ITV Insights Group has redefined the role of data within one of the UK’s largest media organisations. By bringing together data science, analytics, and audience research into a single multidisciplinary team, it has transformed insight from a support service into a strategic capability that is shaping commercial growth, editorial decisions, and long-term business strategy.
In today’s media landscape, data is central to shaping strategy, improving customer engagement, and driving commercial success. ITV recognised that realising this potential demanded a new way of working, so created ITV Insights Group, a multidisciplinary team that has become a trusted strategic partner across the business.
Created through the merger of Audience Research and Data Analytics, the 50-strong team united data scientists, analysts, and researchers behind a shared purpose. No longer operating as separate specialist functions, they now work within business-aligned teams that combine research, analytics, and data science to solve complex business challenges.
Turning insight into strategic advantage
The team’s redevelopment of the Viewer Forecast replaced a manual third-party process with an advanced ML model that significantly improved forecasting accuracy. The insights informed ITV’s five-year financial plan, revenue forecasts, investment decisions, and guidance to investors, demonstrating the strategic influence data can have at board level.
The team has also delivered measurable commercial value through the Next Opportunity Decision Engine (NODE), using ML to personalise marketing activity and identify high-potential ITVX subscribers. Meanwhile, a new content analytics capability combines editorial expertise with data science to inform programme scheduling, content acquisition, and viewer recommendations, helping shift editorial decision-making towards a more evidence-based approach.
Alongside technical achievements, the team invested in organisational capability through its AI Guild, ensuring colleagues across ITV understand how to use AI tools and how to apply them responsibly in high-value business decisions.
“A very clear entry, with defined outcomes, easy to understand, and a credible approach to achieving claimed outcomes.” – Judges’ comments
Delivering measurable impact
The ITV Insights Group has demonstrated that data initiatives deliver value when they are aligned with business outcomes. Key achievements include:
- A 50-strong multidisciplinary team serving ITV’s Media and Entertainment business.
- Viewer Forecast ML model that halved forecasting error.
- Forecasting insights informing ITV’s five-year strategic and financial planning.
- AI-powered NODE marketing programme that doubled subscriber conversion rates.
- Increased streaming hours, improved marketing ROI, and greater advertising capacity.
- Launch of an AI Guild with more than 200 members, promoting responsible AI adoption across the organisation.
- New content analytics capability supporting scheduling, content acquisition, and ITVX editorial decision-making.
By developing stronger business partnering skills and translating complex analysis into commercially relevant insights, the team has changed perceptions of data across ITV. Senior leaders now engage the team as strategic advisers, rather than internal service providers, ensuring data plays a central role in shaping business priorities.
A strong culture for a strong future
Perhaps ITV Insights Group’s greatest achievement has been its cultural transformation. Bringing together two distinct professional disciplines could have resulted in organisational disruption. Instead, the team created a shared identity built on collaboration, psychological safety, continuous learning, and a commitment to delivering measurable outcomes.
Its approach to responsible AI reflects the same philosophy. Rather than prioritising rapid deployment, the team has focused on building organisational understanding, ensuring employees have the skills and governance needed to use AI confidently and responsibly.
By combining technical excellence with commercial focus, strong leadership, and an inclusive culture, ITV Insights Group has demonstrated what a modern data and AI team can achieve. Its work has moved data from supporting decisions to shaping them, creating lasting value for the business and setting a benchmark for how multidisciplinary insight teams can drive enterprise-wide transformation.
