ITN archive footage from Tiannamen Square protests
Reuters has ousted Getty as the agency partner selling access to ITN’s 70-year archive of video footage.
Reuters said the deal will make one of the world’s most valuable collections of historic broadcast content “more accessible to production companies, content creators, publishers and digital platforms worldwide, exclusively through the Reuters Connect marketplace”.
From royal weddings and the release of Nelson Mandela to the fall of the Berlin Wall, ITN’s footage is a unique historical resource.
Under the deal, searching ITN’s archive content will be enriched using Reuters proprietary artificial intelligence technology running in Reuters Imagen, the Reuters-owned media asset management technology platform. Detailed metadata, including transcription, shot listing and translation, will be added making it easier for customers to find relevant footage.
The ITN archive comprises more than one million video clips. Under the deal announced today, Reuters will digitise an additional 10,000 hours of ITN film footage.
Reuters Connect will be the online portal through which publishers can search and license ITN content. It also houses Reuters’ own content and that of more than 100 other partner organisations.
Head of Reuters news agency Alphonse Hardel said: “This partnership shows how Reuters can combine technology, content management and global distribution to unlock the value of media organisations’ archives.
“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.”
Head of content delivery and commercial innovation at ITN Tim Forrest said: “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.”
ITN currently produces TV news for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. ITN Productions produces an additional 1,000 hours of factual programming every year.
Getty had been the exclusive partner for ITN’s archive since 2016, last signing a multi-year renewal deal in 2022.
In 2024 ITN signed a deal with Open Origins which used blockchain technology to add unique identifying data to archive footage. The move means ITN content is protected from unauthorised copying and has proof of authenticity embedded in it.
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