ITV Studios deployed Cuez’ cloud-based platform for live rundown and studio automation, allowing their team to configure and manage three daytime shows from one central platform.
ITV Studios, the production facility of UK commercial broadcaster ITV, produces three daytime magazine-format lifestyle shows – This Morning, Loose Women and Lorraine – back-to-back from the same London studio. The shows share a single technical crew, but with different presenters, branding and graphics, as well as their own editorial style.
When setting up the studio for this arrangement, ITV Studios looked for a solution that could unify the production of these three shows, and would include tools serving all roles from producers building rundowns to gallery operators managing playout. The team has deployed live production software from Cuez, a cloud-based platform for news programmes and live entertainment which allows them to configure and manage the shows from one central platform for live rundown and studio automation.
Newsroom Consolidation
What set Cuez apart for ITV Studios was its ability to serve the entire creative process from a single environment, which means they can rely on a smaller crew and give each member a clearer view of the process. "Our production teams range in technical ability, but all of them can take advantage of the same newsroom system. That ease of use has been hard to find," commented Barry Thomas, Executive Director at ITV Studios. "Other systems don't make such a complete set of capabilities available to the entire team."
In the gallery, Cuez consolidated what previously required two operators and two separate applications – one operating the graphics with Avid Maestro and one operating the VT (video tape) functions with Avid Command. "Using one application, we were able to play multiple graphics systems and VT playout systems together very easily," said Adam Scott, Gallery Playout Operator at ITV Studios. “This results in the crew having clear oversight of the show, and less margin for error when transitions between programmes run to minutes."
The production team found the Cuez platform was straightforward to adopt, and picked it up quickly. Jonathan Hughes, Producer at ITV Studios, noticed it was much easier to use than other systems he has used in the past, and also noted its ability to keep all crews synchronised in real time. "Last-minute changes are critical for all three programmes. Cuez updates everyone instantly. When you type something in the control room, it appears on set immediately," Jonathan said.
Live Synchronisation
“This kind of live synchronisation is exactly what we needed. Those changes also reach the camera operators in real time. Before, we had been printing out the rundowns to use on set, but now we have replaced their bundles of print-outs with a modern iPad attached to each camera, displaying the synced Cuez Rundown."
One of Jonathan’s main tasks is building rundowns for the daily show. He can look ahead to a particular day of the week, and put together what goes into that show. “I can see quite clearly whether I'm over on my timings and exactly how the general flow of the show looks,” he said. “I then communicate that information with the presenters and answer any questions while I have the software up on a laptop or a phone.
“A further difference is that, with Cuez, everything is a logic block, visualised as a graphic, that works across all the shows. Then, for each show, you only need to press one button to transform it into that show’s style. Being able to move the blocks around manually makes management much easier.”
On the Platform - Storydesk, Rundown, Automator
"Adopting one universal tool that we can communicate in, and see exactly what is happening next, has made a significant change for creatives and directors," Barry Thomas said. Cuez‘ platform connects with and controls content creation devices via API or MOS. It comprises three core elements - Storydesk, Rundown and Automator.
Reflecting ITV Studios team’s descriptions above, Cuez Storydesk replaces the mix of tools editorial teams rely on – wire monitoring, story planning, media management, team communication – combining them into a coherent tool. Reporters work from the story, producers plan across the publishing points and editors track performance. AI handles the busywork – but team members control how much of the work AI is responsible for. Meanwhile, everyone stays in sync.
Cuez Rundown is the shared space where each person can edit and update the script in real time, from any place, directly in the browser. Updates appear instantly, keeping the team aligned and informed. Scripts can be enriched with media assets, structured to fit a specific production, and integrated with existing systems.
Cuez Automator acts as a control layer and connects directly to studio cameras, graphics, lighting, audio and playout scheduling, turning the rundown into timed, actionable triggers. Automator uses a no-code approach based on logic blocks such as AND, OR and IF. Once configured, the blocks handle the technical tasks in the background. Automator can be run by a team or connected, configured and controlled by a single operator. cuez.app
