What ITV AdVentures does

ITV AdVentures is described in its firmographic profile as a corporate venture capital arm of ITV plc that invests in high-growth UK businesses and entrepreneurs, primarily by exchanging advertising airtime for equity under the media-for-equity model that ITV runs alongside Channel 4, BBC, and DMG Media. The unit operates within ITV's broader commercial ecosystem, drawing on the inventory and reach of ITV Broadcasting Limited (ITV plc's listed subsidiary) and its commercial division ITV Commercial / ITV Media to deliver brand-building exposure to portfolio companies in lieu of cash investment.

The platform behind ITV AdVentures is ITV's multi-channel advertising infrastructure, which spans linear broadcast (ITV1, ITV2, ITV4 and regional variants reaching 44 million UK adults monthly), the ITVX free streaming service (42 million registered users, 340+ million annual viewer hours and the highest monthly reach of any UK broadcaster VOD service through 2025), and a YouTube network that, combined with ITVX, reaches 27 million users monthly. Advertising products sold across this surface include self-serve booking via Planet V, addressable targeting (ITV Addressable+, ITVX Live Addressable+, Proximity Shopper), pause and dynamic pause formats on ITVX, Total TV packages bundling linear and VOD, branded entertainment through Creative Boost, and sponsored programmes / ad-funded entertainment. A proprietary measurement suite (Outcomes Planner, Analytics Lift, Lantern) supports attribution and outcomes reporting, and an in-house creative production team uses GenAI tooling to produce TV adverts from £500 budgets.

Revenue mechanics at the ITV level come from selling advertising airtime across linear and digital channels on a CPM basis (for example, fixed £21 and £16 CPMs for FIFA World Cup 2026 packages and £10–£20 CPMs for the Love Island All Stars Winter package), from sponsored programming and branded entertainment deals, and from media-for-equity transactions via ITV AdVentures, where airtime is exchanged for equity in growth-stage companies. Customers span enterprise brands (British Airways, MG Motors, Tesco, NatWest, New Look, Kwik Fit, WWF), mid-market players (Jollyes, Seabrook, Gressingham, Roberts Bakery, Primula, Ruggable), charities (British Heart Foundation), and small businesses that now make up roughly half of ITV advertisers via regional and self-serve entry points starting around £10k media spend. ITV AdVentures specifically focuses on the startup and scale-up end of that spectrum, structuring media-for-equity investments with backing from ITV Commercial's national reach, measurement capability, and partner ecosystem (NatWest, Lloyds, Mind, Google, TikTok, British Airways).

Name

ITV AdVentures

Legal name

ITV Broadcasting Limited

Website

https://itvmedia.co.uk

Company type

Public

Founded year

1955

Operating status

Operating

Short description

ITV AdVentures is the corporate venture capital arm of UK broadcaster ITV plc, investing in high-growth businesses via media-for-equity deals that exchange ITV advertising airtime for startup equity, drawing on ITV Commercial's linear, ITVX streaming and YouTube platforms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Television Advertising

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181)

SIC

Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Activation/Experiential Creative Agencies (MPAAAAAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Product Launches & Brand Activations (Experiential Marketing) (MPAGAHAD)

Keywords

• Television advertising
• Commercial broadcasting
• Streaming advertising
• Media-for-equity
• Programmatic advertising

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. TV Advertising Airtime: Core revenue from selling advertising airtime across ITV's broadcast channels (ITV1, ITV2, ITV4) and streaming platform ITVX. Pricing based on CPM with various package options for different audience sizes and campaign durations.
2. Media-for-Equity: ITV exchanges equity in startups for advertising airtime credits, providing media exposure in lieu of cash investment. ITV is among UK media companies (with Channel 4, BBC, DMG media) offering these deals.
3. Sponsored Content and Branded Entertainment: Revenue from ad-funded entertainment programming, creative partnerships, and programme sponsorships integrated with ITV content.
4. Digital and YouTube Advertising: Advertising inventory across ITV's YouTube network and social platforms, reaching over 27 million users monthly combined with ITVX.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

ITV AdVentures operates as the commercial advertising and corporate venture capital arm of ITV plc, selling advertising airtime and integrated media solutions across ITV's linear broadcast channels (ITV1, ITV2, ITV4), the ITVX streaming platform, ITV's YouTube network, and social platforms. The company also provides media-for-equity investment to startups, exchanging advertising credits for equity stakes. Supporting services include creative production, regional targeting, programmatic booking via Planet V, and outcomes measurement.

Product overview

ITV AdVentures operates as ITV Media, the commercial advertising division of ITV. The offering is a platform-plus-services model centered on ITV's broadcast and digital channels. Core products include ITV Linear Broadcast (traditional TV reaching 44 million adults monthly) and ITVX streaming platform (UK's leading free streaming service). Supporting advertising products include ITVX Pause Ads, ITVX Dynamic Pause Ads (real-time API-connected format), ITV YouTube partnership, and Total TV Packages combining linear and VOD. Services include Creative Boost (branded entertainment), TV Ad Production Support, Regional Advertising, and Backing Business initiative. ITV also offers measurement tools (Outcomes Planner, Analytics Lift, Lantern) and the Planet V programmatic platform. Initiatives like Head First Award (£1m mental wellbeing advertising prize) and ITV Growth Accelerator Award (£500k advertising prize) demonstrate non-traditional advertising offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ITVX: ITV's streaming platform offering video-on-demand content
• Backing Business
• Head First Award
• Planet V
• Creative Boost
• Business For All

