million was provided for in the current year, in relation to other
employment related matters.
The Voice of Holland
In early 2022 allegations of inappropriate behaviour on the set of The Voice of Holland were made public, resulting in a
mid-season suspension of series 12. A provision has been made to cover the committed costs relating to the series in
production, impairment of the carrying value of work in progress and other costs. An external investigation of the
allegations is currently ongoing. While unquantifiable at present, there may be further financial impact on the Group.
Other
Other provisions relate to historical environmental provisions in relation to our production sites, closure costs and
provision for legal fees for other ongoing litigation.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities continued
3.6
Pensions
Keeping
it simple
In this note, we explain the accounting policies governing the Group’s pension
schemes, followed by analysis of the components of the net defined benefit
pension deficit, including assumptions made, and where the related movements
have been recognised in the financial statements. In addition, we have placed text
boxes to explain some of the technical terms used in the disclosure.
What are the Group’s pension schemes?
There are two types of pension schemes. A ‘Defined Contribution’ scheme that is
open to ITV employees, and a number of ‘Defined Benefit’ schemes that have been
closed to new members since 2006 and closed to future accrual in 2017. In 2016, on
acquisition of UTV Limited, the Group took over the UTV Defined Benefit Scheme,
which closed to future accrual at the end of March 2019.
What is a Defined Contribution scheme?
The Defined Contribution scheme is where the Group makes fixed payments into a
separate fund on behalf of those employees participating in saving for their
retirement. ITV has no further obligation to the participating employee and the
risks and rewards associated with this type of scheme are assumed by the
members rather than the Group. Although the Trustee of the scheme makes
available a range of investment options, it is the members’ responsibility to make
investment decisions relating to their retirement benefits.
What is a Defined Benefit scheme?
In a Defined Benefit scheme, members receive payments during retirement, the value
of which is dependent on factors such as salary and length of service. The Group
makes contributions to the scheme, a separate Trustee-administered fund that is not
consolidated in these financial statements, but is reflected on the defined benefit
pension deficit line in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position.
The Trustee, appointed according to the terms of the Schemes’ documentation, is
required to act in the best interest of the beneficiaries and is responsible
for managing and investing the assets of the Scheme and its funding position.
Schemes can be funded, where regular cash contributions are made by the
employer into a fund which is invested. In the event of poor investment returns or
increases in liabilities, the Group may need to address this through increased levels
of contribution. Alternatively, schemes can be unfunded, where no regular money
or assets are required to be put aside to cover future payments but in some cases
security is required.
The accounting defined benefit pension deficit (IAS 19) is different from the actuarial
valuation deficit as they are calculated on the basis of different assumptions, such as
discount rate. The accounting defined benefit pension deficit (IAS 19) figure is
calculated as at the balance sheet date, and the actuarial deficit (which drives cash
funding requirements) was calculated for the last triennial valuation as of 1 January
2017 for Section A of the ITV Pension Scheme, 1 January 2020 for Section C of the ITV
Pension Scheme and 30 June 2020 for the UTV Pension Scheme. The 2020 Triennial
valuations for each Section A of the ITV Pension Scheme is still underway. The
valuation is expected to be agreed in early 2022.
Accounting policies
Defined contribution scheme
Obligations under the Group’s defined contribution schemes are recognised as an operating cost in the Consolidated
Income Statement as incurred. For 2021, total contributions expensed were £26 million (2020: £25 million).
Defined benefit scheme
The Group’s obligation in respect of the Defined Benefit Scheme is calculated by estimating the amount of future
retirement benefit that eligible employees (‘beneficiaries’) have earned during their services. That benefit payable in
the future is discounted to today’s value and then the fair value of scheme assets is deducted to measure the defined
benefit pension position.
Unless otherwise stated, references to Defined Benefit Schemes (‘the Schemes’) within this note refer to the ITV Pension
Scheme, the Unfunded Scheme and the UTV Pension Scheme combined. Details on each scheme are provided below.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
The liabilities of the Schemes are measured by discounting the best estimate of future cash flows to be paid using the
‘projected unit’ method. These calculations are complex and are performed by a qualified actuary. There are many
judgements and estimates necessary to calculate the Group’s estimated liabilities, the main assumptions are set out
later in this note. Movements in assumptions during the year are called ‘actuarial gains and losses’ and these are
recognised in the period in which they arise through the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income.
The accounting defined benefit pension surplus or deficit (IAS 19) is different from the actuarial valuation deficit as they
are calculated on the basis of different assumptions, such as discount rate. The accounting defined benefit pension
surplus or deficit (IAS 19) figure is calculated as at the balance sheet date, and the actuarial valuation deficit is
calculated per the last triennial valuation.
In October 2021, the triennial valuation of Section C of the ITV Pension Scheme at 31 December 2019 was completed.
The Scheme had assets of £569 million as at the valuation date and £559 million of liabilities resulting in an agreed
Technical Provisions funding surplus of £10 million. At the previous valuation at 1 January 2017, there was a surplus of
£19 million. The 2020 triennial valuation for Section A of the ITV Pension Scheme is still underway. The valuation is
expected to be agreed in early 2022. This valuation will drive subsequent contribution rates.
The Group continues to make deficit funding contributions in line with the most recent actuarial valuation in order to
eliminate the deficits in each Section. The IAS 19 deficit does not drive the deficit funding contribution.
An unfunded scheme in relation to former beneficiaries who accrued benefits in excess of the maximum allowed for
tax purposes is accounted for under IAS 19 and the Group is responsible for meeting the pension obligations as they fall
due. For the four former Granada executives within the unfunded scheme, there is additional security in the form of a
charge over £62 million of securitised gilts held by the Group, which are classified as other pension assets to reflect the
Group’s net pension deficit.
Due to the size of the UTV Pension Scheme, the Directors present the results and position of the UTV Pension Scheme
within this note combined with the existing ITV Schemes. In November 2021, the triennial valuation of the UTV Pension
Scheme at 30 June 2020 was completed. The Scheme had assets of £140 million as at the valuation date and
£136 million of liabilities resulting in an agreed Technical Provisions funding surplus of £4 million. At the previous
valuation at 30 June 2017, there was a shortfall of £7 million.
The principal employer of the ITV Pension Scheme and the Unfunded Scheme is ITV Services Limited, the Granada
supplementary scheme is Granada Group Limited and the UTV Pension Scheme is UTV Limited.
The defined benefit pension deficit
Net pension deficit of £8 million at 31 December 2021 (2020: £26 million) is stated after including the unfunded scheme
security asset of £62 million (2020: £62 million). The totals recognised in 2021 and 2020 are:
Total defined benefit scheme obligations
Total defined benefit scheme assets
Defined benefit pension deficit (IAS 19)
Presented as:
Defined benefit pension surplus*
Defined benefit pension deficit
Defined benefit pension deficit (IAS 19)
Other pension asset
Net pension deficit
2021
£m
(3,943)
3,873
(70)
26
(96)
(70)
62
(8)
2020
£m
(4,120)
4,032
(88)
22
(110)
(88)
62
(26)
* The defined benefit pension surplus relates solely to the UTV Scheme. The defined benefit scheme assets in the UTV Scheme were £142 million as at
31 December 2021 (2020: £142 million) and the defined benefit scheme obligations were £116 million (2020: £120 million).
The remaining notes provide further detail of the value of the Schemes’ assets and liabilities, how these are accounted
for and the impact on the financial statements.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities continued
Defined benefit scheme obligations
Keeping
it simple
What causes movements in the defined benefit pension obligations?
The areas that impact the defined benefit obligation (the pension scheme liabilities)
position at the year end are as follows:
• Past service cost – is a change in present value of the benefits built up by the
beneficiaries in the prior periods; can be positive or negative resulting from
changes to the existing plan as a result of an agreement between ITV and
employees or legislative change (including legal rulings) or as a result of
significant reduction by ITV in the number of employees covered by the plan
(curtailment)
• Interest cost – the pension obligations payable in the future are discounted to the
present value at year end. A discount factor is used to determine the current value
today of the future cost. The interest cost is the unwinding of one year’s
movement in the present value of the obligation. It is broadly determined by
multiplying the discount rate at the beginning of the period by the updated
present value of the obligation during the period. The discount rate is a key
assumption explained later in this note. This interest cost is recognised through
net financing costs in the Consolidated Income Statement (see note 4.4)
• Actuarial gains or losses – there are broadly two causes of actuarial movements:
‘experience’ adjustments, which arise when comparing assumptions made when
estimating the liabilities and what has actually occurred, and adjustments
resulting from changes in actuarial assumptions e.g. movements in corporate
bond yields or change in mortality. Key assumptions are explained in detail later in
this note. Actuarial gains or losses are recognised through other comprehensive
income
• Benefits paid – any cash benefits paid out by the Scheme will reduce the
obligation
The movement in the present value of the Group’s defined benefit obligation is analysed below:
Defined benefit obligation at 1 January
Past service cost
– GMP equalisation
– ITV A rectification
Interest cost
Actuarial (gain)/loss
Benefits paid
Defined benefit obligation at 31 December
2021
£m
4,120
–
–
54
(44)
(187)
3,943
2020
£m
4,037
1
5
81
183
(187)
4,120
Of the above total defined benefit obligation at 31 December 2021, £60 million relates to the unfunded schemes
(2020: £60 million).
On 20 November 2020, a High Court ruling determined that pension schemes need to address inequalities between
men and women in Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) for those beneficiaries that transferred out of the Schemes
between May 1990 and October 2018. An allowance of £1 million for GMP Equalisation was recognised as a past service
cost in 2020.
During 2020, the Group completed the rectification of historical benefits for the members of the Network Section of
Section A of the ITV Pension Scheme. The review, which involved detailed individual member calculations, amended the
benefits of the Network Section members accrued between 1991 and 1997 in accordance with an agreement approved
by the High Court in February 2019. As part of the review, changes to membership data were also identified. The change
in benefits of £5 million was recognised as a past service cost in 2020 and the change in membership data of £7 million
was included within the actuarial loss in Other Comprehensive Income.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Assumptions used to estimate the Scheme obligations
Keeping
it simple
What are the main assumptions used to estimate the Scheme obligations?
The main assumptions are:
• An estimate of increases in pension payments and the effect of inflation
• The life expectancy of beneficiaries
• The discount rate used to estimate the present day fair value of these obligations
How do we determine the appropriate assumptions?
The Group takes independent actuarial advice relating to the appropriateness of
the assumptions used.
IFRS requires that we estimate a discount rate by reference to high-quality
fixed income investments in the UK that match the estimated term of the
pension obligations.
The inflation assumption has been set by looking at the difference between the
yields on fixed and index-linked government bonds. The inflation assumption is
used as a basis for the remaining financial assumptions, except where caps have
been implemented.
The discount rate has therefore been obtained using the yields available on AA rated
corporate bonds, which match projected cash flows. The Group’s estimate of the
weighted average term of the liabilities is 15 years (2020: 16 years).
The principal assumptions used in the Schemes’ valuations at the year end were:
Discount rate
Inflation assumption (RPI) – before 2030
Inflation assumption (RPI) – post 2030
Rate of increase in pension payment (LPI* 5% pension increases)
Rate of increase to deferred pensions (CPI)
* Limited Price Index.
2021
1.80%
3.40%
3.40%
Deferred/
Pensioner
2.90%/3.35%
2.90%
2020
1.35%
2.95%
2.70%
2.75%
2.05%
The Retail Prices Index (‘RPI’) reform consultation outcome was announced on 25 November 2020. The announcement
means that from February 2030 onwards, increases in the RPI will be aligned with those under the Consumer Prices
Index (‘CPI’). For Defined Benefit schemes, it means that members with RPI-linked pension increases will see future
retirement benefits increase more slowly from 2030 than they otherwise would. The Group updated its approach to
setting RPI and CPI inflation assumptions as follows:
• The Group continued to set RPI inflation in line with the market break-even expectations less an inflation risk
premium. The overall inflation risk premium has been amended from 0.25% per annum pre-2030 and 0.5% per
annum post-2030 at 31 December 2020 to 0.3% pre and post 2030 as at 31 December 2021. The estimated impact
of the change in inflation risk premium in respect of Section A of the ITV Pension Scheme is an increase in the defined
benefit obligation of approximately £15 million to £20 million. Section C of the ITV Pension Scheme, the Unfunded
Scheme and the UTV Pension Scheme is not expected to have a material change in the defined benefit obligations
• The assumptions linked to RPI and CPI as at 31 December 2021 have been determined by weighting the cash flows to
which the link applies. Hence, given the current downward sloping inflation curve, this leads to higher deferred
revaluation rates, higher pension increase rates for current pensioners, and lower pension increases for current deferred
members than the equivalent rates using whole-scheme cash flows, as used for year end 31 December 2020
The table below reflects published mortality investigation data in conjunction with the results of investigations into the
mortality experience of Scheme beneficiaries. The assumed life expectations on retirement are:
Retiring today at age
Males
Females
Retiring in 20 years at age
Males
Females
2021
60
26.3
29.0
60
27.6
30.4
2021
65
21.7
24.1
65
22.8
25.5
2020
60
26.3
28.9
60
27.6
30.4
The net pension deficit is sensitive to changes in assumptions. These are disclosed further in this note.
2020
65
21.7
24.1
65
22.8
25.5
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Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities continued
Total defined benefit scheme assets
Keeping
it simple
The Scheme holds assets across a number of different classes, which are managed
by the Trustee, who consults with the Group on changes to its investment policy.
What are the Pension Scheme assets?
At 31 December 2021, the Schemes’ assets were invested in a diversified portfolio
that consisted primarily of debt securities, infrastructure, property and insurance
policies matching the pensions due to certain beneficiaries. The tables below set
out the major categories of assets.
Financial instruments are in place in order to provide protection against changes in
market factors (interest rates and inflation), which could act to increase the net
pension deficit.
One such instrument is the longevity swap, which the Scheme transacted in 2011 to
obtain protection against the effect of increases in the life expectancy of the majority
of pensioner beneficiaries at that date. Under the swap, the Trustee agreed to make
pre-determined payments in return for payments to meet the specified pension
obligations as they fall due, irrespective of how long the beneficiaries and their
dependants live. The difference in the present values of these two streams of
payments is reflected in the Scheme assets. The swap had a nil valuation at inception
and, using market-based assumptions, is subsequently adjusted for changes in the
market life expectancy and market discount rates, in line with its fair value.
How do we measure the pension Scheme assets?
Defined benefit scheme assets are measured at their fair value and can change due
to the following:
• Interest income on scheme assets – this is determined by multiplying the fair
value of the Scheme assets by the discount rate, both taken as of the beginning of
the year. This is recognised through net financing costs in the Consolidated
Income Statement
• Return on assets arise from differences between the actual return and interest
income on Scheme assets and are recognised in the Consolidated Statement of
Other Comprehensive Income
• Employer’s contributions are paid into the Scheme to be managed and invested
and
• Benefits and administrative expenses paid out by the Schemes will lower the fair
value of the Schemes’ assets
The movement in the fair value of the defined benefit schemes’ assets is analysed below:
Fair value of Scheme assets at 1 January
Interest income on Scheme assets
Return on assets, excluding interest income
Employer contributions
Benefits paid
Administrative expenses paid
Fair value of Scheme assets at 31 December
2021
£m
4,032
54
(102)
82
(187)
(6)
3,873
2020
£m
3,892
78
188
67
(187)
(6)
4,032
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
How are the Schemes’ assets invested?
At 31 December 2021, the Schemes’ assets were invested in a diversified portfolio that consisted primarily of debt
securities, infrastructure, property and insurance policies matching pensions due to certain beneficiaries. The Trustee is
responsible for deciding the investment strategy for the Schemes’ assets, although changes in investment policies require
consultation with the Group. The assets are invested in different classes to hedge against unfavourable movements in the
funding obligation. When selecting the mix of assets to hold, and considering their related risks and returns, the Trustee
will weigh up the variability of returns against the target long-term rate of return on the overall portfolio.
The fair value of the Schemes’ assets is shown in the following table by major category:
Liability hedging assets
Fixed interest gilts
Index-linked interest gilts
Interest rate and inflation hedging derivatives
(swaps and repos)
Market value
2021
£m
Quoted
2021
£m
Market value
2021
%
Market value
2020
£m
Quoted
2020
£m
Market value
2020
%
514
1,139
60
1,713
514
1,127
25
1,666
591
1,142
57
1,790
591
1,129
21
1,741
44%
44%
Other bonds
1,767
75
46%
1,815
73
45%
Return seeking investments
Infrastructure
Property
Hedge funds/alternatives
Other investments
Cash and cash equivalents
Insurance policies
Longevity swap fair value
Total Scheme assets
168
148
1
317
134
530
(588)
76
3,873
8%
1,741
2%
100%
181
144
2
327
149
553
(602)
100
4,032
8%
1,814
2%
100%
Included in the above are overseas assets of £257 million (2020: £275 million). None of these assets are quoted.
In November 2018, the Pension Trustee entered into a bulk annuity insurance contract in respect of the benefits of
two Sections of the ITV Pension Scheme. This type of deal is also known as a ‘Buy-in’. A buy-in is where the Trustee
purchases an insurance policy which is effectively a Scheme asset which pays the members benefits. The ultimate
obligation to pay the members benefits still remains with the scheme. The assets in respect of the buy-in are included
in the insurance policies listed above.
The Trustee entered into a longevity swap in 2011, which hedges the risk of increasing life expectancy over the next
70 years for 11,700 current pensioners at inception covering £1.7 billion of the pension obligation. The fair value of the
longevity swap is negative due to declining mortality assumptions and equals the discounted value of the projected net
cash flows resulting from the contract. The fair value loss has reduced in 2021.
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Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities continued
Defined pension deficit sensitivities
Keeping
it simple
Which assumptions have the biggest impact on the Scheme?
