With the $110 billion merger now finalized, attention is already turning to how the combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) operations will be organised overseas.
For the moment, WBD’s UK & Ireland division has announced a novel content deal with UK broadcaster ITV.
Beginning today, ITVX will feature roughly 2,000 hours of programming from WBD-owned TLC and Quest, curated into dedicated, co-branded collections on the streamer.
Titles available immediately include TLC offerings such as Mock the Week (Season 1), The Bad Skin Clinic (Season 1) and Dr. Pimple Popper (Season 1). Mock the Week — cited as one of TLC’s flagship shows — will see its second season added to ITVX next year after that season completes its initial broadcast.
Over the coming months ITVX will also roll out a Quest-branded section, bringing in programmes from the Salvage Hunters and Shed & Buried franchises, along with Vinnie Jones in the Country and Richard Hammond’s Workshop. Additional comedy content from WBD is scheduled to arrive through 2027.
Graham Lafferty, WBD’s senior vice president of content strategy and networks, said the partnership combines TLC’s locally made comedy and high-profile global reality formats to give ITVX a broad offering — from the return of Mock the Week and new series like Unacceptable hosted by Ed Gamble, to other successful international franchises.
UK broadcasters have faced repeated calls to pursue consolidation and create similar tie-ups, and ITV already has a content-exchange arrangement in place with Disney+.
The agreement arrives amid speculation about how Paramount and WBD will be structured as the merger settles. Yesterday, industry veteran Ynon Kreiz — formerly head of Endemol Group and Fox Kids Europe — was named co-CEO of the enlarged media company.
Daniel Hayes is a business journalist with a focus on market trends, startups, and corporate strategies.
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