ITN Plotting British Invasion Into U.S. Production Market

At a time when peak TV might have peaked and traditional TV economics are under pressure,ITN Productionsis seeking a prime U.S. business opportunity.

ITN Productions, an offshoot of ITN, which produces news for the United Kingdom’s commercial networks, entered the U.S. market about three years ago and now has landed shows on nearly a dozen networks.

“We’ve built a lot of our business plan on rapid U.S. growth. We have intentions to hire and employ a lot of extra head count in the next 18 months and set up offices in the east and west,” saidMark Browning, ITN Productions group managing director. “For us, probably the single biggest and most exciting opportunity as a U.K. production company is working with U.S. networks and getting into the U.S. sector.”

Browning said 20% of ITN Productions’ $51 million in revenue now comes from the U.S. The company hopes to boost U.S. revenue to $57 million this year.

According to Browning, the core attributes of ITN Productions spring from its background coming from a news organization. That background translates into being able to do authentic, responsive, highly impactful storytelling.

“That’s the DNA of a good worldwide news organization,” Browning said. “And we have turned those skills to as many business opportunities as we can on a global scale.”

Go to multichannel.com for the full story.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.