It is important to note that comparatively small changes in the assumptions used
may have a significant effect on the Consolidated Income Statement and
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position. This ‘sensitivity’ to change is
analysed below to demonstrate how small changes in assumptions can have a
large impact on the estimation of the defined benefit pension obligation. The
Trustee manages the investment, mortality and inflation risks to ensure the
pension obligations are met as they fall due.
The investment strategy is aimed at the Trustee’s actuarial valuation deficit rather
than IAS 19 defined pension deficit value. As such, the effectiveness of the risk
hedging strategies on a valuation basis will not be the same as on an accounting
basis. Those hedging strategies have significant impact on the movement in the net
pension deficit as assumptions change, offsetting the impacts on the obligation
disclosed below.
In practice, changes in one assumption may be accompanied by offsetting changes
in another assumption (although this is not always the case). Changes in the
assumptions may occur at the same time as changes in the market value of Scheme
assets, which may or may not offset the changes in assumptions.
Changes in assumptions have a different level of impact as the value of the net
pension deficit fluctuates, because the relationship between them is not linear.
The analysis below considers the impact of a single change in principal assumptions on the defined benefit obligation
while keeping the other assumptions unchanged and does not take into account any risk hedging strategies:
Assumption
Discount rate
Rate of inflation (Retail Price Index)
Rate of inflation (Consumer Price Index)
Life expectancies
Change in assumption
Increase by 0.1%
Decrease by 0.1%
Increase by 0.1%
Decrease by 0.1%
Increase by 0.1%
Decrease by 0.1%
Increase by one year
Impact on defined benefit obligation
Decrease by £60 million
Increase by £60 million
Increase by £25 million
Decrease by £30 million
Increase by £10 million
Decrease by £10 million
Increase by £185 million
The sensitivity analysis has been determined by extrapolating the impact on the defined benefit obligation at the year
end with changes in key assumptions that might reasonably occur.
While the Schemes’ risk hedging strategy is aimed at a valuation basis, the Directors estimate that on an accounting
basis it would significantly reduce the above impact on the defined benefit obligation.
In particular, while an increase in assumption of life expectancies by one year would increase the defined benefit
obligation by £185 million, the assets would benefit from an estimated increase of the value of the longevity swap by
£95 million and the value of the bulk annuity insurance contracts by £20 million, resulting in a net increase in the
defined pension deficit of £70 million.
The insured assets in respect of the buy-in will move in line with the change to the defined benefit obligation, partially
offsetting the change to the impacts in the table above.
Further, the ITV Pension Scheme invests in UK government bonds and interest rate and inflation swap contracts and
therefore movements in the defined benefit obligation are typically offset, to an extent, by asset movements.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Keeping
it simple
What was the impact of movements on the Schemes’ assets and liabilities?
The notes above describe how the Scheme obligations and assets are comprised
and measured. The following note sets out the impact of various movements and
expenses on the Scheme on the Group’s financial statements.
Amounts recognised through the Consolidated Income Statement
Amounts recognised through the Consolidated Income Statement are as follows:
2021
£m
2020
£m
Amount charged to operating costs:
Scheme administration expenses
Amount charged to exceptional costs:
Past service cost
Amount charged to net financing costs:
Net interest on net pension deficit
Total charged in the Consolidated Income Statement
Amounts recognised through the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
The amounts recognised through the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income/(cost) are:
(6)
(6)
–
–
(6)
Remeasurement (losses)/gains
Return on scheme assets excluding interest income
Actuarial gains/(losses) on liabilities arising from change in:
– experience adjustments
– financial assumptions
– demographic assumptions
Total recognised in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
2021
£m
(102)
(8)
88
(36)
44
(58)
(6)
(6)
(6)
(2)
(14)
2020
£m
188
35
(355)
137
(183)
5
The £44 million actuarial gain on the Schemes’ liabilities was principally due to changes in bond yields offset by updated
demographic assumptions. The £102 million loss on the Schemes’ assets follows a change in the gilts yields. This has
been partially offset by an increase in market implied inflation, increasing the value of the inflation-linked assets, and an
increase in the value of the longevity swap.
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Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 3: Operating Assets and Liabilities continued
Addressing the defined benefit pension deficit
Keeping
it simple
The Group works closely with the Trustee to agree appropriate levels of funding
for the Scheme. This involves agreeing a Schedule of Contributions at each triennial
valuation, which specifies the contribution rates for the employer and, where
relevant, scheme beneficiaries and the date these contributions are due. A recovery
plan setting out the steps that will be taken to address a funding shortfall is
also agreed.
In the event that the Group’s defined benefit scheme is in a net liability position,
the Directors must take steps to manage the size of the deficit. Apart from the
funding agreements mentioned above, this could involve pledging additional assets
to the Scheme, as was the case in the SDN and London Television Centre pension
funding partnerships.
The levels of ongoing contributions to the Scheme are based on the expected future cash flows of the Scheme.
Contributions in 2022 for administration expenses are expected to be in the region of £6 million (2021: £6 million)
and deficit funding contributions for the main ITV scheme in 2022 are expected to be £60 million (2021: £60 million),
assuming current contribution rates continue as agreed with the Trustee. This is subject to the new funding schedule
which will be finalised as part of the triennial valuation in 2022.
As part of the action to tighten cash flows as a result of COVID-19, we agreed with the pension Trustees to defer
£15 million of the 2020 funding contributions. The £15 million will now be paid in a lump sum in March 2022 in addition
to the above £60 million.
The Group’s deficit funding contributions for the year was £60 million (2020: £45 million).
The Group has two asset-backed pension funding agreements with the Trustee and makes annual payments of
£11 million for 12 years from 2011, and £3 million, increasing by 5% per annum until 2038. In 2022, a payment of
£14 million is expected as a result of those agreements.
SDN Pension Funding Partnership
In 2010, ITV established a Pension Funding Partnership (PFP) with the Trustee backed by the asset of SDN, which
resulted in the assets of Section A of the defined benefit pension scheme being increased by £200 million. The Group is
contracted to provide additional collateral to support the original value of the structure at the rate of £50.7 million
each year from March 2019 to March 2022. The contract provided that the cash collateral would not leave the Group
but would be maintained in a restricted bank account. The Trustee agreed to accept a letter of credit as an alternative
to the 2019, 2020 and 2021 collateral instalments with the result that £152 million cash collateral did not become due
in March 2021. The PFP is currently being reviewed as we look to replace it with an arrangement, which is broadly
equivalent in value, using a combination of an alternative asset backed by SDN and cash contributions to the
scheme. There may be a short delay in implementing this alternative, in which case we may have to arrange an
additional £50 million of collateral for the Trustee.
London Television Centre Pension Funding Partnership
In 2014, ITV established a Pension Funding Partnership with the Trustees backed by the London Television Centre which
resulted in the assets of Section A of the defined benefit pension scheme being increased by £50 million. In November
2019 the London Television Centre was sold. £50 million of the proceeds has been held in a restricted bank account as a
replacement asset in the pension funding arrangement.
The Scheme’s interest in these Partnerships reduces the deficit on a funding basis but does not impact the deficit on an
IAS 19 basis as the Scheme’s interest is not a transferrable financial instrument.
Both these structures continue to be reviewed in 2022.
IFRIC 14 clarifies how the asset ceiling rules should be applied if the Schemes are expected to be in surplus, for example
as a result of deficit funding agreements. The Group has determined that it has an unconditional right to a refund of
any surplus assets if the Schemes are run off until the last member dies. On this basis, IFRIC 14 rules do not cause any
change in the pension deficit accounting or disclosures.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
218
218
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 4: Capital Structure and Financing Costs
In this
section
4.1
Net debt
Keeping
it simple
This section outlines how the Group manages its capital structure and related
financing costs, including its balance sheet liquidity and access to capital markets.
The Directors determine the appropriate capital structure of ITV; specifically how
much is raised from shareholders (equity) and how much is borrowed from financial
institutions (debt) in order to finance the Group’s activities both now and in the
future. Maintaining capital discipline and balance sheet efficiency remains
important to the Group. Any potential courses of action in relation to this will take
into account the Group’s liquidity needs, flexibility to invest in the business, pension
deficit initiatives and impact on credit ratings.
The Directors consider the Group’s capital structure and dividend policy at least
twice a year ahead of announcing results. The Directors take into account the
available realised distributable reserves from which a dividend would be paid in
addition to liquidity and solvency of the Group. The Directors also consider the
capital structure and dividend policy in the context of the Group’s ability to
continue as a going concern, to execute the strategy and to invest in opportunities
to grow the business and enhance shareholder value. The ITV plc Board oversees
governance and approves tax and treasury related policies and procedures.
Net debt is the Group’s key measure used to evaluate total cash resources net of
the current outstanding debt, including our discounted lease liabilities. A full
analysis and discussion of net debt and covenant net debt is included in the
Operating and Performance Review.
The tables below analyse movements in the components of net debt during the year:
Loans and facilities due within one year
Loans and facilities due after one year
Total loans and facilities
Currency component of swaps held against euro
denominated bonds
Lease liabilities
Total debt
Restricted cash*
Cash
Cash equivalents
Total cash and cash equivalents*
Net debt
1 January
2021
£m
(7)
(1,078)
(1,085)
(23)
(105)
(1,213)
50
296
322
618
(545)
Net cash flow
£m
Currency and
non-cash
movements
£m
31 December
2021
£m
(21)
18
(3)
–
29
26
–
(50)
121
71
97
(262)
328
66
(13)
(16)
37
–
–
(3)
(3)
(290)
(732)
(1,022)
(36)
(92)
(1,150)
50
246
440
686
34
(414)
* £50 million of cash, the use of which is restricted to meeting the commitments under the asset-backed pension agreements has been presented as restricted
cash in 2021. The comparative balances for 31 December 2020 have also been restated.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 4: Capital Structure and Financing Costs continued
Loans and facilities due within one year
Loans and facilities due after one year
Total loans and facilities
Currency component of swaps held against
euro denominated bonds
Lease liabilities
Total debt
Restricted cash*
Cash
Cash equivalents
Total cash and cash equivalents*
Net debt
1 January
2020
£m
(10)
(1,016)
(1,026)
(24)
(89)
(1,139)
50
93
103
196
(893)
Net cash flow
£m
Acquisitions
£m
Currency and
non-cash
movements
£m
31 December
2020
£m
7
(5)
2
–
26
28
–
205
220
425
453
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(4)
(57)
(61)
1
(42)
(102)
–
(2)
(1)
(3)
(7)
(1,078)
(1,085)
(23)
(105)
(1,213)
50
296
322
618
(105)
(545)
* £50 million of cash, the use of which is restricted to meeting the commitments under the asset-backed pension agreements has been presented as restricted
cash in 2021. The comparative balances for 31 December 2020 have also been restated.
Loans and facilities due within one year
Throughout the year, the Group had a £630 million Revolving Credit Facility (‘RCF’) to meet short-term funding requirements.
At 31 December 2021, the Group had drawings of £nil under the RCF (2020: £nil), leaving £630 million available to draw down.
The maximum draw down of the RCF during the year was £nil (2020: £210 million). Subsequent to the year end, the Group has
agreed a new syndicated £500 million RCF. The terms of the new RCF run until January 2027 (with the opportunity to renew
for one or two years from the expiry date, potentially providing funding out to 2029). This facility replaces the previous
£630 million facility, which was due to mature in 2023. The financial covenants in the new RCF remain unchanged. There are
ESG targets linked to the delivery of ITV’s science-based carbon emissions targets.
The €335 million Eurobond, which has a coupon of 2.125%, matures in September 2022.
Loans and loan notes due after one year
In addition to the above, the Group has the following Eurobonds in issue:
• €259 million at a fixed coupon of 2.0%, which matures in December 2023
• €600 million at a fixed coupon of 1.375%, which matures in September 2026
The €600 million bond issued in September 2019 has been swapped back to sterling using a number of cross-currency
interest rate swaps. The resulting fixed rate payable in sterling is c.2.9%.
Available facilities
The Group has taken steps to strengthen the Group’s liquidity:
• The Group has a £300 million bilateral loan facility which matures on 30 June 2026. Utilisation requests are subject to
the lender’s ability to source ITV Credit Default Swaps (CDS) in the market at the time the utilisation request is made.
The facility remains free of financial covenants. At 31 December 2021 £152 million of the facility was utilised as a
letter of credit to support the Group’s asset-backed pension scheme arrangement currently in place in respect of the
defined benefit pension scheme. See section 3.6 for details.
• As noted above, the Group had £630 million of committed funding through a Revolving Credit Facility (‘RCF’) with a
group of relationship banks which is available until 2023. This was replaced in January 2022 with a new £500 million
RCF which runs until January 2027. The RCF documentation continues to define a leverage covenant (which has to be
maintained at less than 3.5x) and an interest cover covenant (which has to be maintained at greater than 3.0x). Both
are tested at 30 June and 31 December each year. During the first half of 2020, as a precautionary measure, these
financial covenants were replaced with two new temporary covenants requiring covenant net debt to be maintained
below £1,800 million and covenant liquidity (defined as cash and cash equivalents plus unused committed credit lines)
to be maintained at greater than £250 million. Both of these financial covenants were tested on a quarterly basis
from 30 June 2020 through to 30 June 2021. From 31 December 2021, the testing of the leverage and interest cover
financial covenant tests was reinstated and the two temporary covenants fell away. All financial covenants were met
and the facility remains available at 31 December 2021.
• The Group also had a £100 million Receivables Purchase Agreement (RPA) which was unutilised and cancelled during
the course of the year.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
4.2
Borrowings
Keeping
it simple
The Group borrows money from financial institutions in the form of bonds, bank
facilities and other financial instruments. The interest payable on these instruments
is shown in the net financing costs note (note 4.4).
There are Board-approved policies in place to manage the Group’s financial risks.
Macroeconomic market risks, which impact currency transactions and interest
rates, are discussed in note 4.3. Credit and liquidity risks are set out below.
• Credit risk: the risk of financial loss to the Group if a customer or counterparty
fails to meet its contractual obligations and
• Liquidity risk: the risk that the Group will not be able to meet its financial
obligations as they fall due
The Group is required to disclose the fair value of its debt instruments. The fair value is
the amount the Group would pay a third party to transfer the liability. This estimation of
fair value is consistent with instruments valued under level 1 in note 4.5.
Accounting policies
Borrowings
Borrowings are recognised initially at fair value less directly attributable transaction costs, with subsequent
measurement at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method. Under the amortised cost method, the
difference between the amount initially recognised and the redemption value is recorded in the Consolidated Income
Statement over the period of the borrowing on an effective interest rate basis.
Managing credit and liquidity risk
Credit risk
The Group’s maximum exposure to credit risk is represented by the carrying amount of derivative financial assets
(see note 4.3), trade receivables (see note 3.1.3), and cash and cash equivalents (see note 4.1).
Trade and other receivables
The Group’s exposure to credit risk is influenced mainly by the individual characteristics of each customer. The majority
of trade receivables relate to airtime sales contracts with advertising agencies and advertisers. Credit insurance has
been taken out against these companies to minimise the impact on the Group in the event of a possible default.
The Group also reviews other significant receivables and will seek to take out credit insurance on an individual basis
where appropriate.
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Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 4: Capital Structure and Financing Costs continued
Cash
The Group operates investment guidelines with respect to surplus cash that emphasise preservation of capital. The
guidelines set out procedures and limits on counterparty risk and maturity profile of cash placed. Counterparty limits
for cash deposits are largely based upon long-term ratings published by the major credit rating agencies. Cash and cash
equivalents include money market funds valued at fair value through profit and loss.
Borrowings
ITV is rated as investment grade by Moody’s and S&P. ITV’s credit ratings, the cost of credit default swap hedging and
the absolute level of interest rates are key determinants in the cost of new borrowings for ITV.
Liquidity risk
The Group’s financing policy is to fund itself for the medium to long-term by using debt instruments with a range of
maturities and to ensure access to appropriate short-term borrowing facilities with a minimum of £250 million of
undrawn facilities available at all times.
Long-term funding comes from the UK and European capital markets, while any short to medium-term debt
requirements were provided during 2021 through bank credit facilities totalling £930 million (see below). Management
monitors rolling forecasts of the Group’s liquidity reserve (comprising undrawn bank facilities and cash and cash
equivalents) on the basis of expected cash flows. This monitoring includes financial ratios to assess any possible future
impact on credit ratings and headroom and takes into account the accessibility of cash and cash equivalents.
During 2021 and 2020 the Group had a £630 million Revolving Credit Facility with a group of relationship banks. This
facility was due to mature in 2023 and was committed with leverage and interest cover financial covenants. In addition,
the Group has £300 million of financial covenant free financing, which runs to June 2026.
Subsequent to the year end, the Group has agreed a new syndicated £500 million Revolving Credit Facility. The terms
of the new Revolving Credit Facility run until January 2027 (with the opportunity to renew for one or two years from
the expiry date, potentially providing funding out to 2029). This facility replaces the previous £630 million facility, which
was due to mature in 2023. The financial covenants in the new Revolving Credit Facility remain unchanged. There are
ESG targets linked to the delivery of ITV’s science-based carbon emissions targets.
Fair value versus book value
The tables below provide fair value information for the Group’s borrowings:
Loans due within one year
€335 (previously €600) million Eurobond
Other short-term loans
Loans due in more than one year
€335 (previously €600) million Eurobond
€259 (previously €500) million Eurobond
€600 million Eurobond
Other long-term loans
Maturity
Sept 2022
Various
Sept 2022
Dec 2023
Sept 2026
Various
2021
£m
281
9
290
–
218
504
10
732
Book value
2020
£m
–
7
7
299
232
537
10
1,078
2021
£m
284
9
293
–
225
518
10
753
Fair value
2020
£m
–
7
7
308
240
553
10
1,111
1,022
1,085
1,046
1,118
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Keeping
it simple
4.3
Managing
market risks:
derivative
financial
instruments
What is a derivative?
