ITV sells Friends Reunited as it sinks further into the red
ITV today sold social-networking website Friends Reunited to DC Thomson, publisher of the Beano comic, for £25 million, on the same day the broadcaster reported a £105 million pre-tax loss for the six months to June 30.
Britain's largest free-to-air broadcaster went deeper into the red as the recession saw advertisers cut back on spending.
Net advertising revenues slumped by 15%, down £108 million on last year's takings, but ITV said the rate of decline had slowed in the second half as advertising stabilised.
Even Susan Boyle's Britain's Got Talent performance couldn't help the broadcaster avoid a loss. The show reached a peak audience of nearly 20 million viewers, making it the highest rating non-sports programme on TV in six years. ITV's £105 million pre-tax loss compares with a £1.5 billion loss in the same period of 2008, but that figure included a one-off £1.6 billion charge that reduced the value of investments made in 2000 and 2004.
The broadcaster said UK television advertising suffered "its worst year-on-year decline on record over the first half".
It slashed costs by £57 million over the first half and said it plans to save £98 million more over the full year.
The Friends Reunited sale is hugely discounted: ITV paid £120 million for the website in 2005, and was due to pay a further £50 million this year depending on performance. It put the site up for sale in February as part of a sale of assets to raise funds.
The division of DC Thomson that bought the site, Brightsolid, already owns findmypast.com, which operates the official 1901 and 1911 census websites.
