With the line between streaming and linear broadcasts thinning, there is no longer a big difference between live programming and on-demand viewing. Content is king and ITVX has arrived to freshen things up with its free, ad-supported model.
Anyone who used ITV Hub is aware that wasn’t the easiest to use nor did 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.
So what is ITVX, and should you be checking out the “freshest” streaming service on the block?
What is ITVX?
ITVX is 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 are available with “additional themed channels” (referred to as FAST – Free-Ad-Supported TV) and a dedicated section/rail for news that’s updated throughout the day with bitesize videos and more in-depth chunks.
As well as having content that’s free to watch there’s paid for access that removes ads and gives subscribers access to BritBox too.
Several shows were made available on the service on day one such as ITVX exclusive A Spy Among Friends, and from then on least one flagship show will launch each week. Full series of TV shows will drop as they hit the service, allowing users to binge-watch if that’s their preferred method of TV consumption. Complementing ITVX’s original content is a library of over 200 “classic US and UK dramas, comedies and reality shows”.
Viewers 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. On the first day of the service Wonder Woman, Three Men and a Baby, Zoolander and Despicable Me were some of the films made available on the service.
When does ITVX launch?
ITVX is already online as of December 8th, 2022, and it’ll celebrate its arrival with a number of new and exclusives series.
What devices support ITVX?
You’ll find ITVX available on Amazon Fire TV and tablet, Android TV, Chromecast with Google TV, Apple TV (tvOS 12.2 onwards), iOS (12.2 onwards), Chromecast streamers, Freeview Play, Android mobile, NOW smart boxes and sticks, Roku players, Samsung Tizen smart TVs (2016 onwards), Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Virgin Media, Huawei, Freesat, web browsers, Xbox One/S and Xbox Series consoles.
You may find that the ITV Hub has not transformed into the ITVX app just yet, the update is still rolling out to platforms as of December 8th.
Is ITVX free?
ITVX is available in both ad-supported free version and as a premium subscription service.
To upgrade to the premium version you get a 7-day free trial, then subscribers pay £5.99/month and £59.99/month to access content ad-free.
Premium subscribers also get access to downloads, “thousands of more hours of hit shows” and content from BritBox. Ad-free applies to on-demand content, live TV will play with ads.
What can I watch on ITVX?
On launch day a glut of commissioned dramas arrived 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) arrives 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 available in early 2023, along with Stonehouse (starring Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes) and a new series of Unforgotten.
For true crime aficionados there is 150 hours of content in the ‘Factual” collection that includes Monster in My Family, The Case Against Cosby (2023) and 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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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.