1. www.broadcastnow.co.uk4 | Broadcast | 8 May 2015
News & Analysis
ITNPsettotakeonsports
playersas it inks C5 deal
BY MATTHEW CAMPELLI
ITN Productions (ITNP) will
attempt to “disrupt” the dominant
players in the sports production
market with technological innova-
tion following its deal to provide
Football League footage for
Channel 5.
Earlier this week, the news and
current affairs specialist’s produc-
tion arm inked a multimillion-
pound, three-year contract to
provide match coverage for C5’s
weekly highlights show, which will
air at 9pm on Saturday evenings.
ITNP managing director Mark
Browning told Broadcast that
ITN’s ability to capture and edit
the footage quickly using remote
production technology was a
major factor in its winning bid.
He said the deal was the “next
progression” in the production
arm’s growth strategy after it
spotted an opportunity to “disrupt
the market”. It already produces
Premier League mobile high-
lights packages for News UK
publications The Sun and The
Sunday Times.
“There are four or five compa-
nies that dominate sports produc-
tion, and I think the size of the
industry makes it ripe for a
company like ITN to bring some-
thing new,” Browning said. “Just
as Virgin saw opportunities to
offer a difference in transport and
music, I see something similar in
sports production.”
ITNP will “not be tendering for
loads and loads of contracts”,
Browning said, but would bid for
business where “we think we can
add value and where the market
is under-served”.
ITNP will film and edit footage
from every Football League match
using a remote production system
that will allow the action to be
edited centrally at a Slough-based
Football League: ITN Productions’ use of technological innovation helped in its bid to produce Channel 5 footage
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IN BRIEF
data centre. The footage will be
captured by cameras plugged into
a universal fibre network installed
at each of the 72 Football League
club grounds, allowing producers
to edit the action in real-time.
Browning would not be drawn
on whether ITNP was bidding to
produce the whole Football
League show for C5, with the
production of the studio element
of the programme still up for
grabs. A tendering process is
currently open as Channel 5 looks
to shape its show ahead of an
August launch.
Last week, ITNP posted a 44%
increase in revenue to £16.7m in
2014. The figure contributed to
ITN’s overall revenue growing by
5% to £112m year-on-year.
Browning said ITNP’s strategy of
dipping into a number of genres,
including daytime and factual
entertainment, had contributed to
that growth. He added that in the
next few months, the company
would announce “a couple of com-
missions” that have been devel-
oped by recently installed head of
factual Will Smith.
We will bid
for business
where we can
add value and
where the market
is underserved
Mark Browning, ITNP
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