ITV has hit its biggest slump in almost 10 years as it heads into the busy festive period.

It reports that advertisers have been cautious across the board in 2016, particularly in the wake of the uncertainty provoked by the UK's decision to leave the EU.

Advertising revenue fell by 4% in the third quarter - while it dipped by 1% across the first nine months of the year.

The company predicts a further 7% fall in its final quarter - this would be the biggest decline since it reported a 9% year-on-year revenue dip in the final quarter of 2008.

It is predicting an overall 3% dip in advertising revenue for the full year.

ITV chief executive, Adam Crozier commented, "In recent weeks the political and economic uncertainty has increased and we are currently seeing more cautious behaviour by advertisers.

"Our strong on screen performance and continued ability to deliver mass audiences gives us the confidence that based upon the deals we have done we will also outperform our estimate of the TV ad market in 2017," he continued.

The company hopes to deliver growth by developing original programming which will appeal to international audiences, stating that it has a "strong content pipeline" heading into 2017.

"We remain committed to our strategy of rebalancing and strengthening ITV and building a global content business of scale and we see clear opportunities to continue to invest for further growth across the business both organically and through acquisitions," Mr Crozier concluded.