ITN

What ITN does

ITN (Independent Television News Limited) is a privately-held UK media company founded in 1955, headquartered at 200 Gray's Inn Road, London, with 501-1,000 employees. The company's core function is producing impartial news programming for the three largest UK commercial broadcasters — ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 — under the ITV News, Channel 4 News, and 5 News brands, reaching millions of viewers daily. ITN operates a multi-division structure: (1) Newsrooms producing daily news for UK commercial broadcasters, governed by Ofcom Broadcasting Code compliance under the Communications Act 2003; (2) ITN Productions, a factual content and documentary division producing commissions for Netflix, Lifetime, TNT Sports, and international streamers; (3) ITN Source, a commercial archive licensing business distributing over 800,000 hours of footage dating to 1955 through global sales offices in ten cities; and (4) ancillary units covering ITN Business, ITN Sport, education content via a five-year Discovery Education partnership (reaching 5,000 UK schools weekly), and a self-serve Download Hub for broadcast-quality footage transactions.

The company's underlying technology spans private 5G spectrum deployment (n40 band, 2320-2340 MHz), deployed for the UK's first live broadcast at the London New Year's Eve Fireworks 2025/26 in partnership with Neutral Wireless and Haivision; a programmatic Local Linear TV Private Marketplace built with Magnite for the U.S. market; and a self-service Download Hub for direct commercial licensing. There are no disclosed AI/ML capabilities or proprietary AI models.

ITN's revenue mechanics combine multi-year broadcaster production contracts (ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5), production fees and licensing revenue from international streaming platforms, recurring archive licensing royalties via ITN Source to production companies and publishers, and transaction fees on the Download Hub. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. On 12 May 2026, CEO Rachel Corp stepped down with immediate effect and was replaced by Ian Rumsey, an internal appointment from within the ITN Productions senior team — a transition the press characterized as unexpected.

Name

ITN

Legal name

Independent Television News Limited

Website

https://itn.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

ITN (Independent Television News Limited) is a London-based independent broadcaster and content producer founded in 1955, producing daily news for ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5, and supplying documentaries, archive footage, and educational content to streaming platforms, commercial buyers, and 5,000 UK schools weekly.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Broadcast News Production

NAICS

Television Broadcasting Stations (51612), Television Broadcasting Stations (516120), Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations (5161), Broadcasting and Content Providers (516), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (5162)

SIC

Television Broadcasting Stations (4833), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Video Streaming & OTT Delivery (Live/VOD, Low-Latency) (HDABAGAC)

Keywords

• News production services
• Broadcast journalism
• Factual content production
• Archive footage licensing
• Documentary production

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Broadcast News Production: ITN produces daily news programming for ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5, generating revenue through broadcaster contracts and advertising revenue share from news programming.
2. ITN Productions Commercial Content: ITN Productions creates documentaries, feature films, and factual programming for broadcasters and international streaming platforms, generating production fees and licensing revenue.
3. ITN Source Archive Licensing: Licensing of over 800,000 hours of iconic footage and moving imagery from ITN's archive and partner libraries to commercial customers including production companies, publishers, and educational institutions.
4. News Production Download Hub: Provides broadcast-quality video clips and edited packages for download to commercial customers, with both raw footage and pre-cut digital content available.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ITN is an independent UK content producer that produces daily news programming for ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5, creates award-winning documentaries and factual programming for global streamers via ITN Productions, and licenses over 800,000 hours of iconic archive footage through its ITN Source division. It also delivers educational news content via Discovery Education and provides self-serve broadcast-quality video through its Download Hub.

Product overview

ITN (Independent Television News Limited) is an award-winning independent content producer operating as a multi-product organization comprising three main areas: (1) Newsrooms producing news for ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 under the ITV News, Channel 4 News, and 5 News brands; (2) ITN Productions division creating documentaries, factual content, and branded programming; and (3) Commercial services including ITN Source archive (800,000+ hours of footage), ITN Business corporate content, ITN Sport, and a Download Hub for broadcast/digital content. The company also maintains a historic archive dating to 1955 and partnerships in education content via Discovery Education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ITN Source: Video content library and archive footage distribution service offering over 800,000 hours of iconic footage
• ITN Productions
• ITN Business
• ITN Sport