A derivative is a type of financial instrument typically used to manage risk. A
derivative’s value changes over time in response to underlying variables, such as
exchange rates or interest rates and is entered into for a fixed period. A hedge is
where a derivative is used to manage exposure in an underlying variable.
The Group is exposed to certain market risks. In accordance with Board-approved
policies, which are set out in this note, the Group manages these risks by using
derivative financial instruments to hedge the underlying exposures.
Why do we need them?
The key market risks facing the Group are:
• Currency risk arising from:
i. Translation risk, that is the risk in the period of adverse currency fluctuations in the
translation of foreign currency profits, assets and liabilities (‘balance sheet risk’) and
non-functional currency monetary assets and liabilities (‘income statement risk’)
and
ii. Transaction risk, that is the risk that currency fluctuations will have a negative
effect on the value of the Group’s non-functional currency trading cash flows. A
non-functional currency transaction is a transaction in any currency other than the
reporting currency of the subsidiary
• Interest rate risk to the Group arises from significant changes in interest rates on
borrowings issued at or swapped to floating rates
How do we use them?
The Group mainly employs three types of derivative financial instruments when
managing its currency and interest rate risk:
• Foreign exchange swap contracts are derivative instruments used to hedge
income statement translation risk arising from short-term intercompany loans
denominated in a foreign currency
• Forward foreign exchange contracts are derivative instruments used to hedge
transaction risk so they enable the sale or purchase of foreign currency at a
known fixed rate on an agreed future date and
• Cross-currency interest rate swaps are derivative instruments used to exchange
the principal and interest coupons in a debt instrument from one currency to
another
Analysis of the derivatives used by the Group to hedge its exposure and the various
methods used to calculate their respective fair values are detailed in this section.
Accounting policies
Derivative financial instruments are initially recognised at fair value and are subsequently remeasured at fair value with
the movement recorded in the Consolidated Income Statement, except where derivatives qualify for cash flow hedge
accounting. In this case, the effective portion of a cash flow hedge is recognised in other comprehensive income and
presented in the hedging reserve within equity. The cumulative gain or loss is later reclassified to the Consolidated
Income Statement in the same period as the relevant hedged transaction is realised. Derivatives with positive fair
values are recorded as assets and negative fair values as liabilities.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 4: Capital Structure and Financing Costs continued
Determining fair value
The fair value of forward foreign exchange contracts is determined by using the difference between the contract
exchange rate and the quoted forward exchange rate from third parties at the reporting date. The fair value of interest
rate swaps is the estimated amount that the Group would receive or pay to exit the swap at the reporting date, taking
into account current interest rates and the Group’s current creditworthiness, as well as that of the swap counterparties.
Third-party valuations are used to fair value the Group’s interest rate derivatives. The valuation techniques use inputs
such as interest rate yield curves and currency prices/yields, volatilities of underlying instruments and correlations
between inputs.
How do we manage our currency and interest rate risk?
Currency risk
As the Group expands its international operations, the performance of the business becomes increasingly sensitive to
movements in foreign exchange rates, primarily with respect to the US dollar and the euro.
The Group’s foreign exchange policy is to use forward foreign exchange contracts to hedge material non-functional
currency denominated costs or revenue for up to five years forward.
The Group ensures that its net exposure to foreign currency denominated cash balances is kept to a minimal level by
using foreign currency swaps to exchange balances back into sterling or by buying or selling foreign currencies at spot
rates when necessary.
The Group also utilises foreign exchange swaps and cross-currency interest rate swaps both to manage foreign
currency cash flow timing differences and to hedge foreign currency denominated monetary items.
The Group’s net investments in overseas subsidiaries may be hedged where the currency exposure is considered to be
material. The Group designated a portion of its euro borrowings into a net investment hedge against its euro
denominated assets following the acquisition of Talpa Media.
The following table highlights the Group’s exposure to foreign currency risk resulting from a 10%
strengthening/weakening in sterling against the US dollar and euro, assuming all other variables are held constant:
US dollar – increase 10%
US dollar – decrease 10%
Euro – increase 10%*
Euro – decrease 10%*
Impact on
profit before tax
2021
£m
Impact on
profit before tax
2020
£m
Impact on
Equity
2021
£m
Impact on
Equity
2020
£m
(3)
3
(1)
2
(3)
3
(3)
3
4
(4)
15
(19)
(4)
3
10
(14)
* Equity impact is offset by the euro net assets in the translation reserve using the net investment hedge.
Interest rate risk
The Group’s interest rate policy is to allow fixed rate gross debt to vary between 20% and 100% of total gross debt to
accommodate floating rate borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility.
For financial assets and liabilities classified at fair value through profit or loss, the movements in the year relating to
changes in fair value and interest are not separated.
At 31 December 2021, the Group’s fixed rate debt represented 99.8% of total gross debt (2020: 99%), therefore with
the majority of debt issued at fixed interest rates, changes in the floating rates of interest do not significantly affect
the Group’s net interest charge. There are no other material floating interest rate financial instruments.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
What is the value of our derivative financial instruments?
The following table shows the fair value of derivative financial instruments analysed by type of contract. Interest rate
swap fair values exclude accrued interest.
At 31 December 2021
Current
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps – cash flow hedges
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps – fair value through profit or loss
Non-current
Cross-currency interest swaps – cash flow hedges
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps – cash flow hedges
At 31 December 2020
Current
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps – cash flow hedges
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps – fair value through profit or loss
Non-current
Cross-currency interest swaps – cash flow hedges
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps – cash flow hedges
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps – fair value through profit or loss
Assets
£m
Liabilities
£m
1
2
–
–
3
(2)
(3)
(36)
(1)
(42)
Assets
£m
Liabilities
£m
4
2
–
2
–
8
(2)
(5)
(23)
(1)
–
(31)
Cash flow hedges
The Group applies hedge accounting for certain foreign currency firm commitments and highly probable cash flows
where the underlying cash flows are payable within the next seven years. In order to fix the sterling cash outflows
associated with the commitments and interest payments – which are mainly denominated in US dollars or euros – the
Group has taken out forward foreign exchange contracts and cross-currency interest rate swaps for the same foreign
currency amount and maturity date as the expected foreign currency outflow.
There is an economic relationship between the hedged items (being between 60% to 100% of the total exposure) and
the hedging instruments as the terms of the foreign exchange forward contracts and cross-currency interest rate
swaps match the terms of the expected highly probable forecast transactions or firm commitments (i.e. % notional
amount and expected receipt or payment date). The Group has established a hedge ratio of 1:1 for the hedging relationships
as the underlying risk of the foreign exchange forward contracts are identical to the hedged risk components.
Sources of ineffectiveness include:
• different interest rate curve applied to discounting the hedged items and hedging instruments
• differences in the timing of the cash flows of the hedged items and the hedging instruments
• the counterparties’ credit risk differently impacting the fair value movements of the hedging instruments and
hedged items and
• changes to the forecasted amount of cash flows of hedged items and hedging instruments
The Group uses the hedge relationship, credit risk and hedge ratio to measure the hedge effectiveness.
The amount recognised in other comprehensive income during the period all relates to the effective portion of the
revaluation loss associated with these contracts. There was less than £1 million (2020: less than £1 million) of
ineffectiveness taken to the Consolidated Income Statement and £2 million of cumulative gain (2020: less than
£1 million of cumulative gain) was recycled to the Consolidated Income Statement in the year.
Under IFRS 9, the Group has adopted the ‘cost of hedging’ approach which allows the recognition of the value of the
currency basis at inception of the hedge to be recorded on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position and
amortised through net financing costs in the Consolidated Income Statement over the life of the bond. Any mark-to-
market change in fair value of the currency basis is recognised in ‘cost of hedging’ in the Consolidated Statement of
Comprehensive Income.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 4: Capital Structure and Financing Costs continued
Net investment hedges
The Group uses euro denominated debt to hedge against the change in the sterling value of its euro denominated net
assets due to movements in foreign exchange rates. A foreign exchange gain of £13 million (2020: loss of £11 million)
relating to the net investment hedges has been netted off within exchange differences on translation of foreign
operations as presented on the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income.
There is an economic relationship between the hedged item and the hedging instrument as the net investment creates
a translation risk that will match the foreign exchange risk on the euro denominated borrowing. The Group has
established a hedge ratio of 1:1 as the underlying risk of the hedging instrument is identical to the hedged risk
component. The hedge ineffectiveness will arise when the amount of the investment in the foreign subsidiary becomes
lower than the amount of the fixed rate borrowing.
Undiscounted financial liabilities
Keeping
it simple
The Group is required to disclose the expected timings of cash outflows for each of
its financial liabilities (including derivatives). The amounts disclosed in the table are
the contractual undiscounted cash flows (including interest), so will not always
reconcile with the amounts disclosed on the Statement of Financial Position.
At 31 December 2021
Non-derivative financial liabilities
Borrowings
Lease liabilities
Trade and other payables
Contract liabilities
Other payables – non-current
Other payables – commitments on acquisitions
Derivative financial instruments
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps –
cash flow hedges
Inflow
Outflow
Cross-currency swaps – cash flow hedges
Inflow
Outflow
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps –
fair value through profit or loss
Inflow
Outflow
Carrying
value
£m
Total
contractual
cash flows
£m
Less than
1 year
£m
Between
1 and 2 years
£m
Between
2 and 5 years
£m
Over
5 years
£m
(1,022)
(92)
(841)
(359)
(28)
(64)
(1,071)
(103)
(841)
(359)
(28)
(79)*
(308)
(21)
(824)
(359)
–
(26)
1
(3)
–
(36)
193
(196)
147
(149)
539
(612)
7
(16)
(229)
(19)
(17)
–
(23)
(1)
46
(47)
7
(16)
(528)
(33)
–
–
(5)
(52)
–
–
525
(580)
(6)
(30)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
2
(3)
(2,445)
312
(311)
(2,556)
308
(307)
(1,548)
4
(4)
(299)
–
–
(673)
–
–
(36)
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
At 31 December 2020
Non-derivative financial liabilities
Borrowings
Lease liabilities
Trade and other payables
Contract liabilities
Other payables – non-current
Other payables – commitments on acquisitions
Derivative financial instruments
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps –
cash flow hedges
Inflow
Outflow
Cross-currency swaps – cash flow hedges
Inflow
Outflow
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps –
fair value through profit or loss
Inflow
Outflow
Carrying
value
£m
Total
contractual
cash flows
£m
Less than
1 year
£m
Between
1 and 2 years
£m
Between
2 and 5 years
£m
Over
5 years
£m
(1,085)
(105)
(850)
(271)
(15)
(209)
(1,155)
(118)
(850)
(271)
(15)
(227)*
(26)
(27)
(796)
(271)
–
(166)
6
(3)
–
(23)
170
(169)
580
(627)
113
(113)
7
(16)
(318)
(29)
(43)
–
(8)
(22)
50
(49)
7
(16)
(261)
(31)
(11)
–
(7)
(17)
(550)
(31)
–
–
–
(22)
7
(7)
–
–
22
(47)
544
(548)
2
(5)
(2,558)
370
(388)
(2,700)
367
(385)
(1,313)
3
(3)
(428)
–
–
(352)
–
–
(607)
* Undiscounted expected future payments depending on performance of acquisitions; the total maximum consideration is discussed in the Finance Review.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 4: Capital Structure and Financing Costs continued
Timing profile of hedging instrument
Keeping
it simple
The Group is required to provide a breakdown that discloses a profile of the timing
of the nominal amount of the hedging instrument and if applicable, the average
price or rate (for example strike or forward prices etc.) of the hedging instrument.
The Group is holding the following foreign exchange and cross-currency interest rate swap contracts:
At 31 December 2021
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (AUD/GBP)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (CAD/GBP)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (CAD/USD)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (DKK/GBP)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (EUR/GBP)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (NOK/GBP)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (SEK/GBP)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (USD/GBP)
Cross-currency interest rate swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average hedge rate (EUR/GBP)
Less than
1 year
Between
1 to 2 years
Between
2 to 5 years
Greater than
5 years
Total
(11)
2.0825
5
1.8311
2
1.7302
–
–
(35)
1.2375
(1)
1.2400
1
8.6956
–
–
(187)
1.1658
(19)
1.1152
6
11.9988
1
12.0070
–
–
–
–
103
1.3370
10
1.3387
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
511
1.1253
(6)
2
(36)
1
(206)
6
1
113
511
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
228
228
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
At 31 December 2020
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (AUD/GBP)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (CAD/GBP)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (CAD/USD)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (EUR/GBP)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (NOK/GBP)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (SEK/GBP)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (THB/GBP)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (USD/EUR)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (USD/GBP)
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average forward rate (ZAR/AUD)
Cross-currency interest rate Swaps
Notional amount (£m)
Average hedge rate (EUR/GBP)
Less than
1 year
Between
1 to 2 years
Between
2 to 5 years
Greater than
5 years
(17)
1.8780
(10)
2.0684
5
1.7596
1
1.7274
(35)
1.3037
–
–
(181)
1.0897
(19)
1.0539
4
11.6336
3
11.2335
1
40.9211
2
1.2562
113
1.3472
1
11.2282
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
10
1.3218
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
544
1.1253
Total
(27)
6
(35)
(200)
4
3
1
2
123
1
544
229
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 4: Capital Structure and Financing Costs continued
Impact of hedged items on Consolidated Statement of Financial Position, Consolidated Statement of Other
Comprehensive Income and Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
Keeping
it simple
This table provides the following details in relation to cash flow hedge and net
investment hedge:
• the change in value of the hedged item used as the basis for recognising hedge
ineffectiveness for the period
• the balances in the cash flow hedge reserve and the foreign currency translation
reserve for continuing hedges and
• the balances remaining in the cash flow hedge reserve and the foreign currency
translation reserve from any hedging relationships for which hedge accounting is
no longer applied
The impact of hedged items on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position is as follows:
Cash flow hedge
At 31 December
Highly probable/firm commitment
forecast transactions
Borrowings
Net investment hedge
At 31 December 2021
Net investment in foreign subsidiaries
2021
Change in fair
value used for
measuring
ineffectiveness
£m
Closing cash
flow hedge
reserve
£m
Closing cost
of
hedging
reserve
£m
Change in fair
value used for
measuring
ineffectiveness
£m
Closing cash
flow hedge
reserve
£m
2020
Closing cost
of
hedging
reserve
£m
(2)
(8)
(1)
1
(1)
(8)
2
(26)
4
(18)
(2)
(8)
Change in fair
value used for
measuring
ineffectiveness
Foreign
currency
translation
reserve
13
13
The hedging gain recognised in the Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity before tax is equal to the change in fair value
used for measuring effectiveness. There is no ineffectiveness recognised in the Consolidated Income Statement.
Keeping
it simple
This table details the effect of the cash flow hedge in the Consolidated Income
Statement and Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income.
The effect of the cash flow hedge in the Consolidated Income Statement and Consolidated Statement of
Comprehensive Income is as follows:
At 31 December 2021
Highly probable/firm
commitment forecast
transactions
Borrowing
At 31 December 2020
Highly probable/firm
commitment forecast
transactions
Borrowing
Total hedging
gain/(loss)
recognised in
OCI
Ineffectiveness
recognised in
Income
Statement
Line item in
the Income Statement
Cost of
hedging
recognised
in OCI
Amounts
reclassified
from OCI to
Income
Statement
Line item in the
Income
Statement
(2)
(8)
–
(1)
Net Finance
Cost
1
(1)
Overheads/
Cost of Sales
(2)
–
Total hedging
gain/(loss)
recognised in
OCI
Ineffectiveness
recognised in
Income
Statement
Line item in
the Income Statement
Cost of
hedging
recognised
in OCI
Amounts
reclassified
from OCI to
Income
Statement
Line item in the
Income
Statement
2
(26)
–
(1)
Net Finance
Cost
–
(6)
Overheads/
Cost of Sales
(1)
–
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Keeping
it simple
This table provides a reconciliation of each component of the translation reserve
reported within equity and an analysis of other comprehensive income in
accordance with IAS 1.
Set out below is the reconciliation of each component of the translation reserve reported in the Consolidated
Statement of Changes in Equity and the analysis of other comprehensive income:
Cash
flow hedge
reserve
£
Cost of
hedge
reserve
£
Foreign
currency
reserve
£
Translation
reserve
£
As at 1 January 2020
(15)
(3)
50
Effective portion of changes in fair value arising from:
Foreign exchange forward contracts
Cross-currency interest rate swaps – borrowings:
• Change in fair value from the effective hedge instrument
Amount reclassified to Income Statement
• FX forward reclassified to cost of sales/overheads
• CCIRS reclassified to finance costs
Net gain on cash flow hedges and cost of hedging
Foreign currency revaluation of the EUR borrowing
Foreign currency revaluation of the net foreign operations
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations (net of hedging)
Income tax (charge)/credit on other comprehensive income/(expense)
As at 31 December 2020
Effective portion of changes in fair value arising from:
Foreign exchange forward contracts
Cross-currency interest rate swaps – borrowings:
• Change in fair value from the effective hedge instrument
Amount reclassified to Income Statement
• FX forward reclassified to cost of sales/overheads
• CCIRS reclassified to finance costs
Net gain on cash flow hedges and cost of hedging
Foreign currency revaluation of the EUR borrowing
Foreign currency revaluation of the net foreign operations
Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations (net of hedging)
Income tax (charge)/credit reclass*
Income tax (charge)/credit on other comprehensive income/(expense)
As at 31 December 2021
7
23
(1)
(29)
–
–
–
–
–
(15)
(2)
(13)
(2)
32
15
–
–
–
7
(4)
3
–
(6)
–
–
(6)
–
–
–
–
(9)
1
(1)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
2
(7)
–
–
–
–
–
(11)
(8)
(19)
–
31
–
–
–
–
–
13
4
17
–
(3)
45
*
Income tax on other comprehensive income has been reallocated to the relevant reserves from Retained Earnings in the current year.
