The UK is getting an all-game show streaming service
IQTV will host quiz show titles like ‘The Weakest Link’ and ‘Mastermind.’
There are quite a few subscription video on demand services out there these days and there's about to be one more. A trio of media execs have come together to form InQuisiTiVe Media and will soon launch a subscription service all about British quiz shows. IQTV is scheduled to launch in the UK this July and will offer over 100 quiz show titles including Mastermind, Celebrity Mastermind, The Weakest Link, Countdown and Only Connect. Deals with BBC Worldwide, Banijay and Channel 4 will allow it to have an ongoing stream of new episodes. InQuisiTiVe Media was launched by former Zodiak Media CEO Marc-Antoine d'Halluin, former Lovefilm exec Nick James and Rod Henwood former head of the Harry Potter digital platform Pottermore.
A streaming service dedicated to game shows seems rather niche, but that's what IQTV's founders are going for. "Intelligent quiz shows represent an attractive, untapped genre for a niche SVOD service," Henwood told Variety. "They have significant and very loyal audiences, their brands are enduring, their hosts are highly recognizable with a strong social media following." He also told Deadline that IQTV is meant to appeal to a "post-millennial" and "upmarket" audience.
The service will be limited to the UK at launch, but the team hopes to expand it internationally with France and Northern Europe offering attractive markets going forward. While IQTV will host already established titles initially, in the future, there may be interest in developing original shows for the platform, Henwood told Deadline. The service will cost ￡3.49 (approximately $4.80) and will also launch with an app that will allow viewers to play along with the shows.
