IBC365 recounts the standout company results in the media and broadcast industry.
ITV beats expectations
ITV’s annual results revealed earnings were ahead of expectations, driven by revenue growth in the second half of 2019.
Revenues grew 3% to £3.3bn last year, while pre-tax profit fell 7% to £530m.
ITV Studios saw growth in all areas, but the company noted a particularly strong performance in ITV Studios US and ITV Studios International.
Chief executive Carolyn McCall said the broadcaster delivered a good performance in 2019 despite the uncertain economic and political environment.
- Read more: “Trust” is key for ITV, says McCall
Sky’s first full year results under Comcast
Sky has continued to increase revenues, as revealed in its full year 2019 earnings report. Results showed a resilient performance of Sky’s direct-to-consumer and content businesses, helping to offset an otherwise disappointing drop in advertising income.
Sky posted revenue of £17.7 billion and now boasts 24 million customers across Europe.
Sky recently announced extended distribution deals with Netflix and WarnerMedia, plus the integration of Disney+, adding to its content proposition and will likely protect from revenue losses for the coming future.
- Read more: Sky inks multi-year deal for Disney+
- Read more: Sky takes the fight to streamer rivals
Roku revenue climbed by almost half
Streaming media player and platform company Roku reported sales of $411.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, beating expectations.
A 71% increase in advertising and services helped to boost revenues, while 4.6 million active subscribers newly joined in the fourth quarter.
For 2020, Roku expects a net loss of $160 million to $180 million, saying it will remain in investment mode and target to break even.
- Read more: Will the 2020s be the AVOD decade?
Alphabet discloses YouTube revenues
Google parent Alphabet revealed YouTube’s revenues seperately in a first time move. It was reported that YouTube generated $15.1 billion in ad revenue in 2019 and $4.7 billion last quarter.
The video platform’s ads business saw 36% growth from the previous year, well below what many analysts estimated. While the tech giant has consistently said YouTube is a major source of growth, it hadn’t broken out details until these results.
The company also gave numbers for its growing Google Cloud business, which did $8.9 billion in revenue in 2019.
- Read more: Interview: John Honeycutt, Google Cloud
Google’s total revenue last quarter was $46.1 billion, short of expectations. It’s also missed on operating income ($9.3 billion in Q4) for nine of the last 10 quarters.
Digital TV decrease affects The Kudelski Group revenue
Digital security company The Kudelski Group reported a decrease in operating income from $919.7 million to $827.3 million, citing the decline in its the Digital TV segment reflecting the trend seen in emerging markets.
Cyber security revenues shifted from lower margin technology reselling to higher margin advisory services, managed security services and proprietary technology sales. IoT generated marginal revenues as the segment’s primary focus continues to be the development of a secure IoT platform solution for the market.
The Group booked a $38.6 million net loss for 2019. For 2020, the Group expects the revenue erosion in the Digital TV segment to taper off, as the subscriber churn at established pay TV operators is slowing down and the Group will continue to benefit from multiyear contracts with large pay TV customers
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