32
7
17
(1)
(29)
(6)
(11)
(8)
(19)
–
7
(1)
(14)
(2)
32
15
13
4
17
7
(5)
41
231
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 4: Capital Structure and Financing Costs continued
Netting arrangements of financial instruments
Keeping
it simple
This section details Group’s financial assets and financial liabilities that are subject
to netting and set-off arrangements. Financial assets and liabilities that are subject
to set-off arrangements and disclosed on a net basis in the Group’s Statement of
Financial Position relate to cash pooling arrangements. Amounts which do not
meet the criteria for offsetting on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
but could be settled net in certain circumstances principally relate to derivative
transactions executed under ISDA agreements where each party has the option to
settle amounts on a net basis in the event of default of the other party.
At 31 December 2021
Assets
Derivative financial instruments
Restricted cash
Cash and cash equivalents
Liabilities
Derivative financial instruments
Loans and facilities
At 31 December 2020
Assets
Derivative financial instruments
Restricted cash
Cash and cash equivalents
Liabilities
Derivative financial instruments
Loans and facilities
Gross financial
assets/ liabilities
£m
Gross collateral
assets/liabilities
set-off
£m
Net financial
assets/liabilities
per balance
sheet
£m
Related amounts
not set-off in the
balance sheet
£m
3
50
686
(42)
(1,022)
–
–
–
–
–
3
50
686
(42)
(1,022)
(3)
–
–
3
–
Gross financial
assets/liabilities
£m
Gross collateral
assets/liabilities
set-off
£m
Net financial
assets/liabilities
per balance sheet
£m
Related amounts
not set-off in the
balance sheet
£m
8
50
618
(31)
(1,085)
–
–
–
–
–
8
50
618
(31)
(1,085)
–
–
–
–
–
Net
£m
–
50
686
(39)
(1,022)
Net
£m
8
50
618
(31)
(1,085)
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
4.4
Net financing
costs
Keeping
it simple
This section details the interest income generated on the Group’s cash and other
financial assets and the interest expense incurred on borrowings and other
financial liabilities.
In reporting ‘adjusted profit’, the Group adjusts net financing costs to exclude
unrealised mark-to-market movements on interest rate and foreign exchange
derivatives, gains/losses on bond buybacks, net pension interest, interest and fair
value movements in acquisition-related liabilities and other financing costs.
Our rationale for adjustments made to financing costs is set out in the
Finance Review.
Accounting policies
Net financing costs comprise interest income on funds invested, gains/losses on the disposal of financial instruments,
changes in the fair value of financial instruments, interest expense on borrowings, unwinding of the discount on
provisions, unwinding of the discount on liabilities to non-controlling interest, foreign exchange gain/losses, and
imputed interest on pension assets and liabilities. Interest income and expense is recognised as it accrues in profit or
loss, using the effective interest method.
Net financing costs
Net financing costs can be analysed as follows:
Financing income
Interest income
Foreign exchange gain
Financing costs
Interest expense on financial liabilities measured at amortised cost
Net pension interest (see note 3.6)
Foreign exchange loss
Other finance expense
Financing exceptional item: acquisition-related
Net financing costs
2021
£m
2020
£m
4
4
8
(26)
–
–
(22)
(10)
(58)
(50)
2
–
2
(27)
(2)
(3)
(14)
–
(46)
(44)
Interest on financial liabilities relates to the interest incurred on the Group’s borrowings and the cross-currency interest
rate swaps in the year.
Other finance expense includes lease interest payments, interest on acquisition-related contingent liabilities (not
included within the exceptional financing item) and bank charges.
Exceptional finance costs of £10 million (2020: £nil) principally relates to interest accrued on exceptional acquisition-
related expenses.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 4: Capital Structure and Financing Costs continued
4.5
Fair value
hierarchy
Keeping
it simple
The financial instruments included in the Consolidated Statement of Financial
Position are measured at either fair value or amortised cost. The measurement of
this fair value can in some cases be subjective, and can depend on the inputs used in
the calculations. The Group generally uses external valuations using market inputs
or market values (e.g. external share prices). The different valuation methods are
called ‘hierarchies’ and are described below.
Level 1
Fair values are measured using quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for
identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2
Fair values are measured using inputs, other than quoted prices included within
Level 1, which are observable for the asset or liability either directly or indirectly.
Interest rate swaps and options are accounted for at their fair value based upon
exit prices at the current reporting period. Forward foreign exchange contracts are
accounted for at the difference between the contract exchange rate and the
quoted forward exchange rate at the reporting date.
Level 3
Fair values are measured using inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on
observable market data.
The tables below set out the financial instruments included on the Consolidated Statement of Financial Position at
fair value:
Assets measured at fair value
Financial instruments
Other pension assets – gilts (see note 3.6)
Equity investments (see note 3.4)
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Convertible loan receivable
Financial assets at fair value through reserves
Cash flow hedges
Liabilities measured at fair value
Financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Acquisition-related liabilities – payable to sellers under
put options agreed on acquisition (see notes 3.1.4
and 3.1.5)
Financial liabilities at fair value through reserves
Cash flow hedges
Fair value
31 December
2021
£m
Level 1
31 December
2021
£m
Level 2
31 December
2021
£m
Level 3
31 December
2021
£m
62
4
2
2
1
71
62
–
–
–
–
62
–
–
2
–
1
3
–
4
–
2
–
6
Fair value
31 December
2021
£m
Level 1
31 December
2021
£m
Level 2
31 December
2021
£m
Level 3
31 December
2021
£m
(3)
(55)
(39)
(97)
–
–
–
–
(3)
–
–
(39)
(42)
(55)
–
(55)
There have been no changes in the classification of assets and liabilities and there have been no movements within
levels. Information on the fair value measurements of level 3 assets and liabilities is detailed in the relevant notes
referenced above.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
234
234
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Assets measured at fair value
Financial instruments
Other pension assets – gilts (see note 3.6)
Equity investments (see note 3.4)
Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Financial assets at fair value through reserves
Cash flow hedges
Liabilities measured at fair value
Financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps
Acquisition-related liabilities – payable to sellers under
put options agreed on acquisition (see notes 3.1.4
and 3.1.5)
Financial liabilities at fair value through reserves
Cash flow hedges
Fair value
31 December
2020
£m
Level 1
31 December
2020
£m
Level 2
31 December
2020
£m
Level 3
31 December
2020
£m
62
1
2
6
71
62
–
–
–
62
–
–
2
6
8
–
1
–
–
1
Fair value
31 December
2020
£m
Level 1
31 December
2020
£m
Level 2
31 December
2020
£m
Level 3
31 December
2020
£m
(5)
(45)
(26)
(76)
–
–
–
–
(5)
–
(26)
(31)
–
(45)
–
(45)
Refer to note 4.3 for how we value interest rate swaps and forward foreign currency contracts.
235
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 4: Capital Structure and Financing Costs continued
4.6
Lease
liabilities
Keeping
it simple
From 1 January 2019, the Group accounts for operating leases under IFRS 16
‘Leases’. Lease liabilities representing the discounted future lease payments and
right of use assets are recognised in the Consolidated Statement of Financial
Position. Lease costs such as property rent are now recognised in the form of
depreciation and interest in the Consolidated Income Statement.
Accounting policies
Lease liabilities represent the discounted future lease payments. Discount rates are calculated for similar assets, in
similar economic environments, taking into account the length of the lease. The unwinding of the discounting is
recognised in net financing costs in the Consolidated Income Statement. The following table outlines the maturity
analysis of the lease liabilities:
Contractual discounted cash flows
Less than one year
Two to five years
More than five years
Lease liabilities at 31 December
Lease liabilities
Total lease liabilities
1 January
2021
£m
(105)
(105)
Net cash flow
£m
26
26
The following amounts have been included in the Consolidated Income Statement:
Interest expense on lease liabilities
Amounts recognised in the Consolidated Income Statement
2021
£m
2020
£m
21
46
25
92
22
42
41
105
Currency and
non-cash
movements
£m
31 December
2021
£m
(13)
(13)
2021
£m
(3)
(3)
(92)
(92)
2020
£m
(4)
(4)
The Group has elected not to recognise right of use assets and lease liabilities for short-term leases (i.e. lease term less
than 12 months) or low-value assets (i.e. under £5,000). The Group will continue to expense the lease payments
associated with these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term. At 31 December 2021, this was less than
£1 million (2020: less than £1 million).
Variable lease payments that depend on an index or a rate are also less than £1 million (2020: less than £1 million).
Some property leases contain extension options beyond the non-cancellable period. The Group assesses at the
lease commencement date whether it is reasonably certain to exercise the extension options. The lease liability at
31 December 2021 does not include such extensions. At 31 December 2020, the Group estimated that the future lease
payments should it exercise the extension option, would result in an increase in the lease liability of £2 million.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
236
236
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
4.7
Equity
Keeping
it simple
This section explains material movements recorded in shareholders’ equity,
presented in the Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity, which are not
explained elsewhere in the financial statements.
Accounting policies
Fair value reserve
Financial assets are stated at fair value, with any gain or loss recognised directly in the fair value reserve in equity, unless
the loss is a permanent impairment, when it is then recorded in the Consolidated Income Statement.
Dividends
Dividends are recognised through equity on the earlier of their approval by the Company’s shareholders or their
payment. Dividends are distributed based on the realised distributable reserves (within retained earnings) of ITV plc (the
Company) and not based on the Group’s retained earnings.
4.7.1 Share capital and share premium
The Group’s share capital at 31 December 2021 of £403 million (2020: £403 million) and share premium of £174 million
(2020: £174 million) is the same as that of ITV plc. Details of this are given in the ITV plc Company financial statements
section of this Annual Report.
4.7.2 Merger and other reserves
Merger and other reserves at 31 December include the following reserves:
Merger reserves
Capital reserves
Capital redemption reserves
Revaluation reserves
Put option liabilities arising on acquisition of subsidiaries
Total
2021
£m
95
112
36
2
(30)
215
2020
£m
98
112
36
2
(24)
224
Merger reserves, Capital reserves and Capital redemption reserves relate primarily to balances arising on previous
mergers and acquisitions, including the merger of Granada and Carlton in 2003. Put option liabilities arising on
acquisition of subsidiaries relates to options and forwards contracts over shares relating to non-controlling interests.
The movement in the merger reserve is in relation to the acquisition of the remaining non-controlling interest of
Monumental Television Limited. The movement in the put option liability is in relation to a new business in Spain,
Cattleya Producciones.
4.7.3 Translation reserve
The translation reserve comprises:
• All foreign exchange differences arising on the translation of the accounts of, and investments in, foreign operations
• The gains or losses on the portion of cash flow hedges that have been deemed effective and costs of hedging under
IFRS 9 (see note 4.3)
• The net movement in the cash flow hedge reserve was a gain of £18 million (2020: £nil). The gain on cash flow
hedges in the period was £15 million (2020: £nil) and had a related tax charge of £4 million (2020: £nil). A tax credit
of £7 million related to prior years was reallocated from retained earnings during the year
• There was no net movement in the cost of hedging reserve (2020: £6 million loss)
4.7.4 Fair value reserve
The fair value reserve comprises all movements arising on the revaluation of gilts accounted for at fair value through
OCI financial instruments. The movement in 2021 is a £5 million charge (2020: £4 million gain). £4 million of this charge
is a reallocation of tax charged to retained earnings in prior years to the fair value reserve and £1 million is a tax charge
in the current year related to changes in future tax rates. See notes 2.3 and 3.6.
4.7.5 Retained earnings
The retained earnings reserve comprises profit for the year attributable to owners of the Company of £378 million
(2020: £285 million) and other items recognised directly through equity as presented in the Consolidated Statement of
Changes in Equity. Other items include the credit for the Group’s share-based compensation schemes, which are described in
note 4.8.
The Directors recognise the importance of the dividends to our shareholders and propose a final dividend of 3.3 pence
per share, based on two-thirds of a notional full year dividend of 5.0 pence. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no dividend
payments were made in 2021 or 2020.
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Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 4: Capital Structure and Financing Costs continued
4.7.6 Non-controlling interests
Non-controlling interest (NCI) represents the share of non-wholly owned subsidiaries’ net assets that are not directly
attributable to the shareholders of the ITV Group. The movement for 2021 comprises:
• The share of profit attributable to NCI of £10 million (2020: share of losses attributable to NCI of £4 million)
• Foreign exchange losses of £1 million (2020: £nil)
• The distributions made to NCI of £1 million (2020: £1 million)
• The share of net assets attributable to NCI relating to subsidiaries acquired, disposed or changes in ownership interest
in 2021 of £1 million (2020: £6 million)
4.8
Share-based
compensation
Keeping
it simple
The Group utilises share award schemes as part of its employee remuneration
packages, and therefore operates a number of share-based compensation
schemes, namely the Deferred Share Award (DSA), Executive Share Plan (ESP),
Performance Share Plan (PSP), Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) and Save As You
Earn (SAYE) schemes. The share-based compensation is not pensionable.
A transaction will be classed as share-based compensation where the Group
receives services from employees and pays for these in shares or similar equity
instruments. If the Group incurs a liability linked to the price or value of the Group’s
shares, this will also fall under a share-based transaction.
Accounting policies
For each of the Group’s share-based compensation schemes, the fair value of the equity instrument granted is
measured at grant date and spread over the vesting period via a charge to the Consolidated Income Statement with a
corresponding increase in equity.
The fair value of the share options and awards is measured using either market price at grant date or, for the SAYE scheme, a
Black–Scholes model, taking into account the terms and conditions of the individual scheme. Expected volatility is based on
the historic volatility of ITV plc shares over a three or five year period, based on the life of the options.
Vesting conditions are limited to service conditions and performance conditions. For performance-based schemes, the
relevant Group performance measures are projected to the end of the performance period in order to determine the
number of options expected to vest. This estimate of the performance measures is used to determine the option fair
value, discounted to present value. The Group revises the number of options that are expected to vest, including an
estimate of forfeitures at each reporting date based on forecast performance measures. The impact of the revision
to original estimates, if any, is recognised in the Consolidated Income Statement, with a corresponding adjustment
to equity.
Exercises of share options granted to employees can be satisfied by market purchase or issue of new shares. No new
shares may be issued to satisfy exercises under the terms of the DSA. During the year, all exercises were satisfied by
using shares purchased in the market and held in the ITV Employees’ Benefit Trust.
Share-based compensation charges totalled £12 million in 2021 (2020: £6 million).
Share options outstanding
The table below summarises the movements in the number of share options outstanding for the Group and their
weighted average exercise price:
Outstanding at 1 January
Granted during the year – nil priced
Granted during the year – other
Forfeited during the year
Exercised during the year – nil priced
Exercised during the year – other
Expired during the year
Outstanding at 31 December
Exercisable at 31 December
2021
Weighted
average
exercise price
(pence)
24.25
–
96.37
48.56
–
72.34
25.51
24.98
69.35
Number
of options
(‘000)
106,303
9,075
3,665
(2,158)
(4,905)
(457)
(12,589)
98,934
877
Number
of options
(‘000)
60,073
34,192
48,347
(3,354)
(6,017)
(3)
(26,935)
106,303
2,247
2020
Weighted
average
exercise price
(pence)
36.88
–
56.10
83.27
–
87.47
76.87
24.25
34.42
The average share price during 2021 was 116.48 pence (2020: 86.44 pence).
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
238
238
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Of the options still outstanding, the range of exercise prices and weighted average remaining contractual life of these
options can be analysed as follows:
Range of exercise prices (pence)
Nil
20.00 – 49.99
50.00 – 69.99
70.00 – 99.99
100.00 – 109.99
110.00 – 119.99
120.00 – 149.99
150.00 – 199.99
200.00 – 249.99
Weighted
average
exercise price
(pence)
–
49.17
–
86.31
105.98
–
133.44
162.55
–
Number
of options
(‘000)
57,336
31,601
–
8,420
846
–
596
135
–
2021
Weighted
average
remaining
contractual life
(years)
Weighted
average
exercise price
(pence)
1.12
2.80
–
1.17
1.13
–
0.78
0.77
–
–
49.17
–
80.00
105.98
–
131.50
167.99
206.83
2020
Weighted
average
remaining
contractual life
(years)
1.26
3.70
–
2.91
2.22
–
1.10
1.53
0.33
Number
of options
(‘000)
62,666
34,413
–
6,019
1,043
–
1,939
200
23
Assumptions
DSA, LTIP and PSP options are valued directly by reference to the share price at date of grant.
The options granted in the current and prior years for the HMRC approved SAYE scheme, are valued using the Black–
Scholes model, using the assumptions below:
Scheme name
Date of grant
Share price
at grant
(pence)
Exercise
price
(pence)
Expected
volatility
%
Expected
life
(years)
Gross dividend
yield
%
Risk-free
rate
%
Fair value
(pence)
3 Year
5 Year
3 Year
5 Year
3 Year
5 Year
3 Year
5 Year
7 April 2020
7 April 2020
7 September 2020
7 September 2020
13 April 2021
13 April 2021
6 September 2021
6 September 2021
65.60
65.60
63.80
63.80
122.90
122.90
117.10
117.10
73.69
73.69
49.17
49.17
97.95
97.95
93.86
93.86
34.52
33.54
39.08
36.29
41.73
38.12
42.04
36.09
3.25
5.25
3.25
5.25
3.25
5.25
3.25
5.25
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
0.16
0.19
(0.10)
(0.04)
0.16
0.39
0.23
0.36
13.37
17.24
23.79
26.31
46.48
51.80
44.30
47.33
239
239
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 5: Other Notes
Employees’ Benefit Trust
The Group has investments in its own shares as a result of shares purchased by the ITV Employees’ Benefit Trust (‘EBT’).
