Carolyn McCall Outlines ITV Priorities

ITV CEO Carolyn McCall delivered a MIPCOM keynote today in which she discussed the importance of having an integrated production-distribution business and outlined how the media giant is upping the investment in its multiplatform ITV Hub.

McCall took on leadership of the U.K.’s largest commercial broadcaster at the start of this year, joining the group from EasyJet.

“We have to make sure we have a relationship with the viewer,” said McCall on her strategic priorities. “The integrated producer model we have—where we do U.K. production and broadcast—is a very potent competitive advantage. We’ve strengthened that. We’ve added more programming, we’ve made marketing investments, we’re investing in data tech analytics. We’re creating a vision that is about directly connecting with the consumer. We have communities of fans who want to have deep relationships with us.”

ITV Studios continues to generate strong returns, McCall said, noting that “it’s not dependent on any one business. It’s a quality portfolio business. And we’re augmenting that. We’re still looking for strong talent deals. ITV Studios is an unbelievably important part of what we do. But we wouldn’t be making the right shifts, given the world around us, if we weren’t also looking at doing something much more directly with the consumer.”

McCall was asked about Endemol Shine Group, following ITV’s recent announcement that it wasn’t going to make a bid for the company. “We did not say it wasn’t a good strategic fit with us; actually it’s an obvious strategic fit. And our shareholders would have expected us to look at it seriously. We came out and said we’re not putting in a bid because of a multitude of factors. That’s also not to say that we wouldn’t be interested in future M&A. We would have to do it in a very rational and disciplined way. 2010 to 2015 was doubling Studios to get it to a scale business. This is now about rational, disciplined acquisitions and backing talent.”

McCall said that ITV is investing £60 million into the ITV Hub—which features ITV content on a catch-up basis—over the next three years. “It will become much more of a destination. There will be more personalization, recommendations; it will have a much richer user experience.”

The increased viewing on the Hub is not cannibalizing TV ad revenues, McCall added. “Ten years ago you could get 70 percent reach in Britain by using ITV. Today you can get 70 percent reach by using ITV and Hub. You see no diminution in reach. If you’re an advertiser that wants quality, brand-safe, simultaneous reach, the only place to really do that is ITV, with VOD and the channels.”

AVOD is, for ITV, business as usual, McCall said. As far as its SVOD plans go, McCall rejected the idea that ITV would launch a “British Netflix.” There is an opportunity for a new SVOD offering in the market, she added—as long as it is “distinctive and good value.” It is expected to roll out in 2019.