ITV leads fightback against US stre21 Jul 2018 11:54
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/itv-leads-fightback-against-us-streaming-giants-965g0xv33
ITV leads fightback against US streaming giants
The new chief executive of ITV is set to outline a plan to create a British challenger to Netflix and Amazon Video.
Dame Carolyn McCall is expected to shed light on how ITV and its peers can combat the growing power of the American streaming groups. The former Easyjet boss, who joined ITV in January, has held talks with the BBC and Channel 4 over creating a subscription-based, video-on-demand service. Under the plans, viewers would be charged a monthly fee for watching the broadcasters’ roster of scheduled programmes, as well as vintage shows from their back catalogues.
Britain’s biggest free-to-air broadcaster also could strike out on its own, adding extra layers of content to the ITV Hub online platform. Dame Carolyn will detail her streaming strategy next Wednesday, alongside results for the first half of the year. England’s run to the semi-final in Russia may have boosted ITV’s annual advertising revenues by as much as £25 million, according to analysts.
Traditional broadcasters are bolstering their digital offerings as a defence against the giant American streaming platforms and in response to changes in how Britons are watching television. Netflix has 9.1 million British subscribers, while Amazon Video is available in 4.8 million homes, according to figures from Barb, the research body. Yet though the streaming players threaten to snatch viewers away from free-to-air broadcasters, their emergence also has been a boon to ITV, according to sources. The company charges large fees for licencing its programmes to Netflix and Amazon, while its studios business produces some of their content. A potentially larger threat comes from YouTube and other free video platforms, which are commanding more of younger people’s attention. According to a recent Ofcom report, those aged 16 to 34 spend 46 per cent of their viewing time on content made by public service broadcasters, compared with 71 per cent for the television audience as a whole. ITV still produces shows, such as Love Island, that resonate with the generation that grew up with a smartphone in its hands, but the broadcaster wants to do more to remain relevant and is expected to overhaul the ITV Hub. ITV could add extra features, such as creating a curated list of programmes for its users. In future, data on viewing habits could be used to inform commissioning decisions. The Hub allows viewers to catch up on recently aired shows without charge, although they can can pay £3.99 a month to download shows, skip ads and use the service abroad. ITV has a streaming deal with the BBC, called Britbox, which allows American viewers to pay to watch their programmes. This could be used as a template for a future UK-based alliance.
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