Transactions with the Group-sponsored EBT are included in these financial statements and primarily consist of the
EBT’s purchases of shares in ITV plc, which is accounted for as a reduction to retained earnings.
The table below shows the number of ITV plc shares held in the EBT at 31 December 2021 and the releases from the
EBT made in the year to satisfy awards under the Group’s share schemes:
Scheme
LTIP releases
DSA releases
ESP releases
PSP releases
SAYE releases
Shares purchased
Shares held at
1 January 2021
31 December 2021
Number of shares
(released)/purchased
21,999,372
(605,191)
(1,297,842)
–
(1,136,748)
(481.343)
–
18,478,248
Nominal value
£
2,199,937
1,847,825
The total number of shares held by the EBT at 31 December 2021 represents 0.46% (2020: 0.55%) of ITV’s issued share
capital. The market value of own shares held at 31 December 2021 is £20 million (2020: £23 million).
The shares will be held in the EBT until such time as they may be transferred to participants of the various Group share
schemes. Rights to dividends have been waived by the EBT in respect of shares held that do not relate to restricted
shares under the DSA. In accordance with the Trust Deed, the Trustees of the EBT have the power to exercise all voting
rights in relation to any investment (including shares) held within that trust. The Trust is accounted for as a separate
entity and therefore is only accounted for in the consolidated financial statements and not included in the ITV plc
Company financial statements.
5.1
Related
party
transactions
Keeping
it simple
The related parties identified by the Directors include joint ventures, associated
undertakings, fixed asset investments and key management personnel.
To enable users of our financial statements to form a view about the effects of
related party relationships on the Group, we disclose the Group’s transactions with
those related parties during the year and any associated year end trading balances.
Transactions with joint ventures and associated undertakings
Transactions with joint ventures and associated undertakings during the year were:
Sales to joint ventures
Sales to associated undertakings
Purchases from joint ventures
Purchases from associated undertakings
2021
£m
24
11
32
65
The transactions with joint ventures primarily relate to sales and purchases of digital multiplex services with Digital 3&4
Limited and distribution revenue from BritBox LLC. Sales to associated undertakings include airtime sales to DTV Services
Limited. Purchases from associated undertakings primarily relate to the purchase of news services from ITN Limited.
All transactions with associated undertakings and joint ventures arise in the normal course of business on an arm’s
length basis. The amounts owed by and to these related parties at 31 December were:
Amounts owed by joint ventures
Amounts owed by associated undertakings
Amounts owed to joint ventures
Amounts owed to associated undertakings
None of the balances are secured.
2021
£m
11
10
1
9
2020
£m
17
9
29
63
2020
£m
9
5
–
6
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
240
240
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Amounts owed by joint ventures primarily relate to trading with BritBox LLC and loan to Noho Film and Television
Limited. Balances owed by associated undertakings largely relate to loan notes with Route 24 Limited. Balances owed
to associated undertakings primarily relate to trading with ITN Limited.
Amounts paid to the Group’s retirement benefit plans are set out in note 3.6.
Transactions with key management personnel
Key management consists of ITV plc Executive and Non-executive Directors and the other members of the ITV
Management Board. Key management personnel compensation is as follows:
Short-term employee benefits
Share-based compensation
2021
£m
13
4
17
2020
£m
6
–
6
5.2
Contingent
assets and
liabilities
Keeping
it simple
A contingent asset or liability is a liability that is not sufficiently certain to qualify
for recognition as an asset or provision where uncertainty may exist regarding the
outcome of future events.
Contingent assets
In 2017 Talpa Media took back the licence for The Voice of China due to a breach of the agreement by the customer,
Talent, by not fulfilling their payment obligations. During 2018 and 2019 £27 million has been received in relation to the
amounts due. However, those receipts are currently the subject of an ongoing review. As a result the provision for bad
debt, originally recognised as an exceptional cost in 2017, was reinstated at 31 December 2019.
Whilst the Directors remain confident of recovering the amounts due, accounting standards set very specific requirements for
the recognition of an asset. As the review of the receipts remains in progress, as well as discussions with the credit insurers,
the Group is not able to demonstrate sufficient certainty to be able to recognise a receivable at 31 December 2021.
Contingent liabilities
There are contingent liabilities in respect of certain litigation and guarantees, broadcasting issues, and in respect of
warranties given in connection with certain disposals of businesses. None of these items are expected to have a
material effect on the Group’s results or financial position.
241
241
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 5: Other Notes continued
5.3
Subsequent
events
Keeping
it simple
Where the Group receives information in the period between 31 December 2021
and the date of this report about conditions related to certain events that existed
at 31 December 2021, we update our disclosures that relate to those conditions in
light of the new information. Such events can be categorised as adjusting or non-
adjusting depending on whether the condition existed at 31 December 2021. If non-
adjusting events are material, non-disclosure could influence the economic
decisions that users make on the basis of the financial statements. Accordingly, for
each material category of non-adjusting event after the reporting period we
disclose in this section the nature of the event and an estimate of its financial
effect, or a statement that such an estimate cannot be made.
New sustainability-linked Revolving Credit Facility
On 14 January 2022, we agreed a new syndicated £500 million Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) with Barclays Bank PLC,
BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse International, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., National Westminster Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Bank N.A.
The terms of the new RCF run until January 2027 replacing the existing facility, which was due to mature in 2023. The
RCF documentation continues to define a leverage covenant (which has to be maintained at less than 3.5x) and an
interest cover covenant (which has to be maintained at greater than 3.0x). The new RCF is linked to the delivery of ITV's
science-based carbon emissions targets. Under the terms, ITV will benefit from a lower interest rate if it delivers
emissions reductions in line with its net zero roadmap, which will be assessed on an annual basis and verified by
independent external review. The metrics include scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and will therefore impact right across the
ITV supply chain.
The Voice of Holland
In early 2022, allegations of inappropriate behaviour on the set of The Voice of Holland were made public, resulting in a
mid-season suspension of series 12. A provision has been made to cover the committed costs relating to the series in
production, impairment of the carrying value of work in progress and other costs. An external investigation of the
allegations is currently ongoing. While unquantifiable at present, there may be further financial impact on the Group.
BritBox UK
To give ITV greater control over BritBox UK and enable its integration into ITVX, on 2 March 2022, the BBC ceased to be
a shareholder in BritBox SVOD Limited (BritBox UK). The BBC continues as a strong partner for BritBox UK and BritBox
International and we have agreed a new long term content supply deal with the BBC. All PSB partners are committed
to BritBox UK which offers consumers a large library of the majority of PSB British content in one place from the past
and recent past. As envisaged by the original shareholder agreement BBC has transferred its 10% shareholding to ITV
for nominal consideration. There is no change in control of Britbox UK and the Group now has a 99% shareholding in
the company.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
242
242
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
5.4
Subsidiaries
exempt
from audit
Keeping
it simple
Certain subsidiaries of the Group can take an exemption from having an audit. Strict
criteria must be met for this exemption to be taken, and it must be agreed by the
Directors of that subsidiary entity.
Listed below are subsidiaries controlled and consolidated by the Group, where the Directors have taken the exemption from
having an audit of its financial statements. This exemption is taken in accordance with the Companies Act 2006 s479A.
Company number
Company name
Company number
Company name
04195187
04145307
10058419
13813181
13087812
10496857
12092620
11109596
13087733
13087735
07037447
10528952
11723899
11109572
02897434
06567813
02936337
07922831
03866274
01891539
02285229
05078683
04159249
00301188
01692483
03984490
03053908
03210452
03307790
02625225
03210363
02280048
06409013
04257248
08195508
10240192
02852812
09366309
05421502
08479545
07821062
09366308
05946785
03776018
00290076
03962410
03106798
05344772
00733063
00250311
04842712
12 Yard Productions (Investments) Limited
12 Yard Productions Limited
Back Productions Limited
Big Talk (NEWCO 1) Limited
Big Talk Alone Limited
Big Talk Cold Feet Limited
Big Talk Friday Limited
Big Talk Goes Wrong Limited
Big Talk Horseface Limited
Big Talk I Hate You Limited
Big Talk Investments Limited
Big Talk Living the Dream Limited
Big Talk Offenders Limited
Big Talk Peacock Limited
Big Talk Pictures Limited
Big Talk Productions Limited
Boom Cymru TV Ltd
Boom Pictures Limited
Box Clever Technology Limited
Broad Street Films Limited
Campania Limited
Carbon Media Limited
Carlton Content Holdings Limited
Carlton Film Distributors Limited
Carlton Finance Limited
Carlton Food Network Limited
Carlton Programmes Development Limited
Carlton Screen Advertising (Holdings) Limited
Carltonco 103 Limited
Carltonco Forty Investments Limited
Carltonco Ninety-Six Limited
Castlefield Properties Limited
Cat’s on the Roof Media Limited
Channel Television Holdings Limited
Cirkus Limited
Cloth Cat LBB Limited
Cosgrove Hall Films Limited
Crook Productions Limited
Cynhyrchiadau Boomerang Cyfyngedig
Double Double Limited
EQ Pictures Limited
Gameface Productions Limited
Gorilla TV Group Limited
Gorilla TV Limited
Granada Group Limited
Granada Limited
Granada Media Limited
Granada Screen (2005) Limited
Granada Television Overseas Limited
Granada UK Rental and Retail Limited
Interactive Telephony Limited
00608490
06914987
SC375274
11516620
12956892
13087805
11667230
02578005
13087759
10494684
04159210
04159213
04206925
SC473179
04033106
00603893
03916436
11723842
00603471
01153537
01565625
13087782
08554937
11723826
08516153
09498877
11107934
13087693
12368504
09498177
03089273
11107431
13087699
05518785
11108285
12368661
09355455
08546227
11109917
11908267
12368766
10528827
13087685
11995990
12735978
11062257
11908285
09660486
10031005
10528763
11108289
ITC Entertainment Group Limited
ITV (HC) Limited
ITV (Scotland) Limited
ITV 112 Limited
ITV Adventures Limited
ITV Alder Limited
ITV Barking Limited
ITV Breakfast Limited
ITV Duneen Limited
ITV Enterprises Limited
ITV Holdings Limited
ITV International Channels Limited
ITV Investments Limited
ITV LTVC (Scotland) Limited
ITV Mr Selfridge Limited
ITV Network Limited
ITV News Channel Limited
ITV Nightingale Limited
ITV Pension Scheme Limited
ITV Productions Limited
ITV Properties (Developments) Limited
ITV Ralph and Katie Limited
ITV Shetland Limited
ITV Spy Limited
ITV Text Santa Limited
ITV TFG Holdings Limited
ITV The Bay Limited
ITV The Reckoning Limited
ITV TLC Limited
ITV Top Class Limited
ITV Ventures Limited
ITV Vera Limited
ITV Y&M Limited
Juice Music UK Limited
Mammoth Screen (ABC) Limited
Mammoth Screen (BHR) Limited
Mammoth Screen (End) Limited
Mammoth Screen (End2) Limited
Mammoth Screen (End6) Limited
Mammoth Screen (END7) Limited
Mammoth Screen (End8) Limited
Mammoth Screen (End9) Limited
Mammoth Screen (Evans) Limited
Mammoth Screen (MD) Limited
Mammoth Screen (MD2) Limited
Mammoth Screen (NC) Limited
Mammoth Screen (PH) Limited
Mammoth Screen (Pol2) Limited
Mammoth Screen (Pol3) Limited
Mammoth Screen (Pol4) Limited
Mammoth Screen (Pol5) Limited
243
243
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continued
Notes to the Financial Statements
Section 5: Other Notes continued
Company number
Company name
Company number
Company name
08799982
09646520
11108327
11204836
NI678277
13087656
10528702
11108322
11108320
10973979
05976248
13412337
04201477
13813329
13087117
13506403
13714204
12350991
09366311
07714999
Mammoth Screen (Poldark) Limited
Mammoth Screen (QV) Limited
Mammoth Screen (Serpent) Limited
Mammoth Screen (SG) Limited
Mammoth Screen (TJ) Limited
Mammoth Screen (Tower) Limited
Mammoth Screen (VF) Limited
Mammoth Screen (Vic3) Limited
Mammoth Screen (WOF) Limited
Mammoth Screen (WOTW) Limited
Mammoth Screen Ltd
Metavision Limited
Morning TV Limited
MT Mrs Sidhu Limited
MT MURDER IN PROVENCE Limited
Planet Woo Limited
QSP Nolly Limited
Second Act (Grace) Limited
Second Act Productions Limited
Sightseers Film Limited
03991026
07155077
02351132
08602993
05493388
06469484
06469482
11109744
10796122
12368643
11109437
12116627
11109287
12116457
13087865
12116461
13087860
11109929
12368475
12368477
So Television Limited
The Garden Productions Limited
TwoFour Broadcast Limited
Twofour Group Holdings Limited
TwoFour Group Limited
VOD Member (ITVA) Limited
VOD Member (ITVB) Limited
WP Anne Limited
WP Bodyguard Limited
WP Diplomat Limited
WP Faslane Limited
WP Karen Pirie Limited
WP LOD5 Limited
WP LOD6 Limited
WP Malpractice Limited
WP Pembrokeshire Limited
WP RM Limited
WP Save Me 2 Limited
WP Showtrial Limited
WP The Suspect Limited
ITV Properties (Jersey) Limited is exempt from audit under article 113 of the Companies Act (Jersey) Law 1991
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
244
244
Financial Statements | Notes to the Financial Statements continuedITV plc Company Financial Statements
Statement of Financial Position
As at 31 December
Non-current assets
Investments in subsidiary undertakings
Derivative financial instruments
Deferred tax asset
Current assets
Amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings due within one year
Amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings due after more than one year
Amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings
Derivative financial instruments
Other receivables
Cash and cash equivalents
Borrowings
Amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings
Accruals
Derivative financial instruments
Current liabilities
Net current assets
Borrowings
Derivative financial instruments
Non-current liabilities
Net assets
Share capital
Share premium
Other reserves
Retained earnings
Total shareholders’ equity
Note
iii
vi
iv
iv
iv
vi
iv
vi
v
vi
vii
viii
viii
viii
2021
£m
3,080
1
3
3,084
4,277
527
4,804
7
8
549
5,368
(281)
(5,026)
(10)
(8)
(5,325)
43
(722)
(37)
(759)
2,368
403
174
31
1,760
2,368
The Company has elected to take the exemption under section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 from presenting the
parent company Income Statement. The Company’s profit for the year was £150 million (2020: loss of £65 million).
The financial statements on pages 245 to 260 were approved by the Board of Directors on 3 March 2022 and signed on its behalf by
Chris Kennedy
Director
2020
£m
2,733
3
1
2,737
3,782
509
4,291
9
4
449
4,753
–
(4,197)
(7)
(11)
(4,215)
538
(1,067)
(25)
(1,092)
2,183
403
174
10
1,596
2,183
245
245
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Financial Statements | Company Financial Statements continued
Financial Statements | Company Financial Statements continued
ITV plc Company Financial Statements continued
Company Statement of Changes in Equity
Balance at 1 January 2021
Total comprehensive income for the year
Profit for the year
Net gain on cash flow hedges and cost of hedging
Income tax charge on other comprehensive income*
Total comprehensive income for the year
Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity
Contributions by and distributions to owners
Equity dividends
Movements due to share-based compensation
Tax on items taken directly to equity
Total transactions with owners
Balance at 31 December 2021
Balance at 1 January 2020
Total comprehensive loss for the year
Loss for the year
Net loss on cash flow hedges and cost of hedging
Total comprehensive loss for the year
Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity
Contributions by and distributions to owners
Equity dividends
Movements due to share-based compensation
Tax on items taken directly to equity
Total transactions with owners
Balance at 31 December 2020
*
Note
Share
capital
£m
403
Share
premium
£m
174
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
403
Share
capital
£m
403
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
403
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
174
Share
premium
£m
174
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
174
vii/viii
Note
vii/viii
Other
reserves
£m
10
–
19
2
21
–
–
–
–
31
Other
reserves
£m
22
–
(12)
(12)
–
–
–
–
10
Retained
earnings
£m
1,596
150
–
1
151
–
12
1
13
1,760
Retained
earnings
£m
1,655
(65)
–
(65)
–
6
–
6
1,596
Total
£m
2,183
150
19
3
172
–
12
1
13
2,368
Total
£m
2,254
(65)
(12)
(77)
–
6
–
6
2,183
*
Income tax on other comprehensive income has been reallocated to the relevant reserves from Retained Earnings in the current year.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
246
246
Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements
Note i
Accounting
policies
In this
section
This section sets out the notes to the ITV plc Company only financial statements.
Those statements form the basis of the dividend decisions made by the
Directors, as explained in detail in note viii below. The notes form part of the
financial statements.
Basis of preparation
The Company is a qualifying entity as it is a member of the ITV plc Group where ITV plc, the ultimate parent prepares
publicly available consolidated financial statements. These financial statements were prepared in accordance with
Financial Reporting Standard 101 ‘Reduced Disclosure Framework’ (‘FRS 101’). The Company is registered in England
and Wales.
In preparing these financial statements, the Company applies the recognition, measurement and disclosure
requirements of international accounting standards in conformity with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006
(‘Adopted IFRSs’), but makes amendments where necessary in order to comply with Companies Act 2006 and has set
out below where advantage of the FRS 101 disclosure exemptions has been taken.
Exemptions applied
• Presentation of a Statement of Cash Flows and related notes
• Disclosure in respect of capital management
• Disclosure of related party transactions between wholly-owned subsidiaries and parents within a group
• Disclosures required under IFRS 2 ‘Share Based Payments’ in respect of group settled share based payments
• Disclosures required by IFRS 7 ‘Financial Instruments: Disclosure’
• Certain disclosures required under IFRS 13 ‘Fair Value Measurement’
• Disclosure of information in relation to new standards not yet applied
The Company proposes to continue to apply the reduced disclosure framework of FRS 101 in its next financial statements.
