In a reversal that might surprise long-term streaming watchers, ITVX Premium has just launched as an Amazon Prime Video Channel in the UK – eighteen months after ITV pulled all its services from the platform.
The £5.99/month subscription is now available through Prime Video (with a 7-day free trial), letting subscribers watch ITV’s biggest shows without adverts, all within Amazon’s app.
But here’s where things get a bit confusing: unlike most Prime Video Channels, this version of ITVX Premium offers less content than subscribing directly to ITVX’s streaming service. You’re paying the same price, but getting a more limited library.
For some viewers, that trade-off might still be worth it – particularly if you prefer keeping all your streaming in one place, or if your device doesn’t support the ITVX app. For others, it’s a curious proposition that raises questions about what you’re actually paying for.
What’s ITVX Premium?
ITVX launched in December 2022 as ITV’s answer to the Netflix-dominated streaming landscape, replacing the old ITV Hub with something far more ambitious.
The free tier offers thousands of hours of ITV content with adverts, whilst ITVX Premium (£5.99/month) removes those ads and dramatically expands the content library.
The premium tier absorbed BritBox UK when that service shut down in early 2024, meaning subscribers get access to classic BBC shows, Channel 4 programmes, and a substantial film library alongside ITV’s own content.
There’s also a selection of American shows and films that have been acquired for the UK market.
In short, ITVX Premium has become one of the more comprehensive British streaming services – a competitor to the international giants, built primarily on British content but with plenty of international programming mixed in.
The service is available on most modern streaming devices and Smart TVs, including Fire TV, Roku, Apple TV, and built into Samsung, LG, and other Smart TV platforms.
It’s also accessible through Virgin Media’s TV boxes, Sky Glass, Sky Stream, and Sky Q.
How Prime Video Channels Work
For those unfamiliar with the concept, Prime Video Channels is Amazon’s way of letting customers add extra premium streaming services to their Prime Video account.
The idea is straightforward: instead of downloading separate apps and managing multiple subscriptions, you can access everything through Prime Video’s interface.
You pick and choose which channels you want on an à la carte basis, with no long-term commitments.
Once subscribed, you watch directly through the Prime Video app on virtually any device – Smart TVs, smartphones, tablets, streaming sticks, and gaming consoles.
One major advantage is consolidation – one billing relationship, one app to learn, one place to search for content. If you want to cancel a channel, you do it through Amazon rather than hunting down each service’s cancellation process.
There is one requirement though: you need an Amazon Prime subscription (or at least Prime Video) before you can add any channels. If you’re not already a member, you can try Prime with a 30-day free trial.
Prime Video has become something of a streaming aggregator in the UK, now offering 77 different add-on subscriptions. These range from major services like Apple TV+, Paramount+, and MGM+, to more specialised offerings like hayu and various sports packages.
The Great ITV Disappearing Act (And Reappearance)
Until early 2024, ITV actually had two services on Prime Video Channels: ITV Catchup (formerly ITV Hub+) and BritBox UK.
At the time, ITV Catchup cost £3.99/month and offered ad-free access to ITV’s biggest shows and some library content.
It was cheaper than ITVX Premium, though it offered less content. BritBox, meanwhile, was £5.99/month – the same as ITVX Premium – and focused on classic British programming.
In March 2024, ITV quietly pulled the plug on both services within weeks of each other.
The reasoning was clear enough: ITV wanted to consolidate everything under the ITVX brand and have complete ownership of its subscriber base. Why maintain separate services on Amazon’s platform when you could drive everyone to your own app?
ITV’s CEO, Carolyn McCall, was explicit about this strategy at the time, stating the closure would “give us complete ownership of the subscriber base.”
For many viewers, particularly those with older devices that didn’t support the new ITVX app, this was problematic.
The Prime Video versions had served as useful workarounds – you could watch ITV content on devices that couldn’t run ITVX directly, as long as they supported Prime Video.
Now, eighteen months later, ITV is back on Prime Video Channels. The landscape has clearly shifted.
What You Actually Get (And Don’t Get)
Unlike most Prime Video Channels – where subscribing through Amazon gives you essentially the same content as subscribing directly – the Prime Video version of ITVX Premium is noticeably different from the standalone ITVX Premium subscription.
As of this writing, the Prime Video Channel mostly includes content from ITV 1, ITV 2, ITV 3, ITV 4, and ITV Quiz. That covers shows like Love Island, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, Cold Water, Frauds, and other ITV originals.
It also includes live sporting events – such as horse racing, football and car racing – which will be available to watch live (and then on-demand) through the Prime Video Channel.
However, it’s worth noting that if you’re watching ITVX’s live broadcasts – even via Prime Video Channels – you’ll need to have a valid TV Licence.
Interestingly, the Prime Video Channels subscription also lets you watch the live streaming channel version of ITV 1, ITV 2, ITV 3, ITV 4, and ITV Quiz – without having to go through the ITVX app – similar to what you get on the Freely service (but without an integrated EPG for those channels).
What the Prime Video Channel doesn’t include – is the vast majority of the BritBox content library.
When you subscribe to ITVX Premium directly, you get access to thousands of classic BBC shows, Channel 4 programmes, and films that came over when BritBox UK was absorbed into ITVX.
That’s a big part of what makes ITVX Premium worth £5.99/month.
At the time of writing, the Prime Video Channel version includes just five shows from the BritBox catalogue – Only Fools and Horses, Five Days, The Vicar of Dibley, Keeping Up Appearances, and New Tricks (all BBC shows).
The Prime Video Channel version also appears to exclude the American shows and films that are available on the standalone ITVX Premium service.
For some subscribers, that might be perfectly fine – if you’re primarily interested in current ITV shows and aren’t bothered about the BBC archive or international content, you’re not missing much.
We’ve reached out to Amazon for full confirmation of exactly what’s included and what isn’t.
No More Walled Garden
ITV’s return to Prime Video Channels sits within a broader trend we’ve been tracking: British broadcasters are increasingly willing to make their content available across multiple platforms rather than insisting viewers use their own apps exclusively.
Just today, we reported on Channel 4’s deal to carry U’s content library on its streaming service, bringing shows like Red Dwarf and classic BBC archive programming to another platform.
In July, ITVX did a groundbreaking content-sharing deal with Disney+, putting premium Disney shows on ITVX’s free tier whilst showcasing ITV hits to Disney+ subscribers.
The original BritBox vision – one unified British streaming service housing the best of BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and Channel 5 – fell apart years ago. Instead, we’re watching a more complex web of partnerships emerge, with content appearing across multiple services in various forms.
Perhaps ITV’s initial strategy of pulling everything back to ITVX and refusing to work with aggregators like Prime Video wasn’t sustainable. Perhaps the convenience of Prime Video’s “one app for everything” approach is too powerful to ignore.
Or perhaps ITV simply ran the numbers and decided that having a presence on Prime Video – even with a reduced content offering – was better than not being there at all.
Should You Subscribe?
If you’re already subscribing to ITVX Premium directly and you’re happy with it, there’s no reason to switch. You’ll get far more content for the same money.
But if you’ve been avoiding ITVX because you prefer using Prime Video, or if your device doesn’t support the ITVX app, this new channel provides a workable alternative – albeit with some very notable gaps in the content library.
Also, remember that the two subscriptions are not interchangeable – you can’t use your Prime Video login on the ITVX app, and vice versa.
At the very least, it’s refreshing to see ITV recognising that not everyone wants to use their app, and that there’s value in meeting viewers where they already are – even if it means offering a somewhat reduced version of the service.
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Crikey, it’s streaming complexity we just don’t need.