Adam Crozier to receive £620,000 "golden hello" for joining ITV

Mr Crozier will earn a basic salary of £775,000. In addition he will receive £620,000 in cash and shares for taking over the company and may pocket another £2.3 million in stock should he meet a number of performance goals over the next three years.

The outgoing CEO of ITV, Michael Grade, has also received a substantial payout. Last year Mr Grade received a bonus of £1.2 million in addition to his salary of £825,000. Mr Grade is also to receive £167,000 for the final four months of his contract.

ITV made a profit of £25 million in 2009, following a loss of £2.7 billion in the previous year.

By 11:24 shares in ITV were down 0.37 per cent to 54.55 pence per share. There is speculation that a possible future Conservative government could do away with tough rules on advertising that have been hampering the company, thus boosting the company’s prospects.