ITV today announced the launch of ITVX – the UK’s first integrated advertising and subscription funded platform.
ITVX will be viewer led – viewers can choose to watch thousands of hours of content for free in an advertising-funded tier or trade up to a subscription service that provides all that content ad-free and in addition provides thousands more hours of British boxsets from BritBox and other partners’ content.
Carolyn McCall, ITV’s Chief Executive:
“The digital acceleration we are announcing today builds on everything we have achieved in phase one of our More Than TV strategy. ITVX will be a free service supported by adverts, with a compelling subscription proposition. This is fantastic for viewers – it will provide a simplified and seamless experience with thousands of hours of free content made up of both library and original exclusive content. The subscription tier will provide a premium offering and includes all of the content ad-free as well as BritBox and future SVOD content partners.”
In a step-change to its traditional approach, ITV will now adopt a digital-first windowing strategy – premiering much of its new content first on ITVX and subsequently months later on ITV linear channels. There will be ‘something for everyone on ITVX’, the broadcaster notes, ‘with more fresh new content dropping every week of the year than any other British video on demand platform.’
Carolyn McCall, ITV’s Chief Executive:
“We are supercharging our streaming business, fundamentally shifting our focus to think digital first, as well as optimising our broadcast channels, by continuing to attract unrivalled mass audiences. In doing so we are responding to changing viewing habits, but also the evolving needs from our advertisers. This will enable ITV to continue to be both commercial viewers and advertisers’ first choice.”
ITVX will be the first streaming service in the UK to offer viewers the flexibility to access free content with ads and an ad-free paid subscriptions, all in one place. Viewers will now be able to stream new programme exclusives, with adverts, for free; ranging from premium ITV dramas, documentaries, US series, comedy and reality shows to blockbuster films and much, much more.
As well as “streaming first” exclusives, all the drama and comedy ITV commissions will be made available to viewers in one go on ITVX, for free, as soon as the first episode has aired on ITV’s linear channels. The same will be true of the majority of reality series.
In the same service, subscription gives upgrade access to a premium tier where all of the free content can be viewed, without the ads, as well as a growing range of partner content, with exciting announcements to follow in due course. Subscribers will also have access to BritBox which showcases the biggest streaming collection of UK series from BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5 and includes exclusives such as Classic Doctor Who. BritBox has recently surpassed 733,000 subscribers, ahead of all business plan targets showing the popularity of the brand.
Rufus Radcliffe, ITV’s Managing Director of Streaming:
“2021 was a record year for ITV Hub and BritBox, giving us strong foundations from which to supercharge our streaming strategy. We are investing significantly in new and exclusive programmes which will be free to stream, and also in technology and product design to make the viewer experience and interface a premium one on ITVX.”
Until the launch of ITVX later this year, ITV Hub will continue to be the free streaming home of ITV, with ongoing plans to scale up the amount of content on the service in the run up to ITVX launch. ITV Hub currently has 4,000 hours of content while ITVX will have around 15,000 hours at launch.
BritBox will remain the standalone subscription home of the best of British content including forthcoming originals Why Don’t They Ask Evans? and The Dry, until later this year, when the content on ITV Hub and BritBox come together in what will be the new streaming home of ITV, ITVX. The pricing of the subscription tier in ITVX will be announced later this year.
