ITV is making a major play on YouTube

ITV is making a major play on YouTube, according to a new analysis from Ampere. The UK commercial broadcaster has launched five new genre-specific channels on the platform: ITV Entertainment, ITV Retro, ITV Drama, ITV Real Life Stories, and ITV Quiz. This marks a clear shift in strategy, two months after ITV’s partnership with YouTube was announced.

The approach follows the successful format of ITV Reality and mirrors Channel 4’s existing suite of themed YouTube channels. The alignment isn’t coincidental—ITV recently appointed a former Channel 4 executive as its first Head of YouTube Sales, signaling a deliberate move to build out its digital presence.

Ampere notes that the most significant development is ITV’s growing emphasis on long-form content. Until late 2024, the broadcaster had only uploaded short clips to YouTube. But since November, it began releasing full episodes to its main ITV channel, and as of February 2025, this long-form format has become the standard across all ITV-branded YouTube channels.

The new thematic channels now feature full episodes of shows like "Victoria" (on ITV Drama), "Deal or No Deal" (on ITV Quiz), and "Thunderbirds" (on ITV Retro). ITV Reality, which had gone quiet for four months, reactivated in mid-March with full episodes of "Love Island USA" and a full-season drop of "Olivia Marries Her Match: Season 3."

ITV's shift hasn’t extended to all content. Long-running Unscripted titles like "The Chase," "Lorraine," and "Loose Women" remain limited to short-form clips in the 5–10 minute range. However, Ampere points out that full episodes of "The Chase" have appeared on the main ITV channel—suggesting ITV may be testing long-form selectively on certain platforms.

While the full impact on audience engagement and ad revenue is still unfolding, Ampere’s analysis underscores a turning point in ITV’s YouTube strategy. It also reflects a broader trend: traditional broadcasters are increasingly treating social video not just as a side channel, but as a central part of their distribution model.