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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Daniel Bird

CITV axed after 40 years on screens in major change to streaming service

CITV will be taken off the air later this year in a dramatic shake-up for ITV.

The channel which has been a firm favourite amongst families has been on the air for 40 years and has shown programmes such as My Parents Are Aliens and the classic Jungle Run.

However, bosses at the network have decided to decommission the channel on TV screens in favour of their new streaming service, ITVX which replaced the ITV Hub.

It comes as the average amount of TV minutes on channels dedicated to children between the ages of 4 and 15 has rapidly declined by 62% each week.

CITV is being taken off the air by bosses at ITV (ITV)

Elsewhere, the use of streaming platforms has risen by a staggering 30% in the same period of time.

Now, the ITVX Kids section will be available in place of CITV from July 2022 with ITV predicting that the channel will be completely wiped from TVs by Autumn.

Craig Morris, managing director of ITV 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.

Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern have previously appeared on CITV (ITV/REX Shutterstock)

"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."

Discussing ITVX Kids, a spokesperson for the network said: "The Kids ITVX homepage, accessed within a child-safe ITVX Kids profile, 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.

"The curated collections will feature a wide range of titles, including brand new programmes dropping monthly on the service, from July 2023."

Neil Buchanan was a household name thanks to Art Attack (YouTube/CITV)

Despite CITV being axed from the TV listings, ITV have explained they will keep the LittleBe preschool segment on ITVBe as well as airing some children's TV in the morning on ITV2 after September.

The network are also keen to roll out new shows as well as re-introducing fan favourites such as Bob the Builder and Mr Bean.

Over the years, the likes of Art Attack fronted by Liverpudlian Neil Buchanan delighted children as he taught them arts and crafts with his large designs.

Meanwhile, The Worst Witch followed Mildred Hubble as she went about her daily life at a boarding school for witches.

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