ITV has announced that its new streaming service will launch with more than 9,000 hours of free content later this year. The ITVX platform will replace the ITV Hub brand as the broadcaster increases its efforts to compete with streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon in the digital age.
The broadcaster has said that within its launch programme there will a host of new dramas starring the likes of Damian Lewis and Vicky McClure and 35 flagship shows. New dramas due to premiere on the service include Cold War drama A Spy Among Friends starring Lewis and Guy Pearce, four-part thriller Without Sin starring McClure, and teenage drama Tell Me Everything.
At least one show will then launch on ITVX per week, including screenwriter Russell T Davies’s Nolly starring Helena Bonham Carter, drama series Litvinenko starring David Tennant and Mark Bonnar, and period drama The Confessions Of Frannie Langton. The service will also be adding complete series of forthcoming ITV shows, including real-life drama Stonehouse starring Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes, and the new season of Unforgotten.
Among the 150 hours of true crime content will be a documentary exploring the accusations against comedian Bill Cosby, titled The Case Against Cosby, due to be added in 2023. More than 250 films and 200 recent and classic TV series will also be available from the launch date, the broadcaster said.
ITV has said it will premiere much of its new content on ITVX six to nine months before it airs on its traditional TV channels. The service will launch with two options in a bid to satisfy a broad demographic – viewers can choose to watch advertising-funded programmes free of charge, or trade up and buy ad-free content such as BritBox.
ITV has said the 9,000 hours will be free to watch from its launch date, with an additional 6,000 hours available to those who subscribe to the ad-free tier, which will give users access to BritBox.
