ITV has added its much anticipated pay element to its online catch-up TV service.
The payment system, part of a new integrated player, allows users to rent content from the commercial network’s library and view it free of commercials. Traditional catch-up content remains available at no charge, and will sit alongside the archive content.
James Micklethwait, online product director, ITV said: “Our all new ITV Player is a huge step forward in offering our viewers not only an improved catch-up experience but also the chance to access a wider range of ITV’s rich mix of programming, on demand, for a competitive price. We see this as offering our viewers a little bit extra for a little bit extra, and look forward to evolving and improving the new Player going forward.”
30-day rental of single episodes will be available from 49p, while 90-day rental of ad-free full series box sets at a discounted price. There are also plans to let viewers see the next episode of a series before its linear broadcast.
Such a system has successfully run in the German market for several years. In the UK however early viewing has been a ploy restricted to the now firmly established side channels such as Channel 4’s E4.
Registering to use the site allows users access to content older than the seven-day window.