A combined funding pot of US$397,000 is up for grabs as UK commercial broadcaster ITV looks to commission six documentaries under its diverse-led sports content strand Outlier.
Diverse-led production companies are being invited to pitch sports-themed documentary projects to UK commercial broadcaster ITV’s new Outlier initiative, with a total of £300,000 (US$397,000) in funding available.
Six successful prodcos will be handed £50,000 each to make cinematic, streamer-style factual films to be shown during what ITV calls its ‘year of sport’ during 2026. Outlier is a rebrand of the broadcaster’s diverse commissioning strand Fresh Cuts, which ran for four years and saw greenlights for 22 documentaries and a comedy special.
Dating format Blind Matchmakers premiered last autumn on ITV1
Under its new moniker, it will now focus exclusively on sports-related storytelling. This year’s Outlier slate will commission six 1×46’ docs. Funded by ITV’s £80m Diversity Commissioning Spend, Outlier is currently inviting pitches from prodcos owned by people of colour and/or deaf, disabled and neurodivergent creatives.
Nahrein Kemp, diversity, equity and inclusion and talent lead at ITV, says: “Fresh Cuts started to support black filmmakers in making their first production and getting a producer/director credit for ITV. In the second and third years we expanded it to disabled filmmakers, then by year four we made it about diverse-led companies. We were really happy with the films that came out of it, so we’ve decided to do it again but this time it’s fully sports themed.
“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.”
Nahrein Kemp
Some of the major sporting events that ITV will present extensive live coverage of this year include the FIFA World Cup in June and July and the inaugural Nations Championships rugby tournament in July and November.
Outlier is looking for authorised 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. The docs do not necessarily have to focus on diversity, provided it is produced by a diverse-led company.
Richard Botchway, commissioning editor for the series, says: “Outlier represents a fresh step forward in our commitment to diverse storytelling. By focusing on sports in 2026, we are giving some of the UK’s most talented diverse-led production companies the stage to tell gripping, high-stakes stories that can surprise and thrill our audiences.”
Under the previous Fresh Cuts umbrella, six 1×22’ shows premiered last autumn on ITV1, streamer ITVX and the broadcaster’s YouTube channel. They included dating format Blind Matchmakers, from Jessica Mitchell; and Play Time, which saw six neurodivergent comedians create an original stage play, directed by Céin McGillicuddy.
While those Fresh Cuts shows were wrapped into thematic programming to help celebrate Black History Month and UK Disability History month, the docs under the new Outlier banner will be spread across the year.
Botchway says that examples of the type of projects ITV is looking for include Netflix’s Untold franchise, which has run for six seasons so far and featured stories such as influencer Jake Paul’s journey into becoming a professional boxer; and ESPN’s 30 for 30 brand, which explored big sports stories for the network’s 30th anniversary in 2009.
Richard Botchway
“We’re trying to do something that breaks the mould and is different to what you would typically get on TV,” says Botchway. “We’re looking for those random, hidden stories that you wouldn’t expect but people whisper about.” Kemp adds: “We want you [producers] to think bigger and bolder. Please don’t feel like you’re boxed into thinking about what an ITV audience wants to see. Be different.”
The deadline for pitches is April 10, with ITV hoping to interview shortlisted candidates almost immediately in order to make a final decision on the winning six projects by April 24. With the countdown on, Kemp advises producers to keep their project outlines short and snappy.
“It’s quite a tight turnaround so please don’t overthink how you’re going to deliver the idea,” she told a recent Outlier webinar session. “I know we can all get caught up in making the perfect pitch, but we don’t need super polished ideas. A few lines with the general idea [will suffice].”
Although £50,000 per project may seem like a modest amount of funding to make a documentary with streamer-style production values, Botchway claims it reflects the efficiency-minded model of modern production in the creator age. “I believe we’re in a world where you can shoot things for half that amount of money,” he says. “If you gave £50,000 to some of these kids with YouTube channels, they’ll give you 10 cinematic pieces. That’s just the direction the world is going.
“What we will be doing is aiming to assist [successful applicants] with archive footage. If, for example, their idea requires sports footage from the ITV archive, we’ll do whatever we can to get that at a very low price.”
