Reuters and ITN has announced a partnership that will make the ITN archive, one of the world’s most valuable collections of historic broadcast content, more accessible to production companies, content creators, publishers and digital platforms worldwide, exclusively through the Reuters Connect marketplace.
Spanning more than 70 years, the ITN archive is one of the world’s most comprehensive and trusted collections of broadcast journalism, recording history as it happened. From Royal weddings, the release of Nelson Mandela and the fall of the Berlin Wall to countless other major global events and defining cultural moments, its footage is captured by journalists on the ground and provides an authentic visual record of the events that have shaped the world.
Searching ITN’s archive content will be enriched using Reuters proprietary artificial intelligence technology running in Reuters Imagen, the Reuters-owned media asset management technology platform. Detailed metadata, including transcription, shot listing and translation, will be added, making it easier for customers to find relevant footage quickly and precisely.
Reuters will also digitize an additional 12,000 hours of ITN video in its in-house facility.
The partnership brings together three connected capabilities to preserve ITN’s historic broadcast journalism for future generations: the Reuters digitization suite; Reuters Imagen technology for managing and enriching large media archives; and Reuters Connect as the online destination through which users can discover and license the content. This end-to-end approach is designed to turn an extensive archive into content that is easier to search, navigate and purchase.
Reuters Connect already brings together decades of Reuters news coverage alongside content from over 100 other organizations in a single marketplace for licensing news video and pictures. The addition of the ITN archive will expand the depth of historic broadcast footage available to customers around the world.
“This partnership shows how Reuters can combine technology, content management and global distribution to unlock the value of media organizations’ archives,” said Alphonse Hardel, head of Reuters News Agency. “ITN’s archive is a journalistic treasure trove. By digitizing more of that footage and enriching it with detailed, AI-generated metadata, we can help customers discover and use this remarkable record of history.”
ITN’s television news archive dates back to its first broadcast in 1955 and continues to grow through journalism produced by ITV News, Channel 4 News, 5 News and ITN’s wider newsgathering operations. ITN will make the archive available to new audiences while supporting its long-term preservation.
“The ITN Archive is a trusted and carefully curated collection of real stories and events drawn from the editorial frontline of the past 70 years that continues to grow day after day,” said Tim Forest, Head of Content Delivery and Commercial Innovation at ITN. “At a time when news is challenged by misinformation, and at the dawn of an era defined by AI, we have found a partner in Reuters that shares our values while recognizing both the opportunities and the challenges. Through this deal, we will bring ITN’s archive to a global audience through Reuters Connect, and Reuters technology will make its breadth and depth much easier to explore while retaining trust and integrity.”
The ITN archive will be searchable using AI-enhanced tools on Reuters Connect from January 1, 2027.
Founded 70 years ago, ITN is one of the UK’s leading production companies, home to three public service broadcaster newsrooms—ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5—and delivering 14 hours of live television each day. This includes flagship news bulletins, ITV’s Good Morning Britain and 5’s weekday daytime shows—Jeremy Vine, Storm and Alexis and Matt Allwright. ITN’s digital content reaches mass global audiences, generating over 7 billion views online in 2025.
