One Month Delay For ITV Kids Channel

ITV has delayed the launch of its new children’s channel CiTV by a month, pushing the launch date to 11 March to ensure a premium quality offering from the outset.

ITV refused to give exact reasons for the last minute change, stating only that the date was changed “in order to make the channel as strong as it could possibly be from launch.”

The youth-focused channel, due for availability across Freeview, cable and satellite, had been scheduled to launch on 11 February (see ITV Confirms February Launch For Kids Channel), with the broadcaster acquiring content in preparation for the past few months (see ITV Signs Kids Shows For New Digital Channel).

Arrangements for the launch had been on track until recently, with the broadcaster’s closure of the ITV News Channel making way for CiTV’s Freeview launch (see ITV To Axe News Channel By End Of January).

However, ITV’s delay will enable rivals such as Nickelodeon’s Noggin, launching via TMF on satellite and Freeview later this month, to gain increasingly firm footholds in the children’s TV market (see Nickelodeon To Air Kids Programming Via Freeview).

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com