ITV Studios used a panel in Lisbon on Monday to make a blunt case for why Love Island still matters between broadcast seasons: keep the franchise alive online, and the audience keeps talking. At the inaugural StreamTV Europe conference, the company said its digital strategy is meant to keep Love Island an ongoing obsession on platforms even when the show is not airing in the U.K., the U.S. or other key territories.
Ruth Berry said the aim was to let fans “have it as a daily conversation in their lives,” while Martin Trickey said the point was building “a social community.” The numbers back that up. ITV Studios said it generated 9.7 billion organic views in 2025 across owned and operated and local channels on YouTube, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram, while community-created videos using Love Island-related hashtags drew 49.3 billion views last year.
The strategy is not just about keeping a brand visible. ITV Studios said it sold more than 2 million Love Island water bottles and that a Love Island game passed more than 35 million installs, showing how the franchise has become a business across screens, merchandise and apps. That off-air momentum also fed back into the television show: season 12 in the U.K. became Love Island’s biggest season in three years, and last year the U.S. Peacock version was the most streamed original TV series in North America.
Berry said the company is focused on engagement when the cameras are off, especially in the gap between seasons, because the narrative has to continue even when the broadcast does not. Trickey said the company’s approach began with listening, adding that saying it wanted to be part of the conversation meant first listening and then providing regular content to avoid awkward silences.
The tension in ITV Studios’ pitch is that Love Island’s most valuable audience activity now happens outside the main show, where fans, clips and user-generated posts can shape the franchise as much as the producers do. That idea was on display again when Will Scougal unveiled a Corona Sunbrew partnership with Love Island: Beyond the Villa at StreamTV in Lisbon, including a weekend in Los Angeles curated by Amaya Espinal for one fan age 21 or older. For ITV Studios, the answer to the question of whether Love Island can keep its grip between seasons is yes — by treating every quiet stretch as part of the show.