The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.
Changes in accounting policy
New accounting standards, interpretations and amendments that are effective from 1 January 2021 have not had
significant impact on the Company’s results or Statement of Financial Position.
Accounting judgements and estimates
The preparation of financial statements requires management to exercise judgement in applying the Company’s
accounting policies. It also requires the use of estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets,
liabilities, income and expenses. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The area involving material judgement is the recoverability of investments in subsidiary undertaking. Further details are
provided in note iii.
Subsidiaries
Subsidiaries are entities that are directly or indirectly controlled by the Company. Control exists where the Company
has the power to govern the financial and operating policies of the entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities.
The investment in the Company’s subsidiaries is recorded at cost.
Foreign currency transactions
Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the
transaction. Foreign currency monetary assets and liabilities at the balance sheet date are translated into sterling at
the rate of exchange ruling at that date. Foreign exchange differences arising on translation are recognised in the profit
and loss account. Non-monetary assets and liabilities measured at historical cost are translated into sterling at the rate
of exchange on the date of the transaction.
Borrowings
Borrowings are recognised initially at fair value including directly attributable transaction costs, with subsequent
measurement at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method. The difference between initial fair value
and the redemption value is recorded in the profit and loss account over the period of the liability on an effective
interest basis.
247
247
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Financial Statements | Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements continued
Financial Statements | Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements continued
Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements continued
Derivatives and other financial instruments
The Company uses a limited number of derivative financial instruments to hedge its exposure to fluctuations in interest
and other foreign exchange rates. The Company does not hold or issue derivative instruments for speculative purposes.
Derivative financial instruments are initially recognised at fair value and are subsequently remeasured at fair value with
the movement recorded in the profit and loss account within net financing costs, except where derivatives qualify for
cash flow hedge accounting. In this case, the effective portion of cash flow hedge is recognised in other reserves within
equity. The cumulative gain or loss is later reclassified to the profit and loss account in the same period as the relevant
hedged transaction is realised. Derivatives with positive fair values are recorded as assets and negative fair values
as liabilities.
The fair value of foreign currency forward contracts is determined by using the difference between the contract
exchange rate and the quoted forward exchange rate at the balance sheet date.
The fair value of interest rate swaps is the estimated amount that the Company would receive or pay to terminate
the swap at the balance sheet date, taking into account current interest rates and the current creditworthiness of
swap counterparties.
Third-party valuations are used to fair value the Company’s derivatives. The valuation techniques use inputs such as
interest rate yield curves and currency prices/yields, volatilities of underlying instruments and correlations between
inputs. For financial assets and liabilities classified at fair value through profit or loss, the fair value change and interest
income/expense are not separated.
Current tax
Current tax is the expected tax payable or receivable on the taxable income or loss for the year and any adjustment in
respect of previous years.
The Company recognises liabilities for anticipated tax issues based on estimates of the additional taxes that are likely
to become due, which require judgement. Amounts are accrued based on management’s interpretation of specific tax
law and the likelihood of settlement. Where the final tax outcome of these matters is different from the amounts that
were initially recorded, such differences will impact the current tax and deferred tax provisions in the period in which
such determination is made.
Deferred tax
The tax charge for the period is recognised in the Income Statement or directly in equity according to the accounting
treatment of the related transaction.
Deferred tax arises due to certain temporary differences between the carrying amount of assets and liabilities for
financial reporting purposes and those for taxation purposes. The amount of deferred tax provided is based on the
expected manner of realisation or settlement of the carrying amount of assets and liabilities. A deferred tax asset is
recognised only to the extent that it is probable that sufficient taxable profit will be available to utilise the temporary
difference. Recognition of deferred tax assets therefore involves judgement regarding timing and level of future
taxable income.
Share-based compensation
The Company utilises share award schemes as part of its employee remuneration packages, and therefore operates
a number of share-based compensation schemes, namely the Deferred Share Award (DSA), Performance Share Plan
(PSP), Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) and Save As You Earn (SAYE) schemes.
A transaction will be classed as share-based compensation where the Company receives services from employees and
pays for these in shares or similar equity instruments. If the Company incurs a liability based on the price or value of the
shares, this will also fall under a share-based transaction. The Company recognises the retained earnings impact of the
share-based compensation for the Group as awards are settled in ITV plc shares. The cost of providing those awards is
recognised as a cost of investment to the subsidiaries that receive the service from employees.
The fair value of the equity instrument granted is measured at grant date and spread over the vesting period via a
charge to the Income Statement with a corresponding increase in equity. The fair value of the share options and
awards is measured using either market price at grant date or, for the SAYE scheme, a Black–Scholes model, taking into
account the terms and conditions of the individual scheme.
Vesting conditions are limited to service conditions and performance conditions. For performance-based schemes, the
relevant performance measures are projected to the end of the performance period in order to determine the number
of options expected to vest. The estimate is then used to determine the option fair value, discounted to present value.
The Company revises its estimates of the number of options that are expected to vest, including an estimate of
forfeitures at each reporting date. The impact of the revision to original estimates, if any, is recognised in the Income
Statement, with a corresponding adjustment to equity.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
248
248
Note ii
Employees
and share-
based
payments
Note iii
Investments
in subsidiary
undertakings
Exercises of share options granted to employees can be satisfied by market purchase or issue of new shares. No new
shares may be issued to satisfy exercises under the terms of the DSA. During the year, all exercises were satisfied by
using shares purchased in the market and held in the ITV Employees’ Benefit Trust. The Trust is accounted for as a
separate entity and therefore is only accounted for in the consolidated financial statements.
Dividends to shareholders
Dividends payable to shareholders are recognised through equity on the earlier of their approval by the Company’s
shareholders or their payment. Dividends are distributed based on the realised distributable reserves (within retained
earnings) of ITV plc (Company) and not based on the Group’s retained earnings.
Two (2020: two) Directors of ITV plc (i.e. the Executive Directors) were employees of the Company during the year,
both of whom remain employed at the year end. The costs relating to these Directors are disclosed in the
Remuneration Report.
Share-based payments
The weighted average share price of share options exercised during the year was 72.3 pence (2020: 87.47 pence)
(excluding nil priced share options). The options outstanding at the year end have an exercise price in the range of nil
to 162.55 pence (2020: nil to 206.83 pence) and a weighted average contractual life of two years (2020: two years) for
all the schemes in place for the Group.
The carrying value at 31 December 2021 was £3,080 million (2020: £2,733 million). The Company subscribed to one
ordinary share in Carlton Communications Limited for £511 million, which was passed down to the relevant Group
companies as part of the restructure of our Dutch and German Studios businesses. During the year a wholly owned
subsidiary, ITV (Europe) Holdings BV was sold at book value of £511 million to another Group company.
The carrying value of the Company’s investments in subsidiary undertakings is assessed for impairment on an annual
basis. Determining whether the carrying amount has any indication of impairment requires judgement. In testing for
impairment, estimates are used in deriving cash flows and the discount rates. The estimation process is complex due
to the inherent risks and uncertainties associated with long-term forecasting. The outcome of the value in use
calculation supports the carrying value of the investment in subsidiary undertakings with headroom of £6,533 million
(2020: £5,009 million).
Due to the significant headroom, there is no reasonably possible scenario that would result in a material adjustment to
the amounts reported in the financial statements.
The Company’s review resulted in no impairment for 2021 (2020: no impairment).
The principal subsidiary undertakings are listed on page 256.
Note iv
Amounts
owed
(to)/from
subsidiary
undertakings
The Company operates an intra-group cash pool policy with certain 100% owned UK subsidiaries. The pool applies to
bank accounts where there is an unconditional right of set off and involves the daily closing cash position for
participating subsidiaries whether positive or negative, being cleared to £nil via daily bank transfers to/from ITV plc.
These daily transactions create a corresponding intercompany creditor or debtor, which can result in significant
movements in amounts owed to and from subsidiary undertakings in the Company balance sheet. The classification of
balances as due after more than one year is based on the intention of when the balances are expected to be settled
rather than the contractual terms.
The credit risk management practices of the Company include internal review and reporting of the historic credit losses
and forward-looking data. The Company applies the IFRS 9 simplified approach in measuring expected credit losses,
which use a lifetime expected credit loss allowance for amounts due from subsidiary undertakings, and other
receivables.
To measure expected credit losses, amounts due from subsidiary undertakings, and other receivables have been
grouped by shared credit risk characteristics. In addition to the expected credit losses, the Company may make
additional provisions for the particular receivables if the deterioration of financial position is observed.
249
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Financial Statements | Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements continued
Financial Statements | Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements continued
Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements continued
Note v
Net debt
Keeping
it simple
The Directors manage the Group’s capital structure as disclosed in section 4 to
the consolidated financial statements. Borrowings, cash and derivative financial
instruments are mainly held by ITV plc and disclosed in these Company
financial statements.
Cash and cash equivalents
At 31 December 2021, the Company has a cash position of £549 million (2020: £449 million).
Loans and facilities due within one year
Throughout the year, the Company had a £630 million Revolving Credit Facility (‘RCF’) to meet short-term funding
requirements. At 31 December 2021, the Company had drawings of £nil under the RCF (2020: £nil), leaving £630 million
available to draw down. The maximum draw down of the RCF during the year was £nil (2020: £210 million). Subsequent
to the year end, the Company has agreed a new syndicated £500 million RCF. The terms of the new RCF run until
January 2027 (with the opportunity to renew for one or two years from the expiry date, potentially providing funding
out to 2029). This facility replaces the previous £630 million facility, which was due to mature in 2023. The financial
covenants in the new RCF remain unchanged. There are ESG targets linked to the delivery of ITV’s science-based carbon
emissions targets.
The €335 million Eurobond, which has a coupon of 2.125%, matures in September 2022.
Loans and loan notes due after one year
The Company has issued the following Eurobonds:
• €259 million at a fixed coupon of 2.0%, which will mature in December 2023
• €600 million at a fixed coupon of 1.375%, which matures in September 2026
The €600 million bond issued in September 2019 has been swapped back to sterling using a number of cross-currency
interest rate swaps. The resulting fixed rate payable in sterling is c. 2.9%.
See section 4.1 of the Group Notes for further details of borrowings and available facilities.
What is the value of our derivative financial instruments?
Current
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps – cash flow hedges
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps – fair value through profit or loss
Non-current
Cross-currency interest swaps – cash flow hedges
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps – fair value through profit or loss
Current
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps – cash flow hedges
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps – fair value through profit or loss
Non-current
Cross-currency interest swaps – cash flow hedges
Foreign exchange forward contracts and swaps – fair value through profit or loss
Assets
2021
£m
Liabilities
2021
£m
5
2
–
1
8
(5)
(3)
(36)
(1)
(45)
Assets
2020
£m
Liabilities
2020
£m
6
3
–
3
12
(5)
(6)
(22)
(3)
(36)
Note vi
Managing
market risks:
derivative
financial
instruments
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
250
250
The Company employs cross-currency interest rate swaps to exchange the principal and interest coupons in a debt
instrument from one currency to another.
Currency risk
The Company’s foreign exchange policy is to use cross-currency interest rate swaps both to manage foreign currency
cash flow timing differences and to hedge foreign currency denominated monetary items.
Cash flow hedges
In order to fix the sterling cash outflows associated with the commitments and interest payments – which are mainly
denominated in euros – the Company has taken out cross-currency interest rate swaps for the same foreign currency
amount and maturity date as the expected foreign currency outflow.
The amount recognised in other comprehensive income during the period all relates to the effective portion of the
revaluation loss associated with these contracts. There was less than £1 million (2020: less than £1 million)
ineffectiveness taken to the Income Statement and £3 million cumulative gain (2020: £4 million cumulative gain)
recycled to the Income Statement in the year.
On issuing the 2026 Eurobond in September 2019, the Company subsequently entered into a new portfolio of cross-
currency interest rate swaps, which swapped the euro principal and fixed euro interest rate coupons into fixed sterling
interest rate. As a result, the Group makes sterling interest payments at a fixed rate.
Under IFRS 9, the Company has adopted the ‘cost of hedging’ approach which allows the recognition of the value of the
currency basis at inception of the hedge to be recorded on the Statement of Financial Position and amortised through
net financing costs in the Income Statement over the life of the bond. Any mark-to-market change in fair value of the
currency basis is recognised in ‘cost of hedging’ in the Statement of Comprehensive Income.
251
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Financial Statements | Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements continued
Financial Statements | Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements continued
Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements continued
Undiscounted financial liabilities
The Company is required to disclose the expected timings of cash outflows for each of its derivative financial liabilities.
The amounts disclosed in the table are the contractual undiscounted cash flows (including interest), so will not always
reconcile with the amounts disclosed on the Statement of Financial Position.
AAtt 3311 DDeecceemmbbeerr 22002211**
Non-current and current
Foreign exchange forward contracts
and swaps – cash flow hedges
Inflow
Outflow
Cross-currency swaps – cash flow
hedges
Inflow
Outflow
Foreign exchange forward contracts
and swaps – fair value through profit
or loss
Inflow
Outflow
AAtt 3311 DDeecceemmbbeerr 22002200
Non-current and current
Foreign exchange forward contracts
and swaps – cash flow hedges
Inflow
Outflow
Cross-currency swaps – cash flow
hedges
Inflow
Outflow
Foreign exchange forward contracts
and swaps – fair value through profit
or loss
Inflow
Outflow
Carrying
value
£m
Total
contractual
cash flows
£m
Less than
1 year
£m
Between
1 and 2 years
£m
Between
2 and 5 years
£m
Over 5 years
£m
5
(5)
–
(36)
3
(4)
(37)
321
(318)
539
(612)
350
(349)
(72)
229
(227)
7
(16)
342
(341)
(8)
92
(91)
7
(16)
8
(8)
(9)
–
–
525
(580)
–
–
(55)
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Carrying
value
£m
Total
contractual
cash flows
£m
Less than
1 year
£m
Between
1 and 2 years
£m
Between
2 and 5 years
£m
Over 5 years
£m
9
(8)
–
(22)
3
(6)
(24)
341
(341)
580
(627)
465
(468)
(50)
227
(227)
100
(100)
7
(16)
458
(461)
(12)
7
(16)
7
(7)
(9)
14
(14)
22
(47)
–
–
(25)
–
–
544
(548)
–
–
(4)
Allotted, issued
and fully paid
2021 & 2020
£m
403
403
* The Company is jointly and severally liable for VAT at 31 December 2021 of £53 million (31 December 2020: £124 million).
Note vii
Share capital
Allotted, issued and fully paid ordinary shares of 10 pence each
Total
The Company’s ordinary shares give shareholders equal rights to vote, receive dividends and to the repayment of capital.
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
252
252
Note viii
Equity and
dividends
Keeping
it simple
ITV plc is a non-trading investment holding company and derives its profits from
dividends paid by subsidiary companies.
The Directors consider the Company’s capital structure and dividend policy at
least twice a year ahead of announcing results and do so in the context of its
ability to continue as a going concern, to execute the strategy and to invest in
opportunities to grow the business and enhance shareholder value.
The dividend policy is influenced by a number of the principal risks as identified
on pages 74 to 87 that could have a negative impact on the performance of the
Company.
In determining the level of dividend in any year, the Directors follow the dividend
policy and also consider a number of other factors that influence the proposed
dividend and dividend policy, including:
• The level of retained distributable reserves in ITV plc the Company
• Availability of cash resources (as disclosed in note 4.1 to the consolidated
financial statements) and
• Future cash commitments and investment plans, to deliver the Company’s
long-term strategic plan
• Consideration of the factors underlying the Directors’ viability assessment and
• The future availability of funds required to meet longer-term obligations
including pension commitments.
Equity
The retained earnings reserve includes profit after tax for the year of £150 million (2020: loss after tax £65 million),
which includes dividends of £200 million from subsidiaries in 2021 (2020: £nil).
Other reserves of £31 million (2020: £10 million) comprises Merger reserves of £36 million (2020: £36 million) which
relate to share buybacks in prior periods and Translation reserves of a net loss of £5 million (net loss of £26 million)
which relate to cash flow hedges and cost of hedging.
Dividends
The Directors recognise the importance of the dividends to our shareholders and propose a final dividend of 3.3 pence
per share, based on two-thirds of a notional full year dividend of 5.0 pence. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, no dividend
payments were made in 2021 or 2020.
Note ix
Contingent
liabilities
Keeping
it simple
A contingent liability is a liability that is not sufficiently certain to qualify for
recognition as a provision where uncertainty may exist regarding the outcome
of future events.
Under a Group registration, the Company is jointly and severally liable for VAT at 31 December 2021 of £53 million
(31 December 2020: £124 million). The Company has guaranteed certain performance and financial obligations of
subsidiary undertakings.
253
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Financial Statements | Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements continued
Financial Statements | Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements continued
Notes to the ITV plc Company Financial Statements continued
Note x
Capital and
other
commitments
There are contingent liabilities in respect of certain litigation and guarantees, broadcasting issues, and in respect of
warranties given in connection with certain disposals of businesses. None of these items is expected to have a material
effect on the Company’s results or financial position.
The Company enters into guarantee contract to guarantee the performance and/or financial obligations of other
companies within the Group. In this respect, the Company treats these guarantee contracts as a contingent liability
until it becomes probable that the Company will be required to make a payment under the relevant guarantee.
In March 2020, the Company extended the maturity of its existing £300 million bilateral loan facility by five years to
30 June 2026. Utilisation requests are subject to the lender’s ability to source ITV Credit Default Swaps (CDS) in the
market at the time the utilisation request is made. The facility remains free of financial covenants and at 31 December
2021, £152 million of the facility was utilised as a letter of credit to support the ITV Group’s asset-backed pension
scheme arrangement currently in place in respect of the defined benefit pension scheme. See section 3.6 of the Group
Notes for further details.
