2023 Silver Launch

Agency: EssenceMediaComX, Uncommon and Dixon Baxi,

Client: ITV

Entry Title: Launching ITVX

Executive Summary

The brief seemed like mission impossible: win back media giant ITV’s online viewers, in a saturated digital streaming marketplace where viewers are actively cancelling subscriptions.

Strategy

What if there was a way to give viewers what they wanted: a quality streaming service to rival the likes of Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime while not harming their bank balance?

To deliver, ITV’s original catch-up service was boldly scrapped and replaced with a one-of-a-kind offering that combines advertising video-on-demand (AVOD), subscription video-on-demand (SVOD), Live and FAST (akin to linear TV) services together in one place: a UK first.

Creativity

Going from catch-up service to viewing destination in today’s saturated streaming market would be tough. Research showed no easy wins for differentiation: in fact, it showed people liked the familiarity of services.

The team therefore ‘Netflixed’ ITVX, giving it a premium look and feel, with glossy images, HD quality and features viewers now expect e.g. personalised recommendations for less time browsing, more time viewing.

ITVX launched in a big bang to time with the 2022 World Cup, made immediately available on 13,000 different model/device types - something which is virtually unheard of.

A library worth browsing, supersizing content from 1,500 viewing hours on Hub, to 20,000+ hours was also created.

Results

The campaign delivered more viewers, watching more often, and for longer:

Reached 1 billlion streams just over four months post-launch - nearly half the time it took in 2022, previously the most successful year.

Delivered a 49% increase in streaming hours and 29% growth in digital revenue in the last quarter.

Attracted more new viewers, 80% of whom went on to explore other content on ITVX.

Overtook Channel 4 and Disney+ for consideration and awareness.

The Team

ITVX: Steven Forde Director of Product, Core Experience