So it seems ITV is launching yet another steaming service, this time ITVX which is merging ITV Hub and Britbox together. Britbox will still remain a separate entitity within ITVX. Britbox UK will also be owned fully by ITV with the BBC selling their 10% to ITV. Despite being part of ITVX, content from the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5 should still be available.
Britbox internationally is still owned equally by both BBC Studios and ITV.
ITVX will have two tiers:
A free, ad-supported tier.
A paid tier which is ad-free and includes Britbox.
"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. "
Bold move. And perhaps an admission that no-one really watches broadcast TV any more?
I wouldnât say no one does. Programmes still get a significant number of viewers overnight (the best figures for broadcast TV I can find) although more and more people are just watching shows on iPlayer and ITV Hub etc whenever they want.
I donât get why they want to broadcast their programmes months later though. That just seems like a really odd decision. BBC, ITV, and Channel 4 have all done drops on their platforms when the first episode has aired on TV. I donât see what is wrong with that.
Interesting that BritBox might be absorbed so much that it ceases to be a distinct brand within ITVX. Will people think to go find classic BBC, C4 and C5 context within the ITV streaming app?
They have said that Britbox will remain a distinct entity within ITVX. They will probably just need to have very clear adverting. Probably only mention ITVX right at the end so people donât get so focused on ITV and ignore the other channels.
Another thing that I really question about this is the name. I have seen quite a few comments about ITVX and the link to adult content. Obviously people are joking about it, but itâs not the best start to a new product name.
Also, when are ITV going to find a streaming service name and stick with it? We have gone from ITV Player, to ITV Hub and now ITVX. They clearly donât have much faith in their ITV Hub brand. In comparison, weâve had BBC iPlayer for ages now and it has essentially had the same branding all this time.
I always think iPlayer sounds really dated, from that exciting time when internet things had i prefixed to them. eBay, obviously, is from an earlier era.
ITVX sounds like something that would come up on The Apprentice and none of them even considered the adult connotations
Iâm sure its ad revenue driven. Trigger Point on ITV which as just finished, itâs on series link and Iâll fast forward through the adverts. This wonât be news to them but maybe that means advertisers are paying less. If Iâm forced to sit through 2 mins of insurance and pet food, maybe they can charge a higher rate?
I actually really like the iPlayer name and completely disagree with it sounding dated. I think it is actually a really strong brand and am happy they havenât felt the need to change it every few years.
The name is similar to iPhone and iPad and I wouldnât have said they were dated either.
Yes, on Virgin Media 360, if you watch C4 on timeshift, youâre unable to fast forward through the ads to catch up. I expect ITVX will take this approach.
