Common Questions

What is SMART STORIES and why has ITN joined it?

SMART STORIES is an open standard allowing newsrooms to mark and share AI-generated content components in a standardised way. ITN joined in 2026 alongside eight other newsrooms to ensure interoperability and editorial accountability as AI tools enter production workflows.Source: event

Who owns ITN?

ITN is jointly owned by ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5, the three major UK commercial free-to-air broadcasters, alongside a private equity stake. It operates as an independent news production company rather than as part of a single broadcaster.

Does ITN use AI to produce news?

ITN is a member of the SMART STORIES consortium working on open standards for AI-assisted newsroom production. It has adopted structured AI workflows for certain content types while remaining subject to Ofcom editorial requirements.Source: event

Background

ITN's position in UK broadcasting was reinforced on 6 July 2026 when Sky formally agreed to buy ITV's broadcast and streaming Arm for roughly £1.6bn. ITN's contract to produce ITV News runs to 2030 with no break clause, the single provision that keeps Britain's flagship commercial news operation intact through the change of ownership while Sky targets £200m in annual cost savings elsewhere.

Founded in 1955, ITN produces the news for ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, the three main commercial free-to-air broadcasters in the United Kingdom, and is jointly owned by those broadcast partners alongside a private equity stake. As an independent production unit rather than a publisher, it operates closer to the distribution and production layer than to digital-first news brands. In early 2026 ITN joined the SMART STORIES consortium, a nine-member open technical standard for AI-assisted structured newsroom production, standardising how AI-generated story elements are flagged, attributed and published across newsrooms.

ITN's AI strategy remains primarily about workflow efficiency rather than audience monetisation, and its participation in open-standards work doubles as a compliance hedge given Ofcom's AI transparency requirements for licensed broadcasters. The Sky-ITV deal complicates that picture only at one remove: ITN's own ownership is unchanged, but its largest client's production stack now answers to Comcast, testing how FAR the SMART STORIES standard ITN helped build can bridge into a Sky-owned ITV newsroom.