ITV ‘Amplify: The Regions’ reveals first production companies to be supported

ITV has revealed their chosen companies for the Amplify: The Regions scheme…

Five companies have been matched with one of the broadcaster’s commissioners and given funding to pitch to a brief, as part of the initiative Amplify: The Regions. The project is a recent development initiative currently being piloted by ITV in the nations and regions. The production names chosen are Afro-Mic Productions, Blazing Griffin, Bowled Over, Drummer TV and Hello Deer. 

ITV Entertainment Commissioning Editor Louise Major, Nicola Lloyd, Factual Entertainment Commissioning Editor and Callum Dziedzic, Assistant Commissioner, Drama & Comedy have been matched with the chosen production companies.

The five companies will receive a brief. As part of the initiative, each chosen company will be given £5,000 to develop any potential ideas.

If the ideas are greenlit, the next step will be to go through the standard ITV commissioning process. If ideas are not right for ITV, then the production companies are free to pitch their ideas to others.

The aim of the pilot is to further strengthen and accelerate ITV’s relationships with the regional independent production community and to get great stories from the UK onto ITV’s platforms.

This comes as Amplify: The Companies (which Amplify: The Regions is a spin-off of) is working with ten companies that are led or owned by People of Colour and/or Deaf, Disabled and/or Neurodivergent people that have been matched with genre commissioners and are being funded through The Diversity Development Fund.

From 1955 until 2002 ITV operated as a regional structure with a mix of network and local output, however as viewing habits changed the network took precedence and a single ITV was created across England, CI, Wales and more recently Northern Ireland. ITV continues to offer regional news and political programming. Scotland remains independent with STV providing the service.

Left: ITV regions as they were in the local days prior to 2002 and Right: as they were a decade ago.