Distribution in Focus: ITV Studios’ Ruth Berry

As buyers descend on the UK capital for Showcase, London TV Screenings and Mip London this week, Broadcast International speaks to ITV Studios’ Ruth Berry, president of global partnerships and Zoo 55, about the key trends and challenges facing the business.

Macro economics: Whether it was streamers resetting their priorities to focus on profitability or commercial broadcasters managing volatility in advertising, we saw changes in content spend and content strategy that slowed the market down.

A change in content strategy takes a little adjustment and hence the slow down. Buyers became increasingly selective and cautious around what content they want and need, and how much they are willing to spend on engaging which audience and when. That said, we saw positive decision making come back towards the end of last year which seems to be continuing into this year, which is great.

The good news is that there is still a really strong demand for British content and it sells well eg International Emmy Award winner, Ludwig in 106 markets; Vera in 191, The Graham Norton show in 169 markets. In short, in 2026, I think that there will be more clarity on what people want and that will help the market become a little more buoyant, we’re seeing that in the US and in part across Europe already.

1. Growing fandoms and maximising IP

The growth of fandoms is a really big priority for us. For example, if you’re a super fan of Love Island, you’ll be watching the series, watching different territory versions, you’ll be watching clips through socials, you’ll be playing the game, have bought a water bottle….. That’s huge engagement around the IP and valuable to us. My favourite statistic of last year - within the Love Island the game, which is the eighth most downloaded game on the iOS platform, is that we sell a piece of virtual clothing every second!

2. Continuing to be at the forefront of digital first distribution and publishing

We launched Zoo 55 last year which is our foray into B2C publishing, to complement our B2B licensing business - we can share and monetise the 100,000+ hours of content in our catalogue on the platforms that our audiences are moving to - be that YouTube, Spotify, Tik Tok or FAST channels

Right now, we have 180 owned and operated social channels around the world; 200 Fast feeds of different channels and 20 games active. Look at something like the River Monsters channel on Youtube, which is delivering 276m views and 65m hours of watchtime - just one clip, had 200million views in a week. Across our whole portfolio on YouTube, we are just shy of 50 billion views, significantly up from 2024.

Our aim is to double the size of this business between 2024 and 2027 and sharing content where our audiences are, continues to be a key priority for growth.

3. Continuing to evolve, be flexible, agile and be the best partner to our clients

We’ve talked a little bit about how the market is changing, audiences fragmenting, advertising fragmenting, and there is a lot of change for our clients too that we need to help them adapt to. So it’s our job to have a catalogue bursting with the best shows from the best talent and to be flexible so that we can both thrive and grow.

It’s a trend that will continue and it’s worth saying, it’s not just streamers - look at the casting of someone like Angry Ginge in I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here which was the highest rating live show of 2025 for the 16-34 demographic, with the launch episode averaging an 84% share of the audience.

YouTube is an increasingly important platform for fragmented audiences to seek out content to watch, so the top tier YT Creators are becoming household names and multi-platform ‘celebs’. For us at the moment, we’re definitely seeking out those fragmented audiences in YT via Zoo 55, and how we work with Creators is top of mind.

We have a lot of different partners, spanning broadcasters and streamers, so for us it’s really important that we find ways for all of us to succeed. It’s key for us to keep control of our distribution rights and manage how the content lands on each platform, even within these ‘pacts’. Ideally we can create a win-win for everyone and support our partners whilst valuing the associated rights to aid their expansion.

We’ve all seen the significant changes in the US, particularly amongst the major Studios - Comcast/NBC, Skydance/Paramount, WarnerBros/Discovery. If the WBD-Netflix deal goes ahead, it could create some realignment of budgets and creative direction, and possibly a short term slow down in decision making while the market settles.

However, also key to note these players represent a strategic buying group for ITV Studios business and we are actively engaged in their ongoing and future needs.

As a distributor, ultimately what I want for our industry as a whole, is that the best programmes with the biggest potential to sell globally are commissioned - no matter where they come from. Channel 4 will need to speak for themselves but they will still be commissioning at scale from third party producers, many of which we represent - like The Garden’s 24 Hours series or Operation Dark Phone or Come Dine With Me from Multistory Media, for example, because they have the best content, ideas and track record.

An elevated crime thriller with a key cast well known in the US that hooks you right in with an action scene in the first two minutes.

We have three screenings sessions so I have to have three key titles!

For drama - The Rapture, produced by Mammoth Screen), is adapted from Liz Jensen’s bestselling novel, and is a high stakes thriller which oozes danger. Gabs Fox (played by Ruth Maddely) starts a new job at a high-security psychiatric hospital where she meets 17-year-old Bethany Krall. Bethany was convicted of murdering her mother but claims she is innocent. She is estranged from her father Leonard, who is the charismatic leader of an influential religious movement. Bethany claims she has psychic powers and can predict the future, which, spoiler alert, isn’t looking good! Cue a fantastic thriller, high stakes, twists and turns. I love it!

In unscripted - Force of Nature, from Plimsoll Productions, is an incredibly impactful and powerful groundbreaking series filmed over three years, revealing how nature is fighting back against today’s extreme and most powerful weather events.

From our formats screening - The Heat, created by Twofour for ITV, is a new reality format packed with drama and clashing chefs in sun-soaked Barcelona. We have a group of driven young chefs living, working, and competing in a fierce culinary contest by day, but…..by night…the drama spills over as romances, rivalries, and ego-clashes fuel the tension. When the professional becomes personal, there is no escaping The Heat. Turn it up!