As a dynamic centre for innovation, collaboration, and creativity, Production Park and XPLOR bring together businesses, creators, and industry leaders to drive forward the region’s creative sector. Through strategic partnerships and a shared vision for growth, XPLOR is shaping the future of the industry by providing a space for knowledge-sharing, innovation, and cutting-edge research.
A Powerful Collaboration for Regional Growth
ITV Studios' membership marks a major milestone in XPLOR and Production Park’s journey to strengthen the creative industries ecosystem in the North. While ITV Studios has a global footprint, its deep roots in the UK’s Nations and Regions make it an integral player in regional storytelling, economic impact, and talent development.
This partnership underscores ITV Studios' commitment to fostering creativity, innovation, and industry growth beyond London. As Production Park and XPLOR continue to expand, ITV Studios' presence within our research and innovation community will provide invaluable industry insights, connections, and resources - benefiting businesses, creators, and future talent alike.
The partnership with XPLOR will enable ITVS to explore a wide range of innovations in our production workflows. The expertise and community that exists at Production Park will both inspire and enable us to evaluate emerging technologies. The partnership is an extension of the work we do as a group internally through the ITVS Global Innovations Hub. This forum connects our production teams globally to explore the technologies of the present, future and to share best practices.
Ben Russell, Director of Production, ITVS International.
We are really excited by the prospect of working more closely with XPLOR up at Production Park. From an R&D perspective, this is an extremely capable setup with both the space, equipment and in-house expertise to pilot, experiment and develop VP formats into that next phase and generation - across the UK and beyond.
Tim Guilder, Head of Production Technology, UK, ITV Studios.
A Partnership Built for Driving Innovation Sustainably
Phil Adlam, Head of XPLOR and Chief Technology Officer at Production Park says, “our mission is to drive innovation at the intersection of live performance and screen technology, and while the details of our collaboration with ITV Studios remain under wraps, the potential is immense.”
He goes to explain that "at XPLOR, we are committed to pushing creative and technical boundaries in a way that is both forward-thinking and sustainable. Our Virtual Production Studio - where much of our cutting-edge innovation takes place - runs on solar power for over 50% of the year, reflecting our commitment to a greener future for the industry. We look forward to the possibilities this partnership will unlock."
Tim adds “The strategic vision for 2025 is to ‘make what matters’ through entertaining & connecting millions of viewers with our content. Through this partnership we can actively prove how enhancing both the tech and the creativity behind those shows needn’t come at an additional cost to the environment. Specifically, using cleaner, much greener energy sources is a key area of focus (amongst other strands) both for us and the wider industry.”
The addition of ITV Studios to the XPLOR community marks more than just a new partnership - it signals a shared commitment to shaping a more innovative, collaborative, and sustainable future for the creative industries in the North and beyond. As we continue to welcome pioneering organisations into Production Park ecosystem, XPLOR remains dedicated to bridging the gap between research and real-world application, empowering creators and technologists alike.
About ITV Studios
ITV Studios is a creator, producer and distributor of world-leading programmes that people can’t get enough of. We connect millions of people every day and shape and reflect the world they live in.
ITV Studios is home to some of the best creative minds, crafting around 7,500 hours of original programming across 60 production labels. Our global footprint spans 13 countries including the UK, US, Australia, France, Germany, The Nordics, Italy and the Netherlands and our global distribution business sells our catalogue of 95,000+ hours to broadcasters and platforms around the world.
ITV Studios has 60+ owned and operated channels in the social space delivering over 10bn views in 2024, as well as 20 FAST channels on 100+ channel feeds globally. It launched a new label, Zoo 55 dedicated to expanding its digital and gaming activity, in January 2025.
ITV Studios is part of ITV PLC, which includes the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster ITV and the ad-funded, free streaming home for ITV, ITVX.
