Why is CITV shutting down and what will be its ITV replacement?

CITV has been axed by ITV after 17 years on screen, and will be closed as of September 2023. 

This summer’s holiday will be the last chance to watch their favourite ITV shows the old fashioned way, before the replacement is brought in from 9pm on September 1 – according to TV Zone UK.

CITV became an exclusive channel in 2006, having previously been the brand under which daytime children’s TV had been broadcast since 1983. 

So, why is it being closed down? And what is the replacement?

Find out by reading on. 

Classic: Horrid Henry (left) and Jungle Run (right) are two of the iconic shows which found a home on CITV

Why is CITV shutting down?

In a statement to Sky News, ITV said the decision to close down the channel comes as a result of falling viewership. 

‘As a consequence of this new streaming approach and responding to the changing ways children and their parents are increasingly accessing content,’ it read, ‘the CITV broadcast channel will close after the summer holidays on 1st September.’

Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern’s Saturday Showdown was the first programme to air on CITV.

The channel was also home to iconic shows such as Jungle Run, Horrid Henry, and Art Attack. 

What children’s channel will replace CITV?

ITV’s new home of children’s programmes will be ITVX Kids, which was launched in July and is set to replace the long-running CITV.

Rather than a traditional channel, this is the pre-existing ITV streaming service’s dedicated area for children’s television. 

Content from CITV has already been moving over to the site in preparation for the channel’s closure.

ITVX replaced ITV Hub in December 2022, which had previously replaced ITV Player.

The platform is intended to help the broadcaster compete with streaming sites like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

However, unlike for those platforms, users can watch for free – but with adverts – or sign up to ITVX Premium for £5.99 a month to watch without ads.

Exciting: ITVX Managing Editor Craig Morris said they are ‘really excited’ to launch ITVX Kids 

What has ITV said about shutting down CITV?

Craig Morris, Managing Editor of ITVX released a statement regarding the decision to close CITV.

He said: ‘We’re really excited to launch this dedicated destination for kids on ITVX, which will be home to a wealth of content including new series, recognisable brands and existing favourites for a range of ages, all in one child-safe area, with editorial curation to guide viewing.’

The LittleBe preschool segment which proceeds ITVBe in the mornings will remain, as well as early morning children’s programming being shown on ITV2.