UK Broadcaster ITV's Broadband Video Service Proves Popular

--ITV.com and ITV Local to Offer Video of Early Rounds of the FA Cup

UK commercial broadcaster, ITV (note: the company's brand is an
acronym for "Independent Television Network"), says that usage of its
broadband video service has grown by 362% since August, 2007.
According to the company:

• Video views on its ITV.com and ITV Local Web sites grew 21% per
  month in the first half of the year.
• The sites generated 12 million views in May.
• Since ITV.com was relaunched, the number of unique users viewing
  video on the site has doubled.
• The reality show, "Britain's Got Talent," generated 6 million views.
• The most popular shows on its broadband video service are 1)
  "Coronation Street," 2) "Dancing on Ice," 3) "Emmerdale," 4)
  "Benidorm," 5) "Britain's Got Talent," 6) "This Morning," 7) "Gossip
  Girl," 8) "Secret Diary of a Call Girl," 9) "Headcases," and 10)
  "Pushing Daisies."

"The growth in consumer demand for video was anticipated and
stimulated by the relaunch of our sites last year, which provide a
fantastic rich user experience in a world-class environment with
exciting and unique content," Jeff Henry, managing director of ITV
Consumer, said in a prepared statement. "We are now seeing our
audience telling us their linked experience is incredibly attractive and
we will continue to build on this with new developments in the months
to come. Our turnaround plan sets out our ambition to significantly
grow our online assets and these numbers reaffirm our belief in the
potential of this area."

In related news:

• A deal between ITV and the Football Association will make the early
  rounds of the FA Cup soccer championship available on ITV.com and
  ITV Local. ITV will shoot some of the games itself, and is inviting
  soccer clubs whose games it doesn't cover (note: over 760 clubs are
  expected to participate in the championship this year) to upload videos
  of their games to an area on ITV Local's Grassroots Sport Web site.
• ITV is making a number of its classic shows, including "On the
  Buses," "Poirot" and "Upstairs, Downstairs," available on ITV.com.
  The shows can be viewed for up to 30 days after they air on the
  broadcaster's diginet, ITV3.