Pixel Power empowers ITV to retain new distinctive channel identities

Pixel Power, a Rohde & Schwarz company and a provider of advanced playout and automated channel branding, has worked extensively with ITV Creative to successfully deliver a dynamic new identity for the TV commercial broadcaster across six linear channels and the ITVX streaming service.

A long-term user of Pixel Power’s advanced graphics and automation technology, ITV’s previous branded programme promos were all generated on Pixel Power systems, including the highly automated trailer production, jointly developed as Project Phoenix. 

Now, it has built a refreshed identity on the same core technology, relying on expertise from the Pixel Power creative services team, which has been working with the broadcaster over recent months. 

“ITV Creative engaged design agency DixonBaxi for the visualisation of the new identity,” explained Charlie Cooke, Senior Graphic Designer at Pixel Power. “We worked with them to realise their concepts as dynamic graphic templates for the Pixel Power platform.”

The big challenge with these graphics is defining the large amount of graphic logic, Pixel Power shared. Each type of graphic needs to be updated based on the channel name and programme information determined in the schedule whilst also maintaining the brand guidelines. Once this logic is in place, the collaborative team could move on to the vast number of graphics to be realised. 

The strength of the Pixel Power platform is that it is highly automated and data driven. This means that the various ITV channels can each retain their own distinctive look and feel within the new brand, delivered reliably and automatically through smart templates. 

Mark Dietz, Broadcast Graphics Systems Operator at ITV Creative, said, “Pixel Power has always given us efficiency and ease of use. A scheduler simply adds the programme information like title, time, and a promo image, and then a whole suite of clips is automatically generated and dropped into the right places in the appropriate playlists.

“It is a simple and reliable process that we are very comfortable with.”