How ITV Studios is meeting buyers’ unscripted needs

Cecilie Olsen, senior VP of global content, non-scripted, at ITV Studios, shares her thoughts on the state of the market and the impact of digital on the sector, and offers a glimpse of her London TV Screenings slate. 

How is the international market for unscripted content changing in 2026? 

Overall, it looks as if commissioners are back in the game of commissioning. Our crime offering, for example, is becoming increasingly premium in order to cut through the market, and spectacular access is now key. This is one of the reasons why Operation Dark Phone: Murder by Text, produced by The Garden for Channel 4, is such an incredible watch.

Which unscripted genres are currently hot and which are not so hot? 

In addition to crime, as mentioned, with all the uncertainties in the world, audiences are leaning into escapism and feel-good television. There is a reason why so many tune in to watch all the different versions of Love Island, a format from Lifted Entertainment and WPP Media-owned Motion Entertainment, and I Kissed A?, from Twofour. We’re very excited to be presenting buyers a brand-new cooking and dating hybrid show this spring called The Heat, also produced by Twofour, for ITV.

Then escapism turns into absolute wonder as audiences love being taken into worlds they would not otherwise have access to, and one of those worlds comes to us in the form of Curve Media’s Surgery Secrets of the Super Rich for Channel 4. In this series, viewers will be given VIP access to some of the top aestheticians in the UK. However, also a hot topic at the moment is the various ways people use AI, and so we’re thrilled to share with our buyers Curious Films’ new series, fronted by none other than Hannah Fry, called AI Confidential: Tales from the AI Revolution.

Are talent-fronted shows growing in international appeal? 

We love brilliant talent fronting shows, and in addition to The Graham Norton Show we have Claudia Winkleman’s brand new chatshow, The Claudia Winkleman Show, from So Television and Little Owl Productions for BBC One. With Claudia being one of the UK’s hottest properties, we are thrilled we get to sell her next project. We’re also very excited about actor Vicky McClure and historian Jonny Owen (also her husband) fronting a brand-new series called Murder Map from Soho Studios and Two Rivers Media, taking the leap from solving fictional crimes to the true tales of murders that changed the world we live in today.

How is the growth of FAST and YouTube changing your distribution strategy? 

FAST is another brilliant platform on which to reach viewers in a very targeted way. We have seen great uptake in our single-IP channels such as Hell’s Kitchen and River Monsters – and there is more to come.

On YouTube, we have 170 owned and operated channels as part of our digital distribution division, Zoo55, spanning single-IP channels such as The Voice, Love Island, The Hotel Inspector and Vice, and also more genre-based channels such as Our World, Taste, Our Story and True Lives – so YouTube is very much part of our distribution strategy and ecosystem.

In the current climate, how important are returning shows to ITV Studios’ strategy? 

Returning shows are fantastic when the previous seasons rated well, and we have quite a few of those. 24 Hours in Police Custody, I Kissed A?, Skin A&E, TikTok Murder Gone Viral and – after many years in waiting – season three of Building Giants from Windfall Films.

How do you keep formats like Love Island and I’m a Celebrity fresh after so many seasons? 

It is a great question and the answer is not straightforward, as there are so many brilliant creatives, producers, casting agents, marketing and brand management teams all over the world who work very hard together to do just that. I believe the expression is ‘it takes a village,’ but in this case ‘it takes a whole lot of villages.’

When reviving classic formats like Bullseye, what are the issues to keep in mind? 

Again, that’s more of a question for the creatives on that show, and our colleagues in commissioning. But what I would say is it’s a brilliant time to bring the format back, with the success of Luke Littler and the growing popularity of darts all around the world.

How does ITV Studios work with its labels and partners in creating new shows? 

ITV Studios consists of over 60 labels across 13 territories. We produce both scripted and unscripted content, and our producers all meet regularly to collaborate on new ideas. We also work with each other to coproduce shows, learning from each other’s experiences and local expertise. A brilliant example of this is a brand-new show at the London TV Screenings, Apocalypse, a joint production between The Garden and ITV Studios Australia for Channel 4 and Foxtel’s Binge. We’re privileged to have all these labels in the group.

How is the international significance of the London TV Screenings changing? 

The London TV Screenings was created as there was a need in buyers’ calendars to learn early in the year what the new titles would be across scripted, unscripted and formats. It is clear from last year’s success that this is still the case, and we are very excited to meet all the buyers as they come to ITV Studios’ home for the day: the Odeon Leicester Square. We have an unrivalled line-up in 2026 – they’d better not miss it!=