ITV’s Love Island channel ITVX is winning over investors and ‘landing well’ with advertisers
Streaming service ITVX triumphs in the first month following its launch, attracting viewers and advertisers alike and improving sales parent company ITV said.
The free ad-supported platform has boosted ITV’s streaming hours by 55 per cent year on year, lifted by consumer demand during December’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Excluding World Cup coverage, streaming was still up 29 per cent from the same period last year.
The positive news kept on coming for ITV continued this morning when shares climbed by 2.7 per cent as reassured investors gained confidence in the advertising revenues.
Carolyn McCall, CEO, said ITVX’s ramped up scale had “landed really well” with advertisers.
ITVX’s success follows a mixed new year for the UK’s mainstream media outlets, newspaper publisher Reach saw a 30 per cent tumble in share price on Wednesday due to disappointing advertising revenues.
British broadcaster ITV launched the new channel with 15,000 hours of content in December last year.
It replaced the ITV Hub, ITV Hub+ and BritBox UK and boasts exclusive shows and popular series such as Love Island and Coronation Street.
In March 2022, ITV’s initial announcement of its rebranding caused shares to plummet by 25 per cent, despite hopes that the streamlined service would revive the company’s sagging share price.
ITV hopes ITVX will double the television network’s digital revenue to over £750m by 2026.
The on-demand video service also has a subscription option, which removes ads and bundles in Britbox for £5.99 a month.