ITV & Disney+ Expand Strategic Relationship With Exclusive Primetime Linear Agreement
Last year, Disney announced a new initiative with the British broadcaster, ITV, which would result in both Disney+ and ITVX carrying a small selection of each other’s content on their streaming platforms.
Today, ITV has announced a further extension of their strategic relationship in the UK with Disney+, which will bring two Hulu Original series from Disney+ to ITV1 in exclusive primetime linear slots.
The first title, “The Stolen Girl”, will premiere on ITV1 on 25th February. The gripping psychological drama, produced by Quay Street Productions with Brightstar, made its debut on Disney+ in April 2025 and will now receive its free-to-air premiere in the UK.
The series follows the emotional fallout of every parent’s worst nightmare, when their young daughter goes missing after a sleepover, unfolding into a tense story of deception, family secrets, and betrayal.
Later this year, “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox” will also air on ITV1. The compelling drama explores the extraordinary real-life case that captivated global audiences, examining themes of media scrutiny, justice and public perception.
Both titles will be broadcast under the brand “Disney+ presents a Hulu Original”, underlining their provenance and connection to Disney+.
According to Disney, this partnership has enabled millions of viewers to discover curated titles from each other’s services. Also, by making these great Hulu Originals available in a primetime linear window, the relationship now expands beyond streaming discovery to reach an even broader free-to-air audience.
Karl Holmes, General Manager, Disney+ EMEA, said in a statement regarding the deal:
“This marks an exciting next step in our collaboration with ITV. We’re thrilled that two of our most compelling original series will air on ITV’s powerful primetime platform, introducing millions more viewers to Hulu Originals on Disney+.”
Kevin Lygo, Managing Director of Media and Entertainment, added:
“We are delighted to be deepening our relationship with Disney. Bringing these premium Original series into our primetime linear schedule is fantastic for ITV audiences. This extension perfectly complements our existing relationship and showcases the strength of the content-sharing model we established last summer.”
Roger’s Take: I’m really glad to see both of these shows will be getting a boost in viewership in the UK, especially “The Stolen Girl”, since it’s a British original. Licensing out its older shows to one of the biggest free-to-air platforms in the UK helps Disney on many levels, giving it additional revenue from licensing and expanding the value of those originals, so they continue to invest more in the future.
Disney already uses a similar approach in the US, airing originals on its ABC linear channel and licensing these shows out will really help boost these shows to a much larger audience and hopefully, get them to sign up to Disney+ if they like what they see.
What do you think of ITV and Disney+ sharing content? Let me know on social media!
