Europe’s Commercial Giants: How Leading Networks Finally Woke Up To Streaming… But Is It Too Late? – Mipcom Cannes Special

deadline.com:

When ITV switched on its new streaming service ITVX in December 2022, the initial promise was to deliver 10,000 hours of free content, including originals such as Damian Lewis drama A Spy Among Friends, which the commercial broadcaster hope would establish the platform as “the UK’s freshest streaming service.” It certainly marked a big step up from its previous streaming incarnation, ITV Hub, which mainly served as a catch-up TV service rather than a content destination.

But still, industry onlookers were sceptical. In Europe, the wider narrative has been that the continent’s big commercial beasts have focused far too many resources on retaining their aging linear audiences and, as a result, had left it too late to catch up with the global streamers in their local market.

They even trailed public broadcaster services such as Britain’s BBC iPlayer and Italy’s RaiPlay by a distance, according to many analysts and market watchers. “My view is broadcasters initially underestimated the impact of the streamers and there’s been a hesitation to shift to digital, which has put them at a disadvantage,” says Neil Anderson, senior analyst at Ampere Analysis.

Francois Godard, senior media and telecoms analyst at Enders Analysis, puts it another way: “European TV had it too good for too long.” However, ITVX’s startling numbers in the 10 months that followed its launch may prove to be a turning point in the story.