ITV has evolved its Fresh Cuts initiative into Outlier, a new commissioning strand focused on developing original sports docs from diverse-led production companies.
The docs will air as part of ITV’s Year of Sport this year, which includes the broadcaster’s World Cup coverage and the inaugural Nations Championships.
Over four years, Fresh Cuts backed 22 docs and a comedy special. As Outlier, the initiative shifts its focus to sports documentaries, aiming to commission six 46-minute specials, each with a budget of £50,000. It is funded by ITV’s Diversity Commissioning Spend and is specifically seeking pitches from production companies owned by people of color and/or deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent creatives. The docs should deliver “authored storytelling with high stakes, emotional depth, and a premium streaming sensibility. The documentaries are expected to be cinematic, character-driven, and culturally relevant, uncovering overlooked stories or revisiting defining moments within the world of sport.”
Richard Botchway, commissioning editor for the series, said: “Outlier represents a fresh step forward in our commitment to diverse storytelling. By focusing on sports in 2026, we are giving some of the U.K.’s most talented diverse-led production companies the stage to tell gripping, high-stakes stories that can surprise and thrill our audiences.”
Nahrein Kemp, DEI and talent lead at ITV, added, “After four successful years of Fresh Cuts, rebranding as Outlier allows us to sharpen our focus. We are looking for those ‘hidden in plain sight’ stories—the ones that make you wonder how you’ve never heard them before. This is about championing fresh perspectives in an area of programming that brings people together like nothing else.”
