ITV’s new streaming service ITVX will go live just before the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
The launch month was finally confirmed today by ITV’s managing director for media and entertainment, Kevin Lygo, speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival.
Speaking to delegates, Lygo promised the service would feature “hundreds of thousands of hours of acquisitions including films thanks to huge deals with movie studios.”
The new ITVX will also offer live streams of all of ITV’s current channels, plus special pop-up linear channels.
ITV plans to use the World Cup for a marketing blitz to raise user awareness ahead of Christmas. The World Cup will also provide ITVX with an early stress test.
Previous announcements by ITV narrowed down the launch window to between October and mid-November.
ITV Hub to ITVX
28th September 2022 – ITV’s existing streaming service ITV Hub is upgraded with improved content protection. This is in preparation for the launch of ITVX. Some older devices will cease to work with the ITV Hub. Viewers will be able to tell if their device is not compatible if they see a pop-up warning message.
October 2022 – Final month for ITV Hub and BritBox UK in their current form.
November 2022 – ITVX launches, replacing ITV Hub. BritBox is due to retain its own branded area within the ITVX app.
The main ad-supported tier will provide users with access to ITV live streams, catch-up TV and thousands of hours of acquired content and exclusive commissions – including programmes that will debut on ITVX months before being shown on ITV.
20th November 2022 – Start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup