ITV and C4 to launch catch-up services on PS3

TV on-demand services ITV Player and 4oD will be made available on Sony’s PlayStation3 games console later this week.

The broadcasters will join LoveFilm, which launched on the PS3 a month ago, and BBC iPlayer.

PlayStation’s marketing director Alan Duncan hopes the PS3 will drive an extra 10% of viewers to the broadcaster’s TV catch-up services.

Robin Pembroke, managing director of ITV.com said the deal is part of the ITV’s distribution strategy: “As awareness of ITV Player grows, so will consumption of ITV’s content on demand.”

ITV has already rejected deals with YouTube and Hulu and so far has only made ITV.com available on Virgin Media, BT Vision and soon, Freesat.  Speaking at MediaTel’s recent TV Summit, ITV CEO Adam Crozier said: “When I arrived ITV was talking to Hulu – I’ve put a stop to it. ITV.com is our shop. Once we’ve got it great, we will put it on the high street, then maybe one day franchise it.”

Sarah Rose, director of commercial business development at Channel 4, said this was the first time the broadcaster felt ready to partner with a games console: “They are much bigger now and moving into the entertainment space, plus it sits well with our 16 to 34-year-old audience strengths.”

Channel 4 is reportedly hoping to sign a similar deal with Microsoft to feature 4oD on the Xbox.

There are four million PlayStation3 consoles in the UK – 80% of which are connected to the internet – according to Sony.