LONDON, UK — UK commercial broadcaster ITV has finalized a major content partnership deal with international media company Blue Ant Media. Co-Branded FAST Channel, Dedicated Streaming Block, and YouTube Service Scheduled to Launch This Summer
The arrangement will bring Blue Ant’s premium NatureTime brand—featuring hundreds of hours of high-end, blue-chip natural world and wildlife programming—to ITV’s free ad-supported streaming platform, ITVX.
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Scheduled to roll out this summer, the NatureTime acquisition will be delivered to UK viewers via a dedicated co-branded streaming block and a standalone Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST) channel integrated into the ITVX ecosystem. Concurrently, the partners will launch a new, dedicated YouTube channel titled ITV NatureTime to expand the reach of the digital portfolio alongside ITV’s existing online video assets.
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The strategic broadcast agreement was timed alongside London Climate Action Week, emphasizing the television sector’s focus on connecting audiences with environmental conservation and global biodiversity.
A High-Definition, Celebrity-Narrated Lineup
The foundational launch collection is anchored by a trio of visually spectacular, hour-long natural history films featuring narration from high-profile Hollywood stars:
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- Great Bear Rainforest (Narrated by Ryan Reynolds): A journey into one of the most remote, pristine wilderness ecosystems on Earth, detailing the delicate habitat of the rare, fabled all-white Spirit Bear along the coast of British Columbia. ITVX
- Great Barrier Reef (Narrated by Eric Bana): An exploration of the stunning, massive marine biodiversity engine in Australia, capturing the delicate underwater ecosystems that form one of the seven natural wonders of the world. ITVX
- Into America’s Wild (Hosted by Morgan Freeman): A non-stop, cross-country adventure traversing the untamed landscapes of the United States, utilizing everything from hot air balloons and ziplines to kayaks to document the nation’s remaining hidden gems. ITVX
Beyond the core features, the streaming expansion will inject several specialized unscripted documentary series into the ITVX catalog. Key titles arriving on the platform include Dogs with Extraordinary Jobs (a Love Nature original tracking working canines aiding conservation and search-and-rescue teams), My Best Friend’s An Animal, Wildlife Icons, and Pridelands: Wilderness Reborn.
Expanding the Depth of Free Streaming
The deal reflects ITV’s ongoing initiative to scale the volume and variety of high-quality, long-form factual content on its flagship streaming service, reinforcing its competitive posture against premium subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) models.
“We are absolutely delighted to partner with NatureTime to bring such a rich, visually spectacular collection of natural history programming to ITVX,” said Jake Williams, Editorial Manager of ITVX. “Documentaries about our natural world have a special ability to captivate and educate audiences of all ages. Adding hundreds of hours of this premium, blue-chip content to our platform reinforces our commitment to offering viewers an unparalleled breadth of high-quality, awe-inspiring storytelling.”
Chiara McKee, Vice President of EMEA Global Channels and Streaming at Blue Ant Media, highlighted the UK market’s deep historical affinity for natural history epics. McKee noted that the digital partnership provides a perfect, highly visible home for their nature catalogs, giving UK viewers seamless, free access to extraordinary wildlife narratives at a moment when awareness of global climate fragility has reached a critical historical peak.
