Last week, Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav bemoaned the fact that excessive emphasis on building streaming services meant that a lot of great content is no longer being monetised effectively. So it’s interesting to note that distribution division Warner Bros. Discovery International Television has just licensed a raft of popular US TV series to ITV’s new free-to-air streaming platform in the UK, ITVX.Content launching on ITVX in late 2022 and early 2023 will include two popular DC dramas: Arrow and Gotham. All eight series of the The Vampire Diaries and all five series of spin-off supernatural drama The Originals will also be available to stream for free in early 2023. As part of the deal, ITVX has secured the entire run of Smallville and all 12 series of sitcom Two and a Half Men, starring Charlie Sheen.It’s possible that the deal is a short-term arrangement until Warner Bros Discovery is in a position to launch its own subscription streaming platform in the UK (something that will hinge on its the company’s pre-existing relationship with PayTV platform Sky). However it does indicate a willingness to share valuable IP with third party platforms. Zaslav did, for example, float the possibility that Warner Bros Discovery content could be licensed to third parties on a non-exclusive basis – a model that might work after its own platform launches.The deal was negotiated by ITV head of content acquisitions Sasha Breslau and controller of acquisitions, rights and regulatory, Jonathan Vandermeer.
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