A year since launch, ITV is to roll out an expansion of The ITV Hub offering a tiered ‘freemium’ service that will allow users to pay for ad-free content and watch shows offline.
One of a number of new initiatives planned for the Hub next year – including increased levels of personalisation and investment in original and acquired content – ITV Hub+ will allow users to watch content without interruption for £3.99.
While these features are currently only available on iOS devices, ITV said users can expect a roll-out across other platforms in due course.
“Viewers have always understood the trade off between paying to view content and watching adverts,” said Paul Kanareck, ITV’s group director of online.
“With the development of the ITV Hub, we can now offer viewers a choice – to keep watching for free, or to pay to watch without interruptions if that’s important to them. We’ve moved from a single content proposition, as a catch up service, to a more comprehensive offering and Hub+ is a great example of what we can do to further personalise a user’s experience.”
The Hub was launched one year ago to replace the previous ITV Player and now has more than 17 million registered users, with half of all 16-24 year olds in the UK registered on the service.
In other news announced this week, ITV has also made an investment in LA-based digital entertainment studio New Form, a producer of scripted originals aimed at the social media generation.
The partnership will include a multi-year commercial agreement to bring New Form’s programming to The ITV Hub, starting in 2017, with ITV’s Global Entertainment division also claiming first look distribution rights to New Form’s content.
