Reuters and ITN partner to unlock historic broadcast archive worldwide

Reuters and ITN have partnered to make the ITN archive of historic broadcast content more accessible to production companies, content creators, publishers and digital platforms worldwide.

The ITN archive will now be available exclusively through the Reuters Connect marketplace.

The archive spans more than 70 years and is regarded as one of the world’s most comprehensive and trusted collections of broadcast journalism.

From Royal weddings, the release of Nelson Mandela and the fall of the Berlin Wall to countless other major global events and defining cultural moments, its footage is captured by journalists on the ground and provides an authentic visual record of the events that have shaped the world.

It will now be possible to search ITN’s archive content using Reuters proprietary AI technology running in Reuters Imagen, the Reuters-owned media asset management technology platform.

Detailed metadata, including transcription, shot listing and translation, will be added to the archive to make it easier for customers to find relevant footage quickly and precisely.

Reuters will also digitise an additional 12,000 hours of ITN video in its in-house facility.

Reuters Connect will be the online destination through which users can discover and license the content. The platform brings together decades of Reuters news coverage alongside content from over 100 other organisations in a single marketplace for licensing news video and pictures.

The addition of the ITN archive will expand the depth of historic broadcast footage available to customers around the world.

“This partnership shows how Reuters can combine technology, content management and global distribution to unlock the value of media organisations’ archives,” said Alphonse Hardel, head of Reuters News Agency. “ITN’s archive is a journalistic treasure trove. By digitising more of that footage and enriching it with detailed, AI-generated metadata, we can help customers discover and use this remarkable record of history.”

“The ITN Archive is a trusted and carefully curated collection of real stories and events drawn from the editorial frontline of the past 70 years that continues to grow day after day,” adds Tim Forest, head of content delivery and commercial innovation at ITN. “At a time when news is challenged by misinformation, and at the dawn of an era defined by AI, we have found a partner in Reuters that shares our values while recognising both the opportunities and the challenges. Through this deal, we will bring ITN’s archive to a global audience through Reuters Connect, and Reuters technology will make its breadth and depth much easier to explore while retaining trust and integrity.”

The ITN archive will be searchable using AI-enhanced tools on Reuters Connect from 1 January 2027.