ITV announces online paywall
ITV chief executive, Adam Crozier, has announced that the broadcaster is to start charging for its online content within the next 18 months.
It will see a micropayments system introduced at iTV.com, allowing viewers to pay for additional material such as alternate endings or archived episodes of popular shows such as Coronation Street.
The scheme is seen as a “test” to see what sums people are willing to part with for such content and marks an effort by Crozier to decouple the business from the vagaries of advertising revenue.
Crozier took over the hot seat at ITV from incumbent Michael Grade in August 2010 and is determined to reverse what he sees as a failure to invest in the digital side of the business.
The comments were made during a speech to the Royal Television Society in which the ITV head also distanced his firm from third party content aggregators such as YouTube and SeeSaw.
A planned exclusive tie up with US web TV channel Hulu has been ruled out anytime soon.
Instead pay TV will play an increasingly prominent role in the channels finances with HD versions of its digital stations already behind pay TV walls, although ITV1 will remain free.