Our Story

Our Story

ITV STUDIOS Global Entertainment has entertained the world for more than 50 years.

Our very first sale, in 1955 as one of the newly formed ITV companies, was The Adventures of Robin Hood to CBS in America. Shown during the first week of ITV in London, it flew like an arrow into the TV Top Ten with a staggering 78 per cent audience share.

Coro St - Stan and Hilda

Once we started there was no stopping us. In 1964 Coronation Street went to TVNZ in New Zealand – where it is still on air today. Also that year Michael Apted’s acclaimed factual documentary 7 Up was first broadcast, and continues to this day, joined by numerous international versions.

Brideshead Revisited

In the 1970s Canada, Portugal and South Korea were some of the first countries to license The Professionals. The ‘80s saw Brideshead Revisited herald a new age of world-class drama from the UK. And the first series of Cracker exploded on to TV screens in 1993, becoming an instant international hit.

In the 21st Century our slate has risen to over 200 new titles a year, representing the best in UK, US and Australian network production, international co-production and high-quality programmes from ITV Productions and independent producers. We’ve had quite a few company names since 1955. But at the heart of our business is a belief that’s as true today as it was 50 years ago… Great television deserves to be seen by everyone in the world.

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