ITV produces a wide range of popular programming, from breaking news and reality TV to gripping dramas. Operating across multiple locations in the U.K., ITV creates, streams, and broadcasts some of the world’s most successful shows through two primary divisions: ITV Studios, its global content production arm, and Media & Entertainment, which delivers content via the streaming service, ITVX.
The Spectra BlackPearl Object Gateway is robust and highly cost-effective. We're confident that our content is secure and cannot be encrypted or destroyed by a malicious actor.
The Challenge
In 2015, ITV set out to modernize its content archive to keep pace with expanding data volumes and evolving production demands. Its existing system relied on Sony DigiBeta video cassettes, requiring a third-party service to deliver content for broadcast — adding complexity and slowing projects. ITV needed a long-term, secure archive built on non-proprietary standards that would avoid vendor lock-in and enable seamless access for distributed creative teams.
The Solution
ITV selected a replicated, object-based, scale-out media archive built on two BlackPearl Object Gateway appliances and two T950 tape libraries, deployed across geographically separate sites for redundancy.
The solution uses both LTO and TS tape media to store, retrieve, and reuse 30 petabytes of content. BlackPearl supports the Amazon S3 protocol, helping ensure long-term compatibility while reducing risk of obsolescence. It also integrates seamlessly with third-party data management tools, streamlining workflows.
The Result
For over a decade, the Spectra system has provided ITV with a reliable, cost-effective archival foundation. Production teams enjoy near-instant access to content without additional fees, making the solution ideal for fast-paced news and sports environments.
The tape-based architecture delivers air-gapped protection, safeguarding valuable media assets from cyber threats, unauthorized access, and data loss. Leveraging tape for deep archive storage delivers compelling economics compared to disk or cloud solutions, enabling ITV to store 30 petabytes of content with lower operational and energy costs — supporting both efficiency and sustainability goals. Over time, ITV has seamlessly updated tape generations, allowing greater storage density in a small physical footprint.
Environment Snapshot
- 2x Spectra BlackPearl Object Gateway
- 1x Spectra T950 tape library, three frames
- 1x Spectra T950 tape library, four frames
- LTO and TS tape media
- CatDV Media Asset Manager
