ITVX has passed 3 billion streams for 2025, hitting the milestone more than 3 weeks earlier than in 2024 and reinforcing its status as the UK’s leading commercial BVOD platform.
ITV says the service has been the number 1 commercial BVOD proposition in every month of the last 2 years, ahead of rival broadcaster services and the ad tiers of global streamers on 1-minute reach among adults 16+. The platform now offers around 26,000 hours of free programming, supported by ITVX Premium and a growing FAST and live portfolio.
Growth has been led by drama and soaps. Drama remains ITVX’s largest genre with 859 million streams year-to-date, up 16% year-on-year, fuelled by the “Drama Drop Sundays” boxset strategy. Psychological thriller Playing Nice has become ITVX’s second biggest drama to date, with its finale alone generating 6 million streams and strong evidence of cross-title viewing, as 45% of Drama Drop viewers go on to watch at least 3 different drama series.
Continuing drama has delivered the biggest uplift. Coronation Street and Emmerdale’s early-release strategy – with new episodes dropping from 07.00 on ITVX ahead of ITV1 – has pushed soaps to more than 400 million streams in 2025, up 30% year-on-year.
Reality remains a key engine for younger audiences, delivering more than half a billion streams. Love Island’s 10th anniversary run generated over 200 million streams, with Love Island All Stars adding another 100 million. Big Brother and The Only Way Is Essex both passed 50 million streams, while new format The Princess Diaries has emerged as the top reality launch after Love Island, with 39% of its audience under 35.
Entertainment titles also recorded double-digit gains, up 16% year-on-year. Britain’s Got Talent delivered 24 million streams in the first half, up 19% on 2024, while quiz format The 1% Club nearly doubled its ITVX streams to 21 million.
ITVX continues to lean on a large free movie offering, with over 1,000 titles available so far this year and film streams up 26%. Alongside studio franchises including James Bond, Harry Potter, Jurassic World and Star Wars, the platform is using movies as a free, ad-funded differentiator from subscription rivals.
Live events remain concentrated but impactful. The Women’s Euros semi-final delivered more than 4 million live streams on ITVX, while ITV’s Six Nations coverage generated 16 million streams for 10 matches.
ITV’s managing director of media and entertainment Kevin Lygo said the 3 billion milestone, achieved ahead of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, underlines ITVX’s role as a free “must-watch destination” for mass-market British drama, reality, soaps and entertainment.
