ITN is repositioning its business on YouTube, unveiling three new genre-based, archive-led channels and introducing a membership offering on the platform.
The existing ITN Archive is being rebranded as Frontline by ITN, featuring archive footage from key historical moments in global affairs and conflicts. With the YouTube Memberships option, users have the opportunity to support the digitization and preservation of ITN’s archive and shape future releases of content. The two new services are Flashback by ITN, focused on key moments in pop culture, and Re-Told by ITN, which will present a snapshot in time of our collective social history. ITN’s digital team will experiment with formats that utilize the best of the 70-year-old archive for a digital-first audience.
ITN Productions’ digital team, led by George Cudmore, has also refreshed the existing YouTube channels The Royal Family Channel, Onlooker (formerly ODN), and Pop Drop (formerly ODE).
Cudmore, director of digital at ITN, said, “These new channels will help to unlock the full potential of the archive in a way that reflects how audiences discover and engage with content today. By creating distinct channel identities and introducing Memberships, we’re building a sustainable model that supports ongoing digitization and growth.”
Rubina Pabani, head of digital content at ITN, added, “We’re moving beyond simply hosting archive footage—we’re producing editorially curated destinations for audiences to explore, connect with and contribute to. This is an important step in building participatory communities around some of the most important historical footage ever captured.”
Mairi Brewis, head of media partnerships at YouTube UK, noted, “This exciting development brings together ITN’s fantastic heritage of high‑quality news coverage with an innovative, creative approach to reaching audiences in new ways and driving new forms of monetization.”
Tim Forrest, head of content distribution and commercial innovation at ITN, added, “ITN holds one of the most important moving image archives in the world. With these new channels, we are reimagining how that archive is brought to life for digital audiences—making it more accessible, more engaging and more relevant than ever. The introduction of YouTube Memberships creates a direct relationship with audiences, allowing them to play an active role in preserving and shaping the future of this content.”
