Can ITV really hope to go toe to toe with Netflix with its UK streaming plan?

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that ITV wants to join the Netflix style streaming bandwagon. All the world’s media companies would like a piece of that action.

It is part of what drove the Disney, Comcast, Fox, Sky dust up that now seems to have more or less resolved itself.

The problem with these sort of business stampedes, however, is that they inevitably lead to lots of them getting trampled while the first movers watch from down the road before swooping in to pick up bits of the carcasses.

Can Dame Carolyn McCall avoid getting crushed under the hooves of the bigger beasts her company is running with?

Today’s half year results were moderately well received by the market. There was, of course, the World Cup. The ‘curse of ITV’ - the performance of the England team when their matches are screened by the commercial broadcaster is truly dismal - didn’t stop fans from watching.

In a perverse way it might even have been good for viewership: Scots in need of a chuckle know which channel to watch.

Love Island, meanwhile, still captivates a disturbingly high proportion of the viewing public.

Outside those two hardy perennials there was less to write home about. Overall, broadcast and online earnings fell 12 per cent with the incomprehensible “impacted by higher schedule costs due to the World Cup” provided as the explanation. No I don’t know what that means either.

But you can always slice and dice ITV’s numbers to justify your view of the company.

The real interest for the neutrals in the crowd came courtesy of Dame Carolyn’s plans for the future, which will see the company investing £40m next year to be (ugh) “more than ITV”, and £60m over three years, paid for largely via cost cuts.

Some of that will go into a direct to consumer ad free streaming service, that may or may not include other UK broadcasters such as Channel Four and the BBC.

Seeking to go toe to toe with media World Cup winners like Netflix or Amazon looks like a dangerous game to be playing.

Can an ITV even hope to get past the qualifying competition?

That £60m is a small fraction of what Amazon paid just to buy the rights create and stream a Lord of the Rings prequel.

But in Dame Carolyn’s favour is that most Britons like to watch British content, of which there isn’t much on streaming services.

The company points out that 92 of the top 100 rated programmes are UK originated.

A British streamer showcasing British content would be a lot stronger if the BBC and Channel Four were to be involved, although some analysts have suggested an acquisition or two, such as Peppa Pig maker Entertainment One, might provide a handy short cut if the ongoing talks with them flounder.

Nonetheless, if it’s set up and priced right, there might be an appetite for it.

To really make it fly, however, Dame Carolyn would need convince her shareholders that long term investment is a virtue. That’s a good goal, but it’s not a penalty kick.