It was a rough morning for Piers Morgan — and not so great for his employer, either.
But first to Morgan, the abrasive broadcaster who has butted heads on both sides of the Atlantic. Morgan has been under fire for his unsparing criticism of Meghan Markle following the Oprah Winfrey interview, which aired in the U.K. on Monday night after appearing on U.S. television on Sunday.
Morgan on Monday said he didn’t “believe a word she said,” adding “I wouldn’t believe it if she read me a weather report.”
On the “Good Morning Britain” program, fellow broadcaster Alex Beresford said Morgan doesn’t like the fact that Markle stopped talking to him. “She’s entitled to cut you off if she wants to,” Beresford said. That is a reference to Morgan’s own description of his very brief connection to the Duchess of Sussex, in which the two met for friendly drinks, and then Markle never talked to him again.
Morgan then stormed off the set.
Shares of ITV ITV, +2.30%, which airs “Good Morning Britain” and showed the Oprah interview, fell as much as 6% before turning higher after midday. ITV reported its 2020 adjusted earnings per share slumped 22% on a 16% drop in revenue. ITV also said it would wait to resume dividend payments.
ITV is expecting a better 2021 — it expects advertising revenue to be up 8% in March, and up as much as 75% in April as most of its programs are now back in production. ITV said it is counting on programs including the delayed Euro 2020 soccer tournament and the return of “Love Island” to boost advertising demand.
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