European TV ads 'to return to growth' with ITV best positioned, says Credit Suisse

27th Apr 2015 11:16

The current year is expected to be the first year of growth in European TV advertising since 2010, according to research by Credit Suisse, with analysts expectations considerably undershooting the industry's optimism.The Swiss bank's proprietary European advertising monitor research on Monday said 2015 was "shaping up to be strong" for the sector, with ITV highlighted as one of the best positioned.A survey of European TV buyers from 14 agencies in the largest five territories in the third week of April, found the industry to be "consistently upbeat", especially in UK and Spain.The main points to take away from the survey are that "buyers are still optimistic that 2015 should mark the first year of growth in TV advertising in all five territories since 2010" and have upgraded their forecasts for 2015 ad growth in three out of the five territories.Credit Suisse also noted that it had seen "the widest gap" between media buyers' forecasts for 2015 and analysts' consensus expectations in the UK and Spain.ITV Family net advertising revenue is expected to grow 6.6% in 2015, the bank said, versus a consensus analyst forecast of 4.7%."Spain and UK still show greatest short and long term upside potential," Credit Suisse said, with its survey suggesting strong near-term upside risks for ITV and Mediaset España in Spain.It said it expected ITV to benefit from cyclical advertising recovery, the potential for re-transmission fees, its potential as a takeover candidate and upside from its ITV Studios production arm.It has a 290p price target for ITV.