ITV's ratings decline slowed during the first half of the year, according to figures released by the broadcaster yesterday.
It said that the performance of its flagship ITV1 channel had improved after it regained audience share in the afternoons, following the replacement of children's TV with re-runs of drama series such as Inspector Morse.
It also won over audiences with shows such as Britain's Got Talent and drama series Kingdom, starring Stephen Fry, and Primeval, starring Douglas Henshall.
The announcement came as the channel announced a drop in profits, with pre-tax profits falling from £173m last year to £105m in the six months to the end of June.
Michael Grade, executive chairman of ITV, said: "We have seen some encouraging early signs of recovery as ITV1's performance begins to stabilise in the first six months of 2007.
"Ratings decline has slowed and the advertising environment continues to improve."
Mr Grade joined the broadcaster in January after resigning from the post of chairman at the BBC. He has already spent £500m on new programmes since the start of the year.
Britain's Got Talent was the most popular new format across all channels and the final, which was won by opera singer Paul Potts, was watched by 11.6 million people or 45% of the TV audience.
The broadcaster also said it expected further growth in the next six months through programming such as its exclusive screening of the Rugby World Cup and the return of The X Factor and I'm A Celebrity.
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