ITV is launching children’s streaming service ITVX Kids this summer, with the CITV channel closing once rollout is complete this autumn.
ITVX Kids will launch in July, but will take the length of the summer holidays to complete rollout across various devices.
The ITVX Kids homepage will be accessible via a “child-safe ITVX Kids profile”, according to ITV’s announcement today.
The service will bring together over 100 brilliant titles in a dedicated homepage, with over 1000 hours of programming to choose from, a near doubling of the current offer, with curated rails and collections. This new content will span a wide-range of genres and subjects including comedy, gameshows, live action, animation and sport and sourced from a broad spectrum of distributors from small Independents as well as regional UK suppliers.
▶ What will ITVX Kids offer?
New shows
- Lloyd of the Flies,
- Lily’s Driftwood Bay,
- Claude,
- Mumfie,
- Mystery Lane
- The Rubbish World of Dave Spud
Familar brands
- Mr Bean,
- TeleTubbies Let’s Go,
- Sooty
- Bob The Builder
- HOW
Will ITVX Kids be free?
As with the ‘grown-up’ ITVX, ITVX Kids will be available for free. But parents who want their children to stream ad-free will require an ITVX Premium subscription.
ITVX Premium is currently available for £5.99 a month or £59.99 for an annual subscription.
What happens to children’s programmes on ITV’s television channels?
- CITV will close in the early autumn after just over 17 years on air as a standalone TV channel.
- Children’s programmes will be shown early mornings on ITV2. As is currently the case with programmes for grown-ups on ITV2, there will be strong cross-promotion to ITVX.
- Programmes for pre-school children will continue to be broadcast in the mornings on ITVBe, as part of ‘LittleBe’
Why is ITV closing the CITV channel?
ITV cites BARB viewing data, demonstrating the average amount of broadcast TV minutes of kids TV channels watched by 4-15 year olds per week has declined by -62% since 2019. Meanwhile, the use of streaming services has grown in that time.
Incidentally, the BBC is planning to also close its children’s linear channel, CBBC. The closure is earmarked for 2024, and it’s expected the BBC will set out its plans in more detail shortly, following the publication of its annual plan. Like ITV, the BBC is not planning changes to pre-school programming.
CITV, originally Children’s ITV, started life as an afternoon strand of programmes on the ITV Network in 1983. The success of Children’s ITV prompted the BBC to revamp its children’s programmes in the mid-1980s. CITV was perhaps best known for shows including Press Gang, Knightmare and Fun House.
Corporate comment
Craig Morris, Managing Editor of ITVX said:
“We’re really excited to launch this dedicated destination for kids on ITVX, which will be home to a wealth of content including new series, recognisable brands and existing favourites for a range of ages, all in one child-safe area, with editorial curation to guide viewing. The wealth of content will be available to stream for free, with the option for parents to choose ad free viewing, through a subscription to ITVX Premium.”
Iain Hatton