LONDON: British broadcaster ITV on Wednesday posted record revenues for June thanks to an advertising boost during the Euros 2020 football tournament.
For the first six months of the year, ITV net profit surged to £98 million ($136 million, 115 million euros) from £19 million one year earlier, it added.
“Our first-half results demonstrate that ITV is emerging from the worst effects of the pandemic,” group chief executive Carolyn McCall said in the earnings statement.
“We are optimistic about the future, despite the ongoing pandemic risk on our... revenues,” she added.
ITV said it delivered its largest advertising revenues for the month of June as Britain eased virus restrictions that coincided with the Euros.
England, Scotland and Wales all participated at the delayed Euros that took part across Europe.
The final in London saw England lose to Italy.
“The Euros were like a mega hit series, helping the broadcaster pull in the biggest revenues for the month of June in its history, even as the tournament was in the early stages,” said Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“ITV is trying to play catch up in the streaming world, with some success,” she added.
ITV, along with state broadcaster the BBC and other channels in the UK, launched streaming service BritBox in late 2019 that offers mainly repeats of hit British shows and films.
“The number of subscribers pales into comparison with the likes of Netflix or Disney+... but the cachet of BritBox does appear to be a niche attraction,” Streeter added Wednesday.
UK broadcaster ITV scores with Euros advertising boost
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UK broadcaster ITV scores with Euros advertising boost
- Britain's ITV boosted its revenues for June thanks to advertisements during the Euros 2020 football tournament
Bondi Beach attack hero says wanted to protect ‘innocent people’
DUBAI: Bondi Beach shooting hero Ahmed Al Ahmed recalled the moment he ran toward one of the attackers and wrenched his shotgun away, saying the only thing he had in mind was to stop the assailant from “killing more innocent people.”
Al-Ahmad’s heroism was widely acclaimed in Australia when he tackled and disarmed gunman Sajid Akram who fired at Jewish people attending a Hanukkah event on December 14, killing 15 people and wounding dozens.
“My target was just to take the gun from him, and to stop him from killing a human being’s life and not killing innocent people,” he told CBS News in an interview on Monday.
“I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry for the lost.”
In footage viewed by millions of people, Al Ahmed was seen ducking between parked cars as the shooting unfolded, then wresting a gun from one of the assailants.
He was shot several times in the shoulder as a result and underwent several rounds of surgery.
“I jumped in his back, hit him and … hold him with my right hand and start to say a word like, you know, to warn him, ‘Drop your gun, stop doing what you’re doing’,” Al Ahmed said.
“I don’t want to see people killed in front of me, I don’t want to see blood, I don’t want to hear his gun, I don’t want to see people screaming and begging, asking for help,” Al Ahmed told the television network.
“That’s my soul asked me to do that, and everything in my heart, and my brain, everything just worked, you know, to manage and to save the people’s life,” he said.
EXCLUSIVE: Ahmed al Ahmed, the man hailed as a hero for tackling one of the gunmen behind an antisemitic attack on Australia's Bondi Beach earlier this month, is speaking out in the aftermath of the massacre.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) December 28, 2025
"I know I saved lots, but I feel sorry still for the lost." pic.twitter.com/gFUfJvv7c6
Al Ahmed was at the beach getting a cup of coffee when the shooting occurred.
He is a father of two who emigrated to Australia from Syria in 2007, and works as a fruit seller.
Local media reported that the Australian government has fast-tracked and granted a number of visas for Al Ahmed’s family following his act of bravery.
“Ahmed has shown the courage and values we want in Australia,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.
One of the gunmen, Sajid Akram, 50, was shot and killed by police during the attack. An Indian national, he entered Australia on a visa in 1998.
His 24-year-old son Naveed, an Australian-born citizen, remains in custody on charges including terrorism and 15 murders, as well as committing a “terrorist act” and planting a bomb with intent to harm.
(with AFP)
