ITV says it’s seen a 55% increase in streaming hours since replacing its ITV Hub catch-up service with ITVX, the new service combining original new commissions, catch-up and content from BritBox.
The claims are based on a comparison of the service’s first month of operation (December 8th – January 7th) – which came later than widely expected – and the same period last year.
Viewers can enjoy free, ad-supported viewing of ITV shows and can watch ad-free and access additional content by taking out a subscription to a ‘premium’ tier costing £5.99.
Unlike ITV Hub, the new service offers shows in High Definition. On selected platforms it also offers access to ITVs live channels and a line-up of new themed channels based around the broadcaster’s biggest shows.
However, its launch saw the broadcaster drop support for many older TVs and set top boxes, leaving viewers with no catch-up access to its shows.
Some viewers have been left unimpressed with the new app, complaining of poor performance, crashing and unreliability.
Hailing the increase in streaming hours, Carolyn McCall, ITV CEO, said: “It is great to see so many new viewers coming into ITVX. The football World Cup has been an important part of that.
“Excluding the football, our underlying streaming viewing during the month was up 29% year on year and we continue to see strong year on year growth in January.
“Away from live streaming, viewers have welcomed our strong slate of commissioned launch titles exclusive to ITVX, with many viewers coming from harder to reach audiences.”
McCall also said the new service “has also landed really well with advertisers who see the increased value of the scale and reach of the audience they can now target in a high quality, brand safe and measurable streaming environment.”