TVT Strikes Landmark Deal With ITV

TVT has struck a landmark deal with ITV to provide a comprehensive content management platform for the UK and international markets.

TVT will manage media logistics, content preparation and access services across all ITV's platforms, linking closely with the ITV team and its partners to process more than 35,000 hours of content per year – including volumes being delivered in the UK to ITV Global Entertainment customers around the world. Managing content via its ContentSelect media management platform, TVT will prepare and deliver some of the UK's most-watched television programmes.

Helen Stevens, Director of Broadcast & Content Operations at ITV, said: "Being able to deliver the best possible experience for our all our viewers is vital for ITV and working with TVT to ensure that we have cutting-edge management of media distribution and access services across all our platforms is crucial to achieving that objective."

Central to the deal is the inclusion of access services fully incorporated into TVT's management of the UK content journey. A year after launching a new Access Services business unit led by Senior Vice President of Content Services David Padmore, a pioneer in the field, TVT will produce around 15,000 hours of subtitled content and 2,000 hours of audio description a year.

TVT's access services solution is tailored for ITV's portfolio of programmes and covers every UK region – including live simultaneous captioning across all regional news programmes – while delivering the production of visual signing from ITV SignPost, the broadcaster's internal unit, within the managed workflow.

TVT has worked closely with ITV to create an across-the-board, seamlessly integrated media asset management platform for ITV, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, CITV, ITVBe. and ITV Choice internationally. A major draw for ITV is the fact that TVT is able to ensure this unified and secure collaborative solution allows ITV's Compliance, Media Logistics and Operations teams and TVT's Media Management and Access Services teams, as well as third-party providers and localisation partners, to all have real-time visibility and access to content management tasks.

Ian Brotherston, TVT's Chief Executive, said: "ContentSelect is at the heart of all of the work we are doing for ITV. Creating a single content management hub via our platform and linking it directly with ITV's systems ensures live, end-to-end visibility for both teams in preparing and tracking all media assets for distribution in the UK, as well as management of localisation production."

ContentSelect will be fully integrated directly with ITV's systems through the cloud and TVT's datacentre infrastructure, allowing all parties involved in content preparation and delivery to see in real time where each media asset is, what needs to be done next and who is responsible for each task.

"We have built an overarching media management platform that is uniquely broad in terms of covering the entire content journey," Mr Brotherston added. "There is no need for spreadsheets to be flying backwards and forwards."

The unified platform will enable all users to track workflow progress right from receipt of the material, through content preparation and compliance editing (which will be executed by ITV's internal team), to access services and localisation, all the way through to delivery for linear playout, on-demand services and international fulfilment.

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