ITV has announced it will close the CITV channel this year.
The children’s TV channel is set to close in Autumn, as a response to the “changing ways children and their parents are increasingly accessing content”.
To replace the channel, ITV are launching ITVX Kids, a streaming base for all of ITV’s content for six to 12-year-olds.
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.
The service will launch in July and will be rolled out across the school summer holidays.
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.”
The change comes as viewership of kids TV channels has dropped by 62 per cent since 2019, while streaming has increased by 30 per cent.
Explaining the ITVX Kids service, ITV said: “The Kids ITVX homepage, accessed within a child-safe ITVX Kids profile, will bring together over 100 brilliant titles in a dedicated homepage, with over 1000 hours of programming to choose from, a near doubling of the current offer, with curated rails and collections.
“The curated collections will feature a wide range of titles, including brand new programmes dropping monthly on the service, from July 2023.
“This new content will span a wide-range of genres and subjects including comedy, gameshows, live action, animation and sport and sourced from a broad spectrum of distributors from small Independents as well as regional UK suppliers.
“The exciting range of new shows will complement existing favourites, including Lloyd of the Flies, Lily’s Driftwood Bay, Claude, Mumfie, Mystery Lane and The Rubbish World of Dave Spud, which will also be available on ITVX Kids.
“Brand new episodes of The Rubbish World of Dave Spud are commissioned for broadcast in 2024 and they will be premiered on ITVX.”
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