ITV's Crozier earns £1.7m in eight months on an ads rally

ITV chief executive Adam Crozier earned almost £1.7 million for just eight months' work as the X Factor broadcaster rode the wave of the advertising recovery last year.

The annual report shows Crozier collected £1.2 million immediately. This included £532,000 in base salary after he joined in April, a £334,000 one-off payment on arrival, and £252,000 in short-term bonus. A further £505,000 in short-term bonus was deferred in shares for three years.

ITV awarded Crozier 95% of his maximum bonus after annual profits trebled to £324 million.

He is another £1 million richer on paper after receiving a free award of four million nil-cost share options, which soared thanks to ITV's rising share price but will only vest after three years.

When Crozier joined, ITV insisted that it had set "stretching" bonus targets but he has been fortunate to arrive as advertising revenues bounced back 16%. It was estimated he could earn as much as £16.8 million if he hits all performance targets over the next five years.

But that sum could increase by over £1 million after a review decided that Crozier can now earn as much as 180% of salary in short-term incentives, rather than 150%.

He is also in line for a further 150% of salary in long-term bonuses. His £775,000-a-year base salary rose 3% from January.