ITV3 to launch exclusively on Freeview

[Zooropa]

ITV's newest digital station ITV3 will initially launch on Freeview only, the Media Guardian reports today.

The channel, launching on November 1st, will be targetted at over-35s with a lineup of movies, drama repeats and behind-the-scenes spinoff shows.

Distribution difficulties mean that only a third of the digital audience will be able to tune in from day one, however. "It will come on to Freeview, then move on to cable," said ITV chief exec Charles Allen today. "We're happy to put it on Sky, but Sky are saying they can't put any new channels [on Sky Digital] for six months. The overall issue is when they can take it."

This is not the first time ITV and Sky have been involved in a carriage conflict: popular general entertainment station ITV2 wasn't added to the Sky lineup until three years after its launch in 1998.

 

[popol]

is it going to be free as there are others like e4 where you have to buy a card

 

[K]

I think its going to be free as it states in the first post that it will be added to the freeview lineup.. if it wasnt free it would of said it would be added to the Top up TV lineup

I think Sky are playing games with BBC and ITV, and to be honest i think they could add more channels to their lineup.. but i think sky need to remove allot of their crap channels that are a waste of time.. I mean look at the picture quality over the past year or so.. when is it they can say "look we have to many channels it's affecting our picture quality"

FreeView is getting the same as Ondigital, The more channels they put on the less strenght they have..

ITV3 good move (Y)