Table of contents
About the client
ITV is the largest independent broadcaster in the United Kingdom.
Launched in 1955, ITV was the first Independent Television company, created as a direct competitor to the BBC. Now it is the largest commercial network in the UK. ITV also has an established Video On-Demand (VOD) platform, and recently launched a major new initiative in this area: ITVX.
As a leader in the media industry, ITV wanted to develop its services to ensure the needs of viewers, broadcasters, and advertisers are catered for. One such example was the need for an intuitive ad management platform that empowers users to buy, track and optimise digital advertising campaigns in a secure, automated environment. That is how the idea of Planet V was created.
Business challenge
TV wanted to create an innovative ad management platform that would be automated, accessible, simple to use, and configurable.
The client also had a need for a long-term partner who could establish two additional cross-functional development teams that augmented their internal capability in order to drastically reduce the go-to-market time of a new product.
The idea was to establish a strong and open partnership, with teams working together as a cohesive unit based on trust, transparent communication, total alignment on processes, ceremonies, and approaches to solving problems, useful suggestions for improvements, and support in selecting the right tools and frameworks.
B2B marketplace
for targeted advertising
ITV looked for an IT partner for a few reasons: flexibility, the ability to dynamically scale up and down to hit an aggressive deadline, and as a means to overcome hiring challenges that were seen locally when attempting to onboard a large development team in a short amount of time.
The selection process included a lot of interaction and workshops aimed at getting to know the work and communication styles of a potential team. ITV chose Future Processing due to the right approach toward the project, high-capability specialists, and last but not least, cultural fit.
Future Processing’s mission was to support the process of building the new Planet V platform, a B2B marketplace that allows advertisers and buying organisations to create rich and highly targeted advertising campaigns across multiple broadcasters (of which ITV is one). We were expected to join the project by delivering two cross-functional agile teams.
The project began with forming the initial team, which we gradually expanded by adding more developers. After about 3 months, as the team grew, it was divided into 2 teams with 8 experts in each team.
The first release of the new Planet V went live on 14 November 2022.
In 2021 we set ourselves the goal of shipping an all-new Planet V during Q4 of 2022. We promised it would be bigger and better than what had come before, and that we’d put our agency customer at the heart of it. Well, with Future Processing team’s amazing help, we’ve achieved just that.
I also want to acknowledge the smooth collaboration between teams, it’s not always the easiest thing to get right and it’s made a huge impact.
Partnership that delivers
Future Processing and ITV forces joined together to develop a new major iteration of the Planet V ad management platform.
We have provided two cross-functional development teams to collaborate with another two ITV teams using a common backlog. It means we have worked as a single product team without partitioning responsibility around the platform’s architecture, modules, or components. Product, UX, and Platform teams are also part of the client’s team.
The pilot version of the new Planet V was launched on 14 November 2022, allowing the first users to test and give feedback on the platform. Since then, the platform has evolved significantly, entering a phase of continuous development and integration across ITV’s advertising ecosystem.
Right from the start ITV was very keen to promote a one-team approach and culture. The whole team has been incredibly successful in achieving this and the client has a great perception of the Future Processing team.
We have created a true partnership with ITV right from the start of the project.
The team wanted to incrementally improve the platform over time, leveraging user feedback as the main driving force in the product roadmap. Future Processing and ITVs joined-up approach to engineering and commitment to agile has ensured the team can react quickly to any pain points encountered by users, while also continuing to add value and demonstrate ITV’s ongoing commitment to enhancing the platform.
Project evolution & ongoing development
Following the successful launch of Planet V in late 2022, the platform has reached a stage of maturity and ongoing growth. It is now used by over 1,000 active monthly users across more than 200 independent agencies in the UK. The total revenue flowing through the platform has surpassed £1 billion.
To continue delivering value, ITV and Future Processing have expanded their collaboration as part of the Commercial Tech & Change division’s long-term digital strategy. Our team now contributes to several strategic programmes, including the multi-year initiatives – Telligence Core and Telligence Insights, which directly support ITV’s vision of becoming a leader in advertiser-funded streaming by 2026.
One of the goals has been to further integrate Planet V with ITV’s systems, enabling seamless handling of both digital and linear TV advertising. Orders placed via Planet V are now automatically processed and forwarded to internal systems, removing the need for manual input and increasing operational efficiency. Additionally, more than 90% of campaign parameters, such as targeting, are now handled automatically.
We also support ITV’s automation and data-driven transformation by contributing to the development of several key tools within the Telligence Core initiative:
- Auto Break Planning (ABP) – Automates the creation and adjustment of ad breaks based on the schedule.
- Forecasting – Uses machine learning models trained on historical data to predict audience size for 17 demographic groups. The model has already outperformed human predictions by up to 20%.
- Inventory Planning App (IPA) – A user-facing application that displays schedules, breaks, and predictions, while allowing manual adjustments.
In parallel, we also contribute to Telligence Insights, a separate self-service data visualisation initiative for real-time insights and reporting, rolled out across the Commercial division.
Thanks to strong collaboration and rapid onboarding capabilities, Future Processing was able to double the size of one of the teams within two weeks during a critical phase, enabling ITV to respond to business needs and maintain high delivery standards.
Project in numbers
6
weeks to choose Future Processing and sign the contract
£1 billion+
in advertising revenue processed through the platform
200+
advertising agencies now use the platform
1,000+
active monthly users book and manage campaigns on Planet V
20
experts from Future Processing working on a project
Main benefits of our partnership
Over £1 billion in revenue has been booked through Planet V to date
The platform is now used by 1,000+ monthly active users from 200+ agencies
90% of campaign parameters are now processed automatically
Contribution to ITV’s digital strategy, helping exceed digital revenue targets two years ahead of schedule
Platform enhancements helped drive a 15% year-on-year increase in digital advertising revenue
Machine learning–based forecasting models outperform human predictions by up to 20%
Fully automated order processing eliminates manual steps
Seamless integration of digital and linear TV advertising
Capability to double the team in under two weeks during peak delivery needs
Technologies used in the project
