Share tip of the week: ambitious TV giant

An exclusive deal with a fellow media giant provides a good reason to both watch and back this TV giant, says Paul Hill.

ITV moved back to the black in 2010, thanks to stringent cost controls and a recovering market. Not only did new CEO Adam Crozier and chairman Archie Norman report an 18% increase in advertising sales, they also sharply cut net debt. But this could be just the start.

ITV has 50 years experience of making top-flight programmes and possesses an immense back catalogue of quality shows. These include Coronation Street, The X-Factor and Champions League Football, which will continue to draw in vast audiences and can be sold around the world. Despite enjoying a 22.7% share of Britain's viewers, the firm generates next to nothing from online and pay-per-view commercials markets worth £5.7bn and £3.2bn respectively. Indeed, these opportunities dwarf the stagnant £3bn terrestrial advertising space.

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Paul gained a degree in electrical engineering and went on to qualify as a chartered management accountant. He has extensive corporate finance and investment experience and is a member of the Securities Institute.

Over the past 16 years Paul has held top-level financial management and M&A roles for blue-chip companies such as O2, GKN and Unilever. He is now director of his own capital investment and consultancy firm, PMH Capital Limited.

Paul is an expert at analysing companies in new, fast-growing markets, and is an extremely shrewd stock-picker.