There are no capital commitments at 31 December 2021 (2020: none).
Note xi
Related party
transactions
Keeping
it simple
The related parties identified by the Directors include amounts owed to and
from subsidiary undertakings that are not wholly owned within the Group as
well as transactions with key management. The company is a holding company
with no commercial activity.
To enable the users of the financial statements to form a view about the effects
of related party relationships on the Company, we disclose the Company’s
transactions with those during the year.
Transactions with subsidiary undertakings that are not wholly owned
The amounts owed by and to these related parties at the year end were:
Amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings that are not wholly owned
Amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings that are not wholly owned
2021
£m
164
3
2020
£m
81
9
Amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings that are not wholly owned relate mainly to funding provided to BritBox
SVOD Limited and Apple Tree Productions ApS. Amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings that are not wholly owned,
relate mainly to amounts owed to 3sixtymedia Limited.
Transactions with key management personnel
Key management consists of ITV plc Executive Directors.
Key management personnel compensation, on an accounting basis, is as follows:
Short-term employee benefits
Share-based compensation
2021
£m
4
2
6
Total emoluments and gains on share options received by key management personnel in the year were:
Emoluments
Gains on exercise of share options
2021
£m
2
2
4
2020
£m
2
–
2
2020
£m
3
–
3
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
254
254
Note xii
Subsequent
events
Keeping
it simple
Where the Group receives information in the period between 31 December 2021
and the date of this report about conditions related to certain events that existed at
31 December 2021, we update our disclosures that relate to those conditions in light
of the new information. Such events can be categorised as adjusting or non-adjusting
depending on whether the condition existed at 31 December 2021.
If non-adjusting events are material, non-disclosure could influence the economic
decisions that users make based on the financial statements. Accordingly, for each
material category of non-adjusting event after the reporting period, we disclose in
this section the nature of the event and an estimate of its financial effect, or a
statement that such an estimate cannot be made.
On 14 January 2022, we agreed a new syndicated £500 million Revolving Credit Facility ("RCF") with Barclays Bank PLC,
BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse International, Mizuho Bank, Ltd., National Westminster Bank PLC and Wells Fargo Bank N.A.
The terms of the new RCF run until January 2027 replacing the existing facility, which was due to mature in 2023.
The RCF documentation continues to define a leverage covenant (which has to be maintained at less than 3.5x) and
an interest cover covenant (which has to be maintained at greater than 3.0x). The new RCF is linked to the delivery of
ITV's science-based carbon emissions targets. Under the terms, ITV will benefit from a lower interest rate if it delivers
emissions reductions in line with its net zero roadmap, which will be assessed on an annual basis and verified by
independent external review. The metrics include scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and will therefore impact right across
the ITV supply chain.
255
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ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report
Financial Statements | List of subsidiaries
Subsidiary undertakings and investments
Principal subsidiary undertakings
The principal subsidiary undertakings of the Company at 31 December 2021, all of which are wholly owned (directly or indirectly) and
incorporated and registered where stated.
Company Name
Carlton Communications Limited* (1)(a)(d)
ITV Broadcasting Limited (1)(a)
ITV Consumer Limited (1)(a)
ITV Digital Channels Limited (1)(a)
ITV Studios Global Distribution Limited (1)(a)
ITV Network Limited (1)(i)
ITV Rights Limited (1)(a)
ITV Services Limited (1)(a)(e)
ITV Studios Limited (1)(a)
ITV2 Limited (1)(a)
SDN Limited (1)(a)
ITV Studios Holding B.V.* (41)(a)
ITV America Inc. (30)(j)
ITV Global Entertainment, Inc. (30)(j)
Southbank Studios Inc. (30)(j)
Wholly-owned subsidiary undertakings
Company Name
12 Yard (North) Productions Limited (1)(a)
12 Yard Limited (1)(a)
12 Yard Productions (Investments) Limited (1)(a)
12 Yard Productions Limited (1)(a)
A.C.E. (1988) Limited (1)(a)
Back Productions Limited (7)(a)
Big Talk Alone Limited (1)(a)
Big Talk Cold Feet Limited (1)(a)
Big Talk Friday Limited (1)(a)
Big Talk Goes Wrong Limited (1)(a)
Big Talk Horseface (1)(a)
Big Talk I Hate You Limited (1)(a)
Big Talk Investments Limited (1)(a)
Big Talk Living the Dream Limited (1)(a)
Big Talk Offenders Limited (1)(a)
Big Talk Peacock Limited (1)(a)
Big Talk Pictures Limited (1)(a)
Big Talk Productions Limited (1)(a)
Boom Cymru TV Ltd (5)(a)
Boom Pictures Limited (1)(a)
Box Clever Technology Limited (1)(a)
Broad Street Films Limited (1)(a)
Button Hall Productions (1)(a)
Campania Limited (1)(a)(k)
Carbon Media Limited (1)(a)
Carlton Active Limited (1)(a)
Carlton Cinema Limited (1)(a)
Carlton Content Holdings Limited (1)(a)
Carlton Film Distributors Limited (1)(a)
Carlton Finance Limited (1)(a)
Carlton Food Network Limited (1)(a)
Carlton Programmes Development Limited (1)(a)
Carlton Screen Advertising (Holdings) Limited (1)(a)
Carltonco 103 (1)(a)
Carltonco 99 Limited (1)(a)
Carltonco Eighty-One Limited (1)(a)(b)
Carltonco Fifty Limited (1)(a)(k)
Carltonco Forty Investments (1)(a)
Carltonco Forty-Five Limited (1)(a)
Carltonco Ninety-Six (1)(a)(f)
Carltonco Seventeen Limited (1)(a)
Castlefield Properties Limited (1)(a)
Cat’s on the Roof Media Limited (1)(a)
Central Television Limited (1)(a)
Channel Television Holdings Limited (1)(a)
Cirkus Limited (10)(a)
Cloth Cat LBB Limited (5)(a)
Cosgrove Hall Films Limited (1)(a)
Country
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
Netherlands
USA
USA
USA
Principal Business Activity
Holding company
Broadcast of television programmes
Development of platforms, broadband, transactional and mobile services
Operation of digital television channels
Rights ownership and distribution of television programmes and films
Scheduling and commissioning of television programmes
Rights ownership
Provision of services for other companies within the Group
Production of television programmes
Operation of digital television channels
Operation of Freeview Multiplex A
Production of television programmes
Production of television programmes
Rights ownership and distribution of television programmes and films
Production of television programmes
Country
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
% Holding
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Country
Company Name
UK
Crook Productions Limited (1)(a)
UK
Cynhyrchiadau Boomerang Cyf (5)(a)
UK
Double Double Limited (1)(a)
UK
Electronic Rentals Group (1)(a)
UK
EQ Pictures Limited (1)(a)
UK
Gameface Productions Limited (1)(a)
UK
GIL Limited (1)(a)
UK
Gorilla TV Group Limited (5)(a)
UK
Gorilla TV Limited (5)(a)
UK
Granada AV Solutions Limited (1)(a)
UK
Granada Film (1)(a)
UK
Granada Film Productions Limited (1)(a)
UK
Granada Group Limited (1)(a)
UK
Granada Limited (1)(a)
UK
Granada Media Limited (1)(a)(l)
UK
Granada Screen (2005) Limited (1)(a)
UK
Granada Television Limited (1)(a)
UK
Granada Television Overseas Limited (1)(a)
UK
Granada UK Rental and Retail Limited (1)(a)(e)
UK
Harlots 2 Limited (1)(a)
UK
Harlots 3 Limited (1)(a)
UK
Harlots Limited (1)(a)
Interactive Telephony Limited (1)(a)
UK
International Television Enterprises London Limited (1)(a)(d) UK
UK
ITC Distribution (1)(a)
UK
ITC Entertainment Group Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITC Entertainment Holdings Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV (HC) Limited* (1)(a)
UK
ITV (Scotland) Limited (20)(a)
UK
ITV 112 Limited (9)(a)
UK
ITV AdVentures Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV Alder Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV Barking Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV Border Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV Breakfast Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV Central Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV Channels Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV DC Trustee Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV Digital Holdings Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV Duneen Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV Enterprises Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV Global Content Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV Holdings Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV International Channels Limited (1)(a)
UK
ITV Investments Limited* (1)(a)
UK
ITV LTVC (Scotland) Limited (20)(a)
UK
ITV Meridian Limited (1)(a)
% Holding
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
% Holding
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
256
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Company Name
ITV Mr Selfridge Limited (1)(a)
ITV News Channel Limited (1)(a)(k)
ITV Nightingale Limited (1)(a)
ITV Nolly Limited (1)(a)
ITV Pension Scheme Limited (1)(a)(b)
ITV Productions Limited (1)(a)
ITV Properties (Developments) Limited (1)(a)
ITV Ralph and Katie Limited (1)(a)
ITV Shetland Limited (1)(a)
ITV Sport Channel Limited (1)(a)
ITV Spy Limited (1)(a)
ITV Studios (Israel) Limited (1)(a)
ITV Supplementary Pension Scheme Limited (1)(a)
ITV Text Santa Limited (1)(a)
ITV TFG Holdings Limited (1)(a)
ITV The Bay Limited (1)(a)
ITV The Reckoning Limited (1)(a)
ITV TLC Limited (1)(a)
ITV Top Class Limited (1)(a)
ITV Ventures Limited (1)(a)
ITV Vera Limited (1)(a)
ITV Wales & West Group Limited (1)(a)
ITV Wales & West Limited (1)(a)
ITV Y&M Limited (1)(a)
ITV3 Limited (1)(a)
ITV4 Limited (1)(a)
Juice Music UK Limited (1)(a)
London News Network (1)(a)
London Weekend Television Limited (1)(a)
LWT (Holdings) Limited (1)(a)(c)
Mammoth Screen (ABC) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (ATTWN) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (BHR) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (End) Ltd (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (End2) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (End5) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (End6) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (End7) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (End8) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (Evans) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (Invisible) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (MD2) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (Monroe) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (NC) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (OBI) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (PH) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (Pol2) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (Pol3) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (Pol4) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (Pol5) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (Poldark) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (QV) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (Serpent) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (SG) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (TJ) Limited (25)(a)
Mammoth Screen (Tower) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (VF) Ltd (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (Vic3) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (WFTP) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (WOF) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen (WOTW) Limited (1)(a)
Mammoth Screen Ltd (1)(a)
Metavision Limited (1)(a)
Millbank Studios (1)(a)
Monumental Television Limited (1)(a)
Morning TV Limited (1)(a)
Moving Picture Company Films Limited (1)(a)
MT Ghosts 2 Limited (1)(a)
MT Ghosts Limited (1)(a)
MT Mrs Sidhu Limited (1)(a)
MT Murder in Provence Limited (1)(a)
New Providence Productions Limited (1)(a)
Pickwick Packaging Limited (1)(a)
Planet Woo Limited
Country
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
% Holding
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
Country
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
Australia
Australia
Australia
Australia
Australia
Australia
Australia
Australia
Australia
Australia
Australia
Cayman
Islands
Denmark
Denmark
Finland
Fiji
France
France
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Germany
Guernsey
Company Name
Second Act (Grace) Limited (1)(a)
Second Act Productions Limited (1)(a)
Sightseers Film Limited (1)(a)
So Television Limited (1)(a)
The Addressable Platform Limited
The CITV Channel Limited (1)(a)
The Garden Productions Limited (1)(a)
TwoFour Broadcast Limited (3)(a)
Twofour Group Holdings Limited (1)(a)
TwoFour Group Limited (3)(a)
UTV Limited (24)(a)
UTV Pension Scheme Limited (24)(a)
VOD Member (ITVA) Limited (1)(a)
VOD Member (ITVB) Limited (1)(a)
Westcountry Television Limited (1)(a)
World of Sport Wrestling Limited (1)(a)
WP Malpractice Limited (1)(a)
WP RM Limited (1)(a)
Yorkshire Television Limited (1)(a)
Zebedee Productions Limited (1)(a)
Artist Services Cable Pty Ltd (26)(a)
Artist Services Investments Pty Limited (26)(a)
Artist Services Productions Pty Ltd (26)(a)
Granada Media International (Australia) Pty Ltd (26)(a)
Granada Media Investments (Australia) Pty Ltd (26)(a)
Granada Productions Pty Ltd (26)(a)
ITV Services Pty Ltd (26)(a)
ITV Studios Australia Pty Limited (26)(a)
ITV Studios Global Distribution Pty Limited (26)(a)
ITV SVOD Australia Pty Limited (26)(a)
Totally Full Frontal Productions Pty Limited (26)(a)
ITV Holdings (Cayman) Limited (27)(a)
ITV Studios Denmark Holdings Aps (73)(a)
United Productions ApS (74)(a)
ITV Studios Finland Oy (40)(a)
Granada (Fiji) Pte Ltd. (48)(a)
ITV Studios France Holdings SAS (64)(a)
ITV Studios TV France (64)(a)
ITV Studios Germany GmbH (28)(a)
Bildergarten Entertainment Verwaltungs GmbH (55)(a)
Bildergarten Infotainment GmbH (55)(a)
ITV Studios Germany Fiction GmbH (55)(a)
ITV Studios Germany Holdings GmbH (28)(a)
Windlight Pictures GmbH (44)(a)
Elecrent Insurance Limited (21)(a)
ITV Studios Global Distribution (Hong Kong) Limited (58)(a) Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Talpa China Limited (57)(a)
Israel
Armoza International Media Ltd (56)(a)
Jersey
Channel Television Limited (22)(a)
Jersey
ITV London Properties Limited (23)(a)
Jersey
ITV Properties (Jersey) Limited (23)(a)
Netherlands
April, May en June BV (46)(a)
Netherlands
Global Music & Talent Agency B.V. (41)(a)
Netherlands
ITV (Europe) Holdings B.V.* (41)(a)
Netherlands
ITV Studios Global Entertainment B.V. (41)(a)
Netherlands
ITV Studios Netherlands B.V. (42)(a)
Netherlands
ITV Studios Netherlands Content B.V. (42)(a)
Netherlands
ITV Studios Netherlands Drama B.V. (43)(a)
Netherlands
ITV Studios Netherlands Holding B.V. (43)(a)
Netherlands
Stitchting ‘Derdengelden’ TV Producties (41)(a)
Norway
ITV Studios Norway AS (70)(a)
Norway
ITV Studios Norway Vest AS (70)(a)
Singapore
ITV GE (Asia) Pte Limited (77)(a)
Spain
ITV Studios Spain SL (78)(a)
Sweden
ITV Studios Sweden AB (59)(a)
Sweden
ITV Studios Sweden Drama AB (59)(a)
Sweden
ITV Studios Scandinavia Holdings AB (59)(a)
Switzerland
ITV Studios Germany GmbH, Köln, Zweigniederlassung
Zürich (60)(m)
ALB1819 Productions Inc. (30)(j)
Cardinal Productions of Ohio, Inc. (30)(j)
Carlton Media Company, Inc. (30)(j)
Cranktown Productions Inc. (30)(j)
USA
USA
USA
USA
% Holding
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
257
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportFinancial Statements | List of subsidiaries continued
Company Name
Critical Productions Inc (30)(j)
Electric Farm Entertainment Holdings Inc. (30)(j)
Feeding Time Productions, LLC (34)(h
Fourth State Productions Inc (35) (j)
Gear Shop Inc. (30)(j)
Grafting 101, Inc. (30)(h)
Granada Cracker US Productions (32)(j)
Granada Television International, Inc. (30)(j)
Gurney Productions, LLC (32)(h)
GWC Enterprises Inc. (30)(j)
Hamdon Entertainment, Inc. (30)(j)
High Noon Group, LLC (33)(h)
High Noon Productions, LLC (33)(h)
ITC Distribution, LLC (30)(h)
ITC Entertainment Group, Inc (30)(j)
ITC Films, LLC (30)(h)
ITC Productions, LLC (30)(h)
ITV Bedrock Holding, Inc. (30)(h)
ITV Believe Holding, Inc. (30)(j)
ITV Blumhouse Holding Inc (30)(j)
ITV Diga Holding, Inc (30)(j)
ITV Entertainment Services Inc.( 30)(j)
ITV Gurney Holding Inc. (30)(j)
ITV HN Holding Inc. (30)(j)
ITV International Corporation (30)(j)
ITV Leftfield Holding Inc. (30)(j)
ITV New Form Holding Inc. (30)(j)
ITV NewTV Holding Inc. (30)(j)
ITV Popco Holding Inc. (30)(j)
ITV Southpoint Holding Inc (30)(j)
ITV Studios America Inc. (30)(j)
ITV Studios, Inc. (32)(j)
ITV Studios The Voice USA, Inc. (32)(j)
ITV SVOD Holding Inc. (30)(j)
