ITV today announced the launch of ITVX – the UK’s first integrated advertising and subscription funded (AVOD/SVOD) platform.

Although calling the service ITVX making it sound like ITV maybe moving into porn, ITVX is actually a service to to replace ITVHub.

ITVX will be allow viewers to choose to watch thousands of hours of content for free in an advertising funded tier or trade up to a subscription service which provides all that content ad-free and in addition provides thousands more hours of British boxsets from BritBox and other partners’ content.

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. So content will be shown week or months ahead on ITVX before it is shown on ITV linear channels. No idea if this will apply to sport or news!

There will be something for everyone on ITVX (says ITV Press statement, which given I cannot find anything to watch on ITV anyway is a big claim!), with more fresh new content dropping every week of the year than any other British video on demand platform.

Viewers will now be able to stream new programme exclusives, with adverts, for free; ranging from premium ITV dramas, documentaries, US series, comedy and reality shows to blockbuster films and much, much more. In the same service, subscription gives upgrade access to a premium tier where all of the free content can be viewed, without the ads, as well as a growing range of partner content, with exciting announcements to follow in due course.

As well as “streaming first” exclusives, all the drama and comedy ITV commissions will be made available to viewers in one go on ITVX, for free, as soon as the first episode has aired on ITV’s linear channels. The same will be true of the majority of reality series.

Until the launch of ITVX later this year, ITV Hub will continue to be the free streaming home of ITV, with ongoing plans to scale up the amount of content on the service in the run up to ITVX launch. ITV Hub currently has 4,000 hours of content while ITVX will have around 15,000 hours at launch.

ITVX will also be home to a wide selection of popular US series. In the first of a series of deals to be announced, ITV has concluded a wide ranging content deal with WarnerMedia International Television Distribution for programmes including UK premieres of The Sex Lives of College Girls and All American, as well as The OC, One Tree Hill and select series of The 100, Supernatural and Veronica Mars.

More details from the ITV Press Centre : https://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/introducing-itvx