Products and services

• ITV Linear Broadcast Advertising Advertising airtime across ITV's linear broadcast television channels (ITV1, ITV2, ITV4) including regional variants, reaching 44 million adults monthly as the UK's biggest commercial TV service.
• ITVX Streaming Advertising Addressable and programmatic advertising inventory on ITVX, ITV's flagship streaming platform and the UK's #1 commercial VOD service with 42 million registered users and over 340 million annual viewer hours.
• ITV YouTube Advertising Advertising inventory across ITV's YouTube network, which combined with ITVX reaches over 27 million users monthly and represents the fastest-growing broadcaster YouTube Sales network in Europe.
• Planet V Self-Serve Platform ITV's self-serve programmatic advertising platform allowing brands and agencies to book, manage and optimize campaigns across ITV properties, with no minimum spend and accessible entry for smaller advertisers.
• ITV Regional Advertising Geographic targeting advertising using ITV's regional broadcast variants (Granada, Central, etc.) and postcode-based geo-targeting, enabling businesses to run campaigns in specific UK regions before national rollout.
• Creative Boost Branded Entertainment Branded entertainment and content partnership solutions integrating advertisers editorially with ITV's most-loved shows for greater attention and brand impact, including ad-funded entertainment, TV sponsorship, and creative partnerships.
• TV Ad Production Support In-house creative production service offering national-quality TV ad production charged at hard cost only (no margin added), working from £500 budgets upwards with GenAI creative capabilities.
• Backing Business Initiative ITV initiative providing matched media funding, training, and advertising support for first-time TV advertisers and small businesses, including a £1m fund and creative production support.
• Total TV Packages Combined linear and VOD advertising packages delivering campaigns across ITV broadcast and ITVX streaming aligned to natural viewing behaviour, with creative length and budget tier options (e.g., Love Island All Stars Winter Total TV Package 2026).
• ITV AdVentures Media-for-Equity Program Corporate venture capital program exchanging advertising airtime credits for equity in high-growth UK startups and consumer-facing scale-ups as an alternative to cash investment, particularly relevant amid the 97% decline in VC funding from 2021 peaks.
• ITV Growth Accelerator Award Award initiative in partnership with Lloyds British Business Excellence Awards offering £500,000 of ITV advertising across broadcast and digital channels to high-growth UK businesses ready to scale nationally.

Quantifiable outcome

• Web traffic can rise up to 48% for new-to-TV advertisers
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Lloyds British Business Excellence AwardsflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Major media partnership launching the ITV Growth Accelerator Award, a UK-first initiative offering £500,000 of ITV advertising to high-growth British businesses. Designed to remove financial barriers to national TV advertising and act as a genuine growth accelerator for scale-ups ready to step onto a national stage.
• British AirwayscoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025API integration partnership for ITVX Dynamic Pause Ads, displaying real-time flight prices and holiday costs. First integration of live airline pricing data into streaming platform pause advertising, targeting ABC1 flyers aged 40-70.
• TikTokcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2025New commercial partnership with TikTok announced at ITV Palooza 2025, expanding ITV's content distribution and advertiser reach to TikTok audiences.
• TescocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Tesco Clubcard sponsorship of Britain's Got Talent driving more traffic to Tesco website during BGT than over Christmas period. Major AFE (Ad-Funded Entertainment) partnership.
• MindcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Mental health charity partner for ITV Head First Award, providing judge representation (Dr Sarah Hughes, Chief Executive) for campaigns encouraging mental wellbeing through advertising.
• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Google Pixel FC partnership launching 'The Final Comment' content series in ITV Sport social output. Creative partnership showcasing Google's Pixel phone through ITV Sport's social presence.
• NatWestflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021'Backing Business' dual-branded initiative combining NatWest's business support (training, coaching, financial services) with ITV's media match-funding (£1m fund for first-time advertisers). Brought to life through 'The Intern' campaign featuring Alison Hammond, winning MediaWeek Awards.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Netflix: Global streaming incumbent now offering an ad-supported tier, competing with ITVX for both viewer attention and advertising revenue in the UK market.
• WPP: Global advertising holding company that buys ITV inventory at scale on behalf of clients; a broader incumbent in the same advertising ecosystem with significantly larger scale and global reach.
• Disney: Global media conglomerate with ESPN and Disney+ ad-supported tiers; an established competitor for premium sports rights and streaming ad budgets overlapping ITV's positioning.

Direct peers

• Global (Global Media & Entertainment): UK-based commercial broadcaster and radio operator (Capital, Heart, Classic FM) with cross-platform advertising sales (TV, radio, outdoor via Primesight), competing with ITV for multi-platform UK ad budgets.
• DMGT: UK diversified media company that participates in media-for-equity deals through DMGT Ventures, overlapping directly with ITV AdVentures' startup advertising-investment model.
• Sky: Major UK pay-TV broadcaster (Comcast-owned) selling addressable advertising across premium sports and entertainment content, directly competing with ITV for advertisers seeking mass UK reach.
• Channel 4: UK commercial public-service broadcaster operating linear channels and a streaming platform with a comparable advertising-sales business model, including a media-for-equity (4Ventures) arm that mirrors ITV AdVentures.
• Channel 5 (Paramount UK): UK commercial broadcaster owned by Paramount, offering comparable linear TV advertising inventory and competing for the same mass-market UK advertiser budgets as ITV.

Emerging players

• Spotify: Digital audio and video advertising platform increasingly competing for brand advertising budgets with measurable, addressable formats — a partial overlap with ITV's targeted advertising capabilities.

Regional players

• STV: Scottish ITV franchise holder producing regional content and selling regional advertising in Scotland — a partial geographic peer to ITV's UK regional advertising operations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/itv-media-advertising

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments2 records

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

Frequently asked questions about ITV AdVentures