With the line between streaming and linear broadcasts thinning, in the eyes of TV broadcasters there isn’t a big difference between live content and on-demand viewing. Content is king and ITVX looks to freshen up the free, ad-supported model when it launches.
Anyone who has used ITV Hub in the past is likely aware that it’s not the easiest to use nor does it deliver the best streaming quality. ITVX will come with a new look that can compete with the likes of Netflix, Disney+ and Sky as consumers embrace streaming both in their homes and out.
So what is ITVX, and should you be looking forward to yet another streaming service?
When does ITVX launch?
ITVX will launch on December 8 2022, which sits right in the middle of the FIFA World Cup and just before the Christmas period properly kicks in. It’s sure to be a busy time for the service.
What is ITVX?
When it launches, ITVX will be the new streaming home of all of ITV’s productions in the UK. It replaces ITV Hub with ITV saying viewers can expect a “new and improved product experience” along with programmes exclusive to the service.
All of ITV’s channels will be available to view, with “additional themed channels” (referred to as FAST – Free-Ad-Supported TV) along with a dedicated section/rail for news that will be updated throughout the day with bitesize videos and more in-depth chunks.
As well as being free to watch there will also be paid for access that removes ads and gives subscribers access to BritBox too.
The service will premiere a collection of dramas on its first day , with at least one flagship show launching each week from then onwards. Full series of TV shows will be dropped as they hit the service, allowing users to binge-watch if that’s their preferred method of TV consumption; and new series will be available on the service in tandem with a library of over 200 “classic US and UK dramas, comedies and reality shows”.
Users will also get access to films with over 250 to be made available on launch day and around 1000 films to stream over the course of a year.
Is ITVX free?
As mentioned above, ITVX will be available in ad-supported free version and premium subscription service.
Ahead of launch, we don’t yet know how much the premium service will cost as ITV hasn’t revealed any details. Speculation has suggested the paid-for tier could cost as much as £5.99/month, which is more than the premium version of ITV Hub was priced at (£3.99/month).
What can I watch on ITVX?
We mentioned there’d be a glut of commissioned dramas on launch day, and they include the six-part Cold War drama A Spy Among Friends (starring Damian Lewis and Guy Pearce), teen drama Tell Me Everything, period drama The Confessions of Frannie Langton (starring Karla-Simone Spence, Sophie Cookson and Patrick Martins) and the feature-length special finale to the Plebs comedy series in Plebs: Soldiers of Rome.
Litvinenko (David Tennant and Mark Bonnar) launches on the 15th December, family drama Riches (Deborah Ayorinde and Hugh Quarshie) and natural history doc A Year on Planet Earth (presented by Stephen Fry) will be available on the 22nd December.
Four-part thriller Without Sin (starring Vicky McClure) and game show Loaded in Paradise are scheduled for 28th December, while Nolly, Russell T Davies’ drama on Crossroads’ Noele Gordon, will be early 2023, along with Stonehouse (starring Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes) and a new series of Unforgotten.
For true crime aficionados there will be over 150 hours of content in a dedicated collection that includes Monster in My Family, The Case Against Cosby (2023) and factual commissions such as Rolf Harris: Hiding in Plain Sight, The Rise and Fall of Boris Becker and A Murder in the Family (all in 2023).
Other content slated for the service includes Thunderbirds: Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Terrahawks, Joe 90, Stingray, Space 199, UFO, Supernatural, The 100, Nikita, Astrid & Lilly Save the World and Korean-American series Dramaworld.
As part of the 250 films on the service, the Back to the Future trilogy, the Despicable Me trilogy, Wonder Woman and will feature. The full Fast and Furious series will launch in 2023.
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