Products and services

• ITV News Daily news programming produced by ITN for ITV, delivering comprehensive and impartial news to millions of UK viewers; includes flagship programmes such as News at Ten.
• Channel 4 News Daily news and current affairs programme produced for Channel 4 by ITN, providing in-depth reporting alongside standard news coverage.
• 5 News News programming produced by ITN for Channel 5 (Paramount), delivering comprehensive news coverage to UK audiences across linear and digital channels.
• ITN Productions ITN's factual production division creating award-winning documentaries, feature films, branded content, and entertainment programming for broadcasters and international streamers.
• ITN Source Digital archive service providing access to over 800,000 hours of iconic footage spanning three centuries, including content from Reuters, ITN, Channel 4, Granada, British Pathe, Fox News, and other collections; offers search, viewing, download, and licensing capabilities to commercial customers globally.
• Download Hub Self-service platform providing high-impact global news content for online and broadcast audiences, offering raw footage and edited HD broadcast-quality packages across politics, entertainment, sports, royals and other news categories.
• ITN Business ITN's business unit delivering corporate communications, branded content production, and business journalism for commercial clients.
• ITN Sport ITN's sports division covering sporting events and producing sports-related news and programming content for broadcasters and streamers.
• Discovery Education News Content Daily news bulletins and educational content produced for Discovery Education UK, including 60-second daily bulletins, weekly News Bites, and seven-minute Specials for 5-11 year-olds, reaching 5,000 schools weekly.
• Local Linear TV Private Marketplace Industry-first programmatic transaction platform for U.S. local broadcast TV inventory, co-developed with Magnite, integrating digital and linear TV workflows for buyers and sellers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reaches millions of viewers daily across ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Neutral WirelesscoreTechnology or Integration · 10 March 2026Collaborated with ITN and Haivision to deliver the UK's first live broadcast using newly available n40 private 5G spectrum (2320-2340 MHz) for the London New Year's Eve Fireworks 2025/26. The deployment utilized portable Pop-up 5G Pro system along the Thames riverbank.
• HaivisioncoreTechnology or Integration · 10 March 2026Partnered with ITN and Neutral Wireless to deliver UK's first live broadcast using private 5G spectrum technology, providing video transport infrastructure for the deployment.
• MagnitecoreTechnology or Integration · 31 October 2025Launched the industry's first Local Linear TV Private Marketplace with ITN, allowing programmatic transactions for local broadcast inventory in the U.S. market.
• Albert (BAFTA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerITN is a founder member of the News Consortium within Albert, chaired by Krishnan Guru-Murthy, co-leading developments in sustainable news production. ITV News, Channel 4 News, and all UK-broadcast TV productions are Albert certified.
• Discovery EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerITN News Production has been supplying news content for Discovery Education UK for 11 years. Contract renewed and expanded in 2023 for another five years, now including 60-second daily bulletins, weekly News Bites, and seven-minute Specials for 5-11 year-olds reaching 5,000 schools weekly.
• Espresso GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture to create the Education Clip Library, a unique video licensing service for educational publishers and broadcasters. ITN Source provides video content while Espresso adds educational contextualization.
• The NewsMarketminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorITN Source joined MarketPlace, The NewsMarket's global video exchange platform, giving news organizations and creative professionals direct access to ITN's editorial and stock footage video content.
• Setanta Sports NewsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExclusive global representation deal where ITN Source distributes Setanta Sports News footage through ITN Source's UK and international sales offices.
• BebominorGTM or Marketing PartnerITN was unveiled as Bebo's worldwide news launch partner on the social networking site's Open Media video service. ITN launched its own player featuring showbiz, sports, and quirky content for Bebo's 40 million users.
• BlinkxminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership to give blinkx viewers direct access to ITN Source's collection of moving image libraries and stock footage on the web. Initial deployment of 5,000 hours of searchable archive content.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• All3Media: Independent UK TV production group producing across factual, drama, and entertainment. Comparable as a portfolio of independent UK factual labels competing for the same broadcaster and streaming commissions.
• Reuters News: Global news agency and video news provider whose content appears in ITN Source archive. Comparable as a B2B news content and footage licensor serving broadcasters, publishers, and digital platforms.
• BBC Studios: BBC's commercial production and distribution arm, the largest UK public broadcaster's content business. Comparable as a UK factual/documentary producer and archive licensor competing for the same streaming commissions and archive deals.
• Fremantle: Global content producer behind formats like Got Talent and factual strands. Comparable as a major international factual/documentary producer and rights holder supplying global streamers and broadcasters.
• Endemol Shine Group: Global content producer (Banijay) operating across unscripted, factual, and entertainment. Comparable as a large factual production house competing for streaming commissions and broadcaster output deals.
• ITV Studios: Production arm of ITV plc, ITN's largest customer. Competes with ITN Productions for global factual commissions and produces content for the same UK broadcasters and international streamers.

Direct peers

• Getty Images: Global stock imagery and footage licensor including news, archival, and editorial content. Comparable as a competing archive licensing business for commercial customers needing historical video content.
• Sky News: UK news operation of Sky (Comcast/NBCUniversal), directly competing with ITN-produced news for UK audiences and producing daily news programming across broadcast and digital platforms.
• Tinopolis Group: Welsh-based independent production group with factual, sport, and entertainment labels including Sunset+Vine. Comparable as an independent UK factual producer serving broadcasters and streamers.
• Zinc Media Group: UK factual production group with brands including Reef Television and Brook Lapping. Directly comparable as a UK independent factual/documentary producer commissioning across broadcasters and streamers, and notably where ITN's new CEO had recently accepted a role.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/itn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/itn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ITN