Brexit Saga Turns Democracy Into the ‘X-Factor’, Says ITV CEO McCall

(Bloomberg) -- ITV Plc Chief Executive Officer Carolyn McCall said the saga of Brexit has briefly turned Parliamentary democracy into something more akin to a hit reality TV show.

“For much of the year, some of the best drama on TV has been delivered by the news,” McCall said at the Royal Television Society’s annual media convention in Cambridge. “The Brexit saga briefly turned Parliamentary democracy into the X Factor, with all the requisite elements: eliminations, walkouts, deadlock, even a judges’ vote.”

Shares in ITV, Britain’s biggest free-to-air commercial broadcaster, have declined about 43% since the June 2016 Brexit referendum, with political and economic uncertainty hitting advertising spending.

“We still don’t know what Britain’s future relationship will be with Europe and the rest of the world,” McCall said. “The macro political environment is even more unpredictable.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Mayes in London at jmayes9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Thomas Pfeiffer at tpfeiffer3@bloomberg.net, Jennifer Ryan, Frank Connelly

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