Warner Bros. Discovery’s first international move after its $110 billion merger with Paramount is not a platform consolidation. It is a licensing pact with UK broadcaster ITV, putting 2,000 hours of programming from WBD-owned TLC and Quest on streamer ITVX inside branded collections.
The deal
From October 1, TLC and Quest titles will have dedicated shelf space on ITVX. The first tranche includes Mock the Week Series 1, The Bad Skin Clinic Series 1 and Dr. Pimple Popper Series 1. Mock the Week Series 2 will shift to ITVX next year after it has aired, with additional comedy seasons rolling out through 2027.
Graham Lafferty, WBD’s SVP Content Strategy and Networks, said the mix of “TLC’s local comedy originals and global reality franchises” brings “something to the platform for every user.” He pointed to the return of Mock the Week, new series Unacceptable hosted by Ed Gamble, and WBD’s global reality franchises.
What arrives next
- Day one: Mock the Week Series 1, The Bad Skin Clinic Series 1 and Dr. Pimple Popper Series 1.
- Next year: Mock the Week Series 2, after its initial run.
- Coming months: A Quest-branded collection with Salvage Hunters, Shed & Buried, Vinnie Jones in the Country and Richard Hammond’s Workshop.
- Through 2027: Further comedy titles continue to land.
Why the deal matters
This is an early signal of how the enlarged WBD will treat its international catalogue: as licensing capital it can place with established local platforms, rather than keeping every title exclusive to its own streaming service. For ITV, it adds recognisable unscripted and comedy brands without the cost and risk of commissioning a full local slate. ITV already has a content-swapping arrangement with Disney+, so the deal extends a model the broadcaster is clearly comfortable with.
The announcement also lands as the wider group changes shape. Deadline reported that Ynon Kreiz, the former Endemol Group and Fox Kids Europe executive, has just become co-CEO of the expanded company. The ITV partnership suggests commercial dealmaking is not on hold during the post-merger transition.
For media planners and entertainment marketers, the collection offers a concentrated home for lifestyle, factual and comedy audiences on ITVX. The real question is whether WBD will use these branded blocks as a template for other international markets, especially where building its own streaming presence is expensive.
Source: Deadline
