Quiz Show SVoD Service to launch in UK
March 2, 2018
IQTV, a mobile and online SVoD service to offer intelligent quiz shows, will launch this July in the UK initially, with International roll-out in other territories planned to follow.
The new streaming service, targeting fans of intelligent quiz shows, will aggregate classic episodes from the UK’s leading titles in the genre and provide fans with the opportunity to play along with their favourite programmes via a built-in gameplay app – available on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, and the web. IQTV will launch with a catalogue of premium content having secured a game-changing multi-year deal with BBC Worldwide, with exclusive rights to Mastermind, Celebrity Mastermind, The Weakest Link and A Question of Genius.
These titles (together with Countdown from Channel 4 and Only Connect from Banijay International) represent the best of intelligent quiz shows in the UK, with a cumulative reach of 12 million adults amongst their target audience, and make IQTV the exclusive destination to watch and play along with intelligent quiz shows.
The monthly, no-contract fee service will be priced at £3.49 to access the full range of content, beginning with a free one-month trial. IQTV’s focus will be on the UK market initially, with subsequent territory roll-outs to follow.
Rod Henwood, Co-Founder & Chairman, InQuisiTiVe Media commented: “This is a unique proposition in the world of SVoD, addressing an important gap in the market. Intelligent quiz shows represent an attractive, untapped genre for a niche SVoD service. They have significant and very loyal audiences, their brands are enduring, their hosts are highly recognisable with a strong social media following, and they have had a relatively limited airing on multi-channel television. While there has been a well-documented focus on scripted content and millennial audiences, older viewers and non-scripted passion genres represent a real gap in the VoD landscape. IQTV will initially address the 3.5 million super fans of intelligent quiz shows in the UK with an offering that combines TV viewing with the option to play along with your favourite shows. It fuses the long-standing appeal of great brands with the daily fix of puzzle-themed gameplay.”
Jonathan Newman, UK TV Sales and Business Development Director, BBC Worldwide said: “The launch of IQTV this summer is an exciting prospect for fans of intelligent quiz shows across the UK and we’re delighted that the service will include four of the most iconic BBC brands in the genre: Mastermind, Celebrity Mastermind, The Weakest Link and A Question of Genius. SVoD is the perfect medium for harnessing the potential for re-discovery and celebration of classic content; this new venture promises to demonstrate exactly that.”
Karla Berry, Distribution Manager, Transactional – Channel 4 added: “Countdown was the first ever show to air on Channel 4, one of the longest running gameshows in the world that’s still going strong. Through our agreement with IQTV we’re delighted that true gameshow fans in the UK & ROI can discover and play along to classic episodes and comedic moments made famous by the much-loved Richard Whiteley OBE and his number crunching co-host Carol Vorderman.”