New SVOD for Quiz Shows to Launch in the U.K.

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IQTV is a brand-new SVOD service dedicated to high-brow quiz shows, set up by Rod Henwood, former Harry Potter digital chief, and ex-Zodiak Media boss Marc-Antoine d’Halluin.

The mobile and online SVOD service will initially launch in the U.K. this July, with further international markets on the planner. IQTV targets “upmarket superfans of the intelligent quiz shows,” and content deals are already in place with BBC Worldwide, Channel 4 and Banijay Rights.

Henwood, co-founder and chairman of InQuisiTiVe Media, said: “This is a unique proposition in the world of SVOD, addressing an important gap in the market. Intelligent quiz shows represent an attractive, untapped genre for a niche SVOD service. They have significant and very loyal audiences, their brands are enduring, their hosts are highly recognisable with a strong social media following, and they have had a relatively limited airing on multi-channel television. While there has been a well-documented focus on scripted content and millennial audiences, older viewers and non-scripted passion genres represent a real gap in the VOD landscape.

IQTV will initially address the 3.5 million super fans of intelligent quiz shows in the U.K. with an offering that combines TV viewing with the option to play along with your favourite shows. It fuses the long-standing appeal of great brands with the daily fix of puzzle-themed gameplay.”

Jonathan Newman, U.K. TV sales and business development director at BBC Worldwide, commented: “The launch of IQTV this summer is an exciting prospect for fans of intelligent quiz shows across the U.K. and we’re delighted that the service will include four of the most iconic BBC brands in the genre: Mastermind, Celebrity Mastermind, The Weakest Link and A Question of Genius. SVOD is the perfect medium for harnessing the potential for re-discovery and celebration of classic content; this new venture promises to demonstrate exactly that.”

Karla Berry, distribution manager for transactional at ‎Channel 4, added: “Countdown was the first ever show to air on Channel 4, one of the longest running gameshows in the world that’s still going strong. Through our agreement with IQTV we’re delighted that true game show fans in the U.K. and ROI can discover and play along to classic episodes and comedic moments made famous by the much-loved Richard Whiteley OBE and his number crunching co-host Carol Vorderman.”