ITV has announced a significant new partnership with YouTube, marking a strategic move to broaden its digital reach and provide viewers with greater access to its extensive library of programming. The collaboration will allow ITV to join YouTube’s partner programme, making hundreds of hours of its popular shows available on the platform, while also opening up new advertising opportunities.
Under this deal, ITV’s commercial team will manage advertising sales for all ITV and ITV Studios content on YouTube, encompassing a wide array of shows, including fan favorites such as I’m A Celebrity, An Audience With Kylie, and Love Island. The move is designed to offer viewers more ways to watch ITV content, complementing the network’s offerings on ITVX and its traditional channels.
ITV plans to launch genre-specific channels for news, sport, daytime shows like This Morning and Loose Women, and show-specific offerings for programs like Love Island. Additionally, ITV will be curating a variety of content, including clips, compilations, and fan-focused material tailored for the YouTube audience. Seasonal uploads and archived gems from the ITV vaults will also be part of the mix.
The partnership also enables ITV to control the advertising around its produced and commissioned content on YouTube. ITV Studios’ newly established digital content label, Zoo 55, will oversee ITV’s YouTube presence, handling major channels like The Graham Norton Show and The Voice Global. Abul Noor, formerly of Channel 4, will head ITV’s new YouTube sales team, offering advertisers targeted campaigns by show, genre, demographic, and device type.
Kevin Lygo, Managing Director of ITV Media and Entertainment, emphasized the strategic importance of this partnership, stating, “This partnership is part of our continuing strategic approach to maximise reach and viewing opportunities for audiences, wherever they choose to watch.”
Kelly Williams, Managing Director of ITV Commercial, added, “Working with YouTube provides our advertisers with even more ways to engage with audiences in premium brand-safe content from the nation’s best loved TV shows.”
Alison Lomax, Managing Director of YouTube UK & Ireland, expressed her enthusiasm, noting, “ITV is one of the UK’s most beloved TV broadcasters and is home to a hugely diverse range of content. So we are thrilled to be strengthening our partnership.”
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