ITV Thinkfactory Holding Inc. (30)(j)
ITV Tomorrow Holding, Inc. (30)(j)
ITV US Holdings, Inc. (30)(j)
JB Entertainment Holding Company, Inc. (30)(j)
Kirkstall Road Enterprises, Inc. (30)(j)
Krewed Inc (30)(j)
Leftfield Entertainment, LLC (30)(h)
Leftfield Pictures of NY Holdings, LLC (30)(h)
Leftfield Pictures of NY, LLC (30)(h)
Leftfield Ventures, LLC (30)(h)
Loud Television, LLC (30)(h)
LWT Enterprises Inc. (30)(j)
Marriage Boot Camp Reality Stars, LLC (30)(h)
Moving Pictures Services Inc. (30)(j)
Outpost Entertainment LLC, (30)(h)
Over the Pond Productions, Inc. (30)(j)
Post 460 Inc (30)(j)
Quay Street Enterprises, Inc. (30)(j)
Sandia Pictures Inc (30)(j)
Sirens Media, LLC (30)(h)
Solowe Productions Inc (30)(j)
Southsquare Productions Inc. (30)(j)
Thinkfactory Group, LLC (30)(h)
Thinkfactory Media, LLC (30)(h)
Trailer Park Productions, Inc (30)(j)
Upper Ground Enterprises, Inc. (30))(j)
Country
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
% Holding
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
258
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Other subsidiaires, joint ventures, associates and other
significant holdings
Company Name
Absolutely Rights Limited (6)(f)
That Mitchell and Webb Company Limited (7)(a)
Live Tech Games Limited (78)(a)(e)
Route 24 Limited (17)(a)
Clearcast Limited (11)(a)
DTV Services Limited (13)(a)
Genial Productions Limited (39)( a)
Koska Limited (53)(a)
South Shore Productions Limited (54) (a)
Cirkus International Limited (10)(a)
Thinkbox TV Limited (16)(a)
Digital UK Trading Limited (13)(a)
Freesat (UK) Limited (14)(a)
Independent Television News Limited (15)(a)
Malacara Limited (5)(a)
BritBox International Limited (81)(a)
British Film-Makers Limited (1)(a)
Denipurna Limited (1)(a)
Digital 3 and 4 Limited (12)(a)
Noho Film and Television Limited (18)(a)
Standard Music Limited (19)(a)
Tell Me Everything Limited (18)(a)
Possessed Limited (1)(a)
3sixtymedia Limited (1)(a)
OSF (Wales) Limited (5)(a)
Oxford Scientific Films Limited (5)(a)
BritBox SVOD Limited (1)(a)
Age Before Beauty Limited (4)(a)
Gold Digger Productions Limited (4)(a)
Mainstreet Pictures Limited (4)(a)
Unforgotten 2 Limited (4)(a)
Unforgotten 3 Limited (4)(a)
Unforgotten Productions Limited (4)(a)
World Productions Limited (1)(a)
World Productions (Northern Ireland) Limited (1)(a)
WP Anne Limited (1)(a)
WP Bodyguard Limited (1)(a)
WP Diplomat Limited (1)(a)
WP Faslane Limited (1)(a)
WP Karen Pirie Limited (1)(a)
WP LOD5 Limited (1)(a)
WP LOD6 Limited (1)(a)
WP Pembrokeshire Limited (1)(a
WP Save Me 2 Limited (1)(a)
WP Showtrial Limited (1)(a)
WP The Suspect Limited (1)(a)
GC Films Pty Limited (26)(a)
Britbox Australia Management Pty Limited (38)(a)
Apple Tree Productions ApS (75)(a)
15.15 Productions (71)(a)
Beaubourg Fiction (72)(a)
Beaubourg Stories (72)(a)
SCI MD 60 (51)(a)
Gedesel (52)(a)
Funny Corp (51)(a)
Macondo Productions Audiovisueles (51)(a)
Tetra Media Fiction (51)(a)
Shoot Again Productions (51)(a)
Beaubourg Audiovisuel (72)(a)
Phara Prod International (51)(a)
Tangaro (51)(a)
Tetra Media Studios SAS (51)(a)
ITV Studios France SAS (64)(a)
Imago TV Film und Fernsehproduktion GmbH (29)(a)
Think Cattleya Srl (37)(a)
Radio Cattleya Srl (37)(a)
Cattleya Srl (37)(a)
Cattleya International Srl (37)(a)
Cattleya Producciones SL (37)(a)
Appletree Productions AB (59)(a)
Maximum Media Production FZ-LLC (63)(a)
Country
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
Australia
Australia
Denmark
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
France
Germany
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Spain
Sweden
UAE
% Holding
20
20
20.6
24.9
25
25
25
25
25
28
28.58
33
33
40
49
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
51
80
85
85
89
90
90
90
90
90
90
93.5
93.5
93.5
93.5
93.5
93.5
93.5
93.5
93.5
93.5
93.5
93.5
93.5
49
50
51
32.52
32.52
32.52
32.52
32.52
33.17
33.17
50.7
61.79
65.04
65.04
65.04
65.04
96.875
90
30.5
61
61
51
51
51
88.2
Company Name
ITV Studios Arabia Holding Ltd (63)(a)
ITV Studios Middle East FZ-LLC (63)(a)
ITV Studios Lebanon S.A.R.L (80)(a)
Tomorrow Friends LLC (30)(h)
Bedrock Entertainment LLC (30)(h)
Southrock Productions LLC (30)(h)
Britbox, LLC (36)(h)
Blumhouse TV Holdings LLC (30)(h)
Circle of Confusion Television Studios LLC (30)(h)
South Circle Productions LLC (30)(h)
BB Rights, LLC (30)(h)
Jaffe/Braunstein Entertainment, LLC (31)(h)
Tomorrow Studios LLC (30)(h)
Next Steps Productions, LLC (30)(h)
Country
UAE
UAE
Lebanon
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
USA
% Holding
90
90.2
88.88
25
40
40
40.5
45
49
49
50
51
58.32
75
Memberships, Partnerships and Companies Limited by Guarantee
Company Name
ITV LTVC Scottish Limited Partnership (68)(h)**
ITV Scottish Limited Partnership (68)(h)**
Digital Production Partnership Limited (1)(i)
Producers Rights Agency Limited (66)(i)
DTT Multiplex Operators Limited (67)(i)
Digital UK Limited (13)(i)
Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board Limited(8)(i)
Futureflip Entertainment India LLP (69)(h)
The Lab Television 2013 Limited Partnership (61)(a)
The Lab Television Limited (61)(a)
Country
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
UK
India
Israel
Israel
% Holding
100
100
50
50
25
33
20.6
100
50
50
259
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic ReportFinancial Statements | List of subsidiaries continued
2 Waterhouse Square, 140 Holborn, London, EC1N 2AE, United Kingdom
218 Penarth Road, Cardiff, CF11 8NN, United Kingdom
Twofour Studios, Estover, Plymouth, Devon, PL6 7RG, United Kingdom
Kingsbourne House, 229–231 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7DA, United Kingdom
Address key
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5) Gloworks, Porth Teigr Way, Cardiff, Wales, CF10 4GA, United Kingdom
(6)
18 The Glasshouse Studios, Fryern Court Road, Fordingbridge, Hampshire,
SP6 1NG, United Kingdom
26 Nassau Street, London, W1W 7AQ, United Kingdom
(7)
(8) 3rd Floor, 20 Orange Street, London WC2H 7EF
(9) Orange Tower, Media City UK, Salford M50 2HF
(10) The Met Building, 22 Percy Street, London, W1T 2BU, United Kingdom
(11) 4 Roger Street, 2nd Floor, London, WC1X 2JX, United Kingdom
(12)
124 Horseferry Road, London, SW1P 2TX, United Kingdom
(13) Fieldfisher Riverbank House, Swan Lane, London, England, EC4R 3TT
(14) 23-24 Newman Street, London, W1T 1PJ, United Kingdom
(15) 200 Gray’s Inn Road, London, WC1X 8HF, United Kingdom
(16) Manning House, 22 Carlisle Place, London, SW1P 1JA, United Kingdom
(17) 325-327 Oldfield Lane North, Greenford, Middlesex, United Kingdom, UB6 0FX
(18) 3rd Floor 20-22 Berkeley Square, London, United Kingdom, W1J 6EQ
(19) Roundhouse, 212 Regent’s Park Road, London, NW1 8AW, United Kingdom
Quartermile One, 15 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH3 9EP,
(20)
United Kingdom
(21) PO Box 230, Heritage Hall, Le Merchant Street, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 4JH
(22) Le Capelain House, Castle Quay, St. Helier, JE2 3EH, Jersey
(23) Ogier House, The Esplanade, St. Helier, JE4 9WG, Jersey
(24) City Quays 2, 8th Floor, 2 Clarendon Road, Belfast, BT1 3YD, United Kingdom
(25)
Office 306, Forsyth House, Cromac Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT2 8LA,
United Kingdom
Level 5, Building 61, Fox Studios Australia, 38 Driver Avenue, Moore Park NSW
2021, Australia
Ocorian Trust (Cayman) Limited, Windward 3, Regatta Office Park, PO Box 1350,
Grand Cayman KY1-1108, Cayman Islands
(26)
(27)
(28) Agrippastraße, 87-93, 50676, Köln, Germany
(29) Keplerstrasse 4-6, 10589, Berlin, Germany
(30)
The Corporation Trust Company, Corporate Trust Center, 1209 Orange Street,
Wilmington, Newcastle, DE 19801, USA
(31) 321 Southern Beverly Drive, Suite M, Beverly Hills, CA 90212, USA
(32)
CT Corporation System, 818 West Seventh Street, Suite 930, Los Angeles, CA
90017, USA
(73) DLA Piper Denmark, Radhuspladsen 4, 1550 Kobenhavn V, Denmark
(74) Finsensvej 6E, 2000, Frederiksberg, Denmark
(75) Aumento Advokatfirma, Ny Osteragde 3,4, 1101, Kobenhavn, Denmark
(76) 120 West 3rd Avenue #201, Vancouver BC V5Y 1E9, Canada
(77) 101c Telok Ayer Street, Singapore 068574
(78) Calle Velaquaz 18, 6-D, 28001 Madrid, Spain
(79) 3 Kings Brook Close, Rempstone, Loughborough, England, LE12 6RR
(80) 9th Floor, Azar Building, Sami Solh Avenue, Beirut, Lebanon
(81) 1 Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, London, United Kingdom, W12 7FA
Special deferred
Redeemable preference
Cumulative preference
Cumulative redeemable preference
Convertible preference
Interest key
(a) Ordinary
(b) Deferred
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h) Membership / Partnership
(i)
(j)
(k)
(l)
(m) Branch
Guarantee
Common
Preference
Part Preference
*
**
Direct subsidiary
Having met the criteria under Regulation 7 of the Partnership (Account)
Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/569) these Limited Partnerships have taken the
exemption to deliver accounts to the Registrar of Companies
(33) The Hodson Law Firm, 1129, East 17th Avenue, Denver, CO 80014, USA
(34)
CT Corporation System, 3867 Plaza Tower Drive East Baton Rouge Parish,
Baton Rouge, LA 70816, USA
CT Corporation System, 289 S. Culver Street, Lawrenceville, GA, 30046-4805,
USA
(35)
(36) 1120 Avenue of Americas, 5th Floor, New York, NY10036, USA
(37) Piazzale Valerio Massimo, 7, 00162, Roma, Italy
(38) Level 1, 35-51 Mitchell Street, McMahons Point, NSW 2060, Australia
(39) 39 Long Acre, London, WC2E 9LG, United Kingdom
(40) Hämeentie 15A, 00500 Helsinki, Finland
(41) Familie de Mollaan 1, 1217 ZB, Hilversum, Netherlands
(42) Koos Postemalaan 8, 1217 ZC, Hilversum, Netherlands
(43) Haarlemmer Houttuinen, 21 1013 GL, Amsterdam, Netherlands
(44) Rumfordstrasse 21a, Munchen, 80469, Germany
(45) Noorderweg 8, 1221 AA, Hilversum, Netherlands
(46) Zevenend 45, 1251 RL, Laren, North Holland, Netherlands
(47) Hollandse Kade 34, 1391JM, Abcoude, Netherlands
(48) Level 3, Pacific House, Butt Street. Suva, Fiji
(49) Westersingel 108, 3015 LD Rotterdam, Netherlands
(50) Keizersgracht 149a, 1015CL, Amsterdam, Netherlands
(51) 60 rue Marcel Dassault, 92100, Boulogne-Billancourt, France
(52) 4 rue de Commaille, 75007, Paris, France
(53)
Jessop House, Jessop Avenue, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom,
GL50 3WG
(54) 210 High Holborn, London, England, WC1V 7HD
(55) Genthiner Strasse 5, 10785 Berlin, Germany
(56) 16 Haarbaa St, Tel Aviv 6473916, Israel
(57) 11/F, Unit B, Winbase Centre, 208 Queen’s Road Central, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
Rooms 517–520, 5th Floor, Sun Hung Kai Centre, 30 Harbour Road, Wan Chai,
(58)
Hong Kong
(59) Soder Malarstrand 65, 11825, Stockholm, Sweden
(60) Scharenmoosstrasse 105, 8052, Zurich, Switzerland
(61) 23 Habarzel Street, Tel Aviv, 69710, Israel
(63) Building 2, Dubai Media City, Dubai, UAE
(64) 12 boulevard des Iles, 92130 Issy-les-Moulineaux, Paris, France
(65) Avenida Cidade de Lisboa, Frente Sucupira, 2° andar, Cidade de Praia, Cape Verde
Fitzrovia House, (3rd Floor), 153-157 Cleveland Street, London, W1T 6QW, United
(66)
Kingdom
(67) 27 Mortimer Street, London, England, W1T 3JF
(68)
C/O Dentons UK and Middle East LLP, Quartermile One 15 Lauriston Place,
Edinburgh, EH3 9EP
#1302, Tower-3, Indiabulls Finance Centre, Senapati Bapat Road, Elphinstone
Road (West), Mumbai, Mumbai City, Maharashtra 40013, India
(69)
(70) Lars Hilles Gate 30, 5008, Bergan, Norway
(71) 10 rue Maître Jacques, 92100 Boulogne, Billancourt, France
(72) 5–7 rue Saint-Augustin, 75002, Paris, France
260
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
Glossary
Active hours – monetisable hours
of content in ITV’s catalogue
Advertiser funded platform – platforms
that include advertising as part of the user
experience e.g. ITV Family of channels, ITVX
Advertising video on demand (AVOD) –
advertiser-funded service where subscribers
have access to a wide range of content
whenever they request it without charge
Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board
(BARB) – organisation owned by
broadcasters and advertisers providing
data on linear and online television viewing
statistics by UK households
Catch up viewing – non-live viewing of
recently broadcast television programmes,
either via a recording device, often called
a personal video recorder (PVR) or digital
video recorder (DVR), such as Sky or through
a Video on Demand service such as the ITVX,
BBC iPlayer, All 4 or My5
Channel 3 licences – the 15 regional
licences and one national licence awarded
to transmit Channel 3 across the UK. All are
owned by ITV except for two of the regional
licences which are owned by STV
FAST channels – Free Ad-supported
Streaming TV services which are curated,
data-driven channels that are always on
with content that evolves and changes
depending on viewer preferences
Free-to-Air (FTA) television – viewing of
television through devices not requiring
a subscription such as the Freeview or
Freesat services
Intellectual Property (IP) – intangible
property that is the result of creativity
Inventory – advertising inventory is the
number of advertisements, or amount of
advertising space, we have available to sell
to advertisers
Impact or Commercial Impact –
one Commercial Impact is defined as
one viewer watching one 30-second
television commercial
ITV Family – the ITV family of channels
which includes ITV main channel, ITV2, ITV3,
ITV4, ITVBe, CITV and all associated +1 and
HD equivalents
Key demographics – ITV monitors viewing
performance across a group of audiences
that constitute the majority of our
targeted advertising revenue. In addition
to individuals and adults, we also consider
16–34-year-olds, ABC1s and house-persons
with children
Linear television – television service where
the viewer has to watch a scheduled TV
programme at the particular time it’s
offered, and on the particular channel
it’s presented on
Monthly Active User (MAU) – the average
number of monthly registered users across
a defined period who accessed ITV owned
and operated on-demand platforms (web,
mobile, or connected TV). This includes ITV’s
AVOD and SVOD services
Net Advertising Revenue (NAR) – the
amount of money received by a broadcaster
as payment for television spot advertising
net of any commission paid to agencies
Non-consolidated licensees – the two
regional channel 3 licences that ITV does
not own. These licences are owned by STV
and revenues received from these licences
for ITV programming content are referred
to as minority revenues
Ofcom – communications regulator in
the UK who regulate the TV, radio and
video-on-demand sectors, fixed-line
telecoms (phones), mobiles and postal
services, plus the airwaves over which
wireless devices operate
SDN – multiplex operator owned by ITV,
which operates one of the eight national
multiplex licences in the UK on Freeview
Share of Commercial Impacts (SOCI) –
the term used to define the share of total
UK television commercial impacts delivered
by one channel or group of channels. This
measure excludes viewing of BBC channels
as they do not generate commercial
impacts. Unless stated otherwise, SOCI
figures cited throughout this report are
based on BARB data and are based on the
universe of Adults (16+)
Share of Viewing (SOV) – the share of the
total viewing audience during a defined
period gained by a programme or channel.
This measure includes viewing of BBC
channels. Unless stated otherwise, SOV
figures cited throughout this report are
based on BARB data and are based on the
universe of individuals
Share of Commercial Viewing (SOCV) –
the share of the total viewing audiences
during a defined period gained by an
ad-supported commercial broadcast
programme or channel in the UK. This
measure excludes the BBC
Simulcast – streaming live TV channels
via a broadcaster’s on-demand service, at
the same time as broadcast on linear TV
Spot advertising – linear television
advertising occupying a short break
during or between programmes
Subscriptions – entitled users of ITV
SVOD services, which includes those who
pay ITV directly, those who are paid for
by an operator, and free triallists
Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) –
a paid for service where subscribers have
access to a wide range of content whenever
they request it
Total Advertising Revenue (TAR) – this
includes ITV Family NAR, online advertising
via the ITV Hub, programme sponsorship
revenue and other affiliated advertising
revenue streams
Total Streaming Hours – the total number
of hours viewers spent watching ITV across
all streaming platforms. This figure includes
both AVOD and SVOD viewing
Video on Demand (VOD) – the ability
to deliver video content to a customer’s
television set, computer or device when
the customer requests it
YouView – a joint venture (with the
BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT, TalkTalk,
and Arqiva) to operate and promote a
hybrid television platform combining
Freeview channels with catch up and
on-demand service
261
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021GovernanceFinancial StatementsAdditional InformationStrategic Report262
ITV plc Annual Report and Accounts 2021
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