ITV uses Databricks to modernize and optimize operations

Overview

ITV, the British public broadcast television network with nearly 40 million viewers, built a data mesh architecture on the Databricks Data + AI Platform with Delta Lake and Unity Catalog to connect its marketing, commercial advertising and product experience domains. This took the company from zero to a fully functional data platform within weeks, cut marketing campaign planning from months to minutes, and improved regulatory compliance and data access auditability.

The challenge

ITV formerly relied on multiple legacy data platforms, which resulted in data fragmentation. Its data team was similarly fragmented across marketing, commercial advertising and product experience with its own technology stack. When the company launched its new digital strategy, it became clear it would need to modernize its platform and undergo a massive digital transformation with data at the core.

The solution

ITV sought a platform that would allow it to consolidate its data sources and use analytics, machine learning, rule-based algorithms, and other tools to understand viewer expectations and behavior and improve the user experience. ITV used the Databricks Data + AI Platform to power a data mesh framework connecting its marketing, commercial advertising and product experience domains, relying on Delta Lake for storage and Unity Catalog for centralized governance.

Reported business value

Deploying Databricks was fast, going from zero to a fully functional platform in just a few weeks. The lakehouse empowered the marketing department to leverage data to create and deliver marketing campaigns in minutes rather than the months previously required, and Unity Catalog helped meet strict compliance and privacy standards, providing audit information in a matter of hours.