Associated Press Television News

Associated Press Video, also referred to as AP Video and AP Television News (abbreviated APTN), is a global video news agency operated by The Associated Press (AP).

AP Television News is the video division of the Associated Press. It provides many of the world's broadcasters with a round-the-clock continuous feed of news, sports, entertainment and feature video content. Associated Press Television News Ltd. is a UK corporation owned and controlled by the Associated Press.

Headquartered in North London, AP Television News was founded in 1994 as Associated Press Television or APTV. They moved to their present headquarters in 1999 when APTV bought out competitor Worldwide Television News (WTN) and hired Roberto FE Soto as their first NYC Bureau Chief. The WTN building and facilities located at 1995 Broadway were deemed more suitable than the existing AP headquarters and Soto redesigned the newsroom, where APTN NY stayed until AP moved their operations to W 33 street in New York City, and later to 200 Liberty Street in New York City in 2017, where they remain.

Since its rebranding in 2005, the APTN name and logo was dropped in favour of "AP Television News", featuring the red AP logo of the Associated Press to emphasise its connection to the AP. As of 2023, the APTN abbreviation is not officially used, but many broadcasters still refer to the organisation as APTN.

AP distributes video to its client broadcasters around the world, mostly by satellite and streaming. Many major broadcasters and networks rely heavily upon The AP for major breaking news from around the world. The company also provides specialised broadcast services to clients, via its AP360 operation, such as editing, crewing or satellite feeds from news and sports events. Historical footage is also made available from its extensive film and video archives, which date back to 1895. It includes the film and video archives of onetime AP rival UPI's longtime newsfilm service United Press International Television News, which was the original agency that became WTN.

AP Video is based in North London (in a former gin warehouse on the Regent's Canal called "The Interchange" because its original function was to interchange freight between the canal and rail systems) with bureaus in 85 cities and 79 nations, including New York City, Washington D.C., Paris, Rome and Moscow; as well as current-event regions such as Iraq and Afghanistan. It uses fibre-optic and satellite-based distribution networks to relay video footage to TV networks and newsrooms. (Broadcasters based in London receive the APTN video feed by local terrestrial circuits, known as "local ends," via the BT Tower.)

Video news agencies such as AP, and its main competitors AFP TV and Reuters Video News, typically do not produce programmes that TV owners could watch. Rather, they provide footage of an event with only natural sound and very loose editing. However, AP does also produce a range of entertainment and special interest programmes that are provided as white-label products for client use. Agency customers, who are local and national TV stations, documentary producers, cable television news channels, and the like, edit the agency footage to suit their style, and add their own graphics and voice-overs before transmission.

The premise for a video news agency is simple: very few TV stations devote enough money to newsgathering to put hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of camera, editing, and satellite transmission equipment everywhere that news might happen. Video news agencies provide rapid response coverage and international reach for those TV stations.