British broadcaster Carlton Communications said today the advertising market showed signs of improvement in its first quarter to end-December.
However, the firm, which has agreed to a takeover bid by rival Granada, repeated that it expected the following months to be challenging, although it remains to be seen how the advertising markets react to the conflict in Iraq.
The firm told the annual shareholders' meeting that advertising revenue at its ITV1 channel in the first six months of its year were expected to be similar to the same period last year.