ITV is to close its CITV broadcast channel and will move content for children to a new dedicated streaming destination on ITVX – ITVX Kids.
ITVX Kids will house both school age and pre-school age children’s shows.
Launching in July 2023, ITVX Kids will roll out across the school summer holiday period.
The CITV broadcast channel will close in early Autumn, once the new streaming destination for kids has been rolled out across platforms and devices. However, ITV will maintain the LittleBe pre-school segment on ITVBe and will offer some children’s content in the early mornings on ITV2 from September with cross promotion to ITVX.
Read more ITV prepares to ‘Double, Double, Double’ with ITVX service
ITV said it was responding to the changing ways children and their parents are increasingly accessing content.
It cited BARB viewing data demonstrating that the average amount of broadcast TV minutes of kids TV channels watched by 4-15 year-olds per week has declined by -62% since 2019.
The Kids ITVX homepage will bring together over 100 titles in a dedicated homepage, with over 1000 hours of programming to choose from.
New shows will complement existing series, including Lloyd of the Flies, Lily’s Driftwood Bay, Claude, Mumfie, Mystery Lane and The Rubbish World of Dave Spud.
New episodes of The Rubbish World of Dave Spud have been commissioned for broadcast in 2024 and they will be premiered on ITVX.
ITVX Kids will also have the animated series of Mr Bean, and for younger pre-school children, TeleTubbies Let’s Go, Sooty and Bob The Builder amongst other titles.
Craig Morris, managing editor of ITVX 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. 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.”
Read more ITVX: From Broadcast to Streaming
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