ITV had a clear plan when it shuttered its linear kidsnet CITV in 2023 to keep up with Gen Alpha’s changing viewing habits: Move all children’s programming to a dedicated hub on its ITVX streamer and build a library aimed at viewers ages 12 and under.

ITV head of acquisitions Darren Nartey

In the two years since that move, ITVX Kids has met some key goals, says head of acquisitions Darren Nartey. These achievements include doubling the volume of content on the hub and balancing out CITV’s historic skew towards boys by bringing more gender-neutral, girl-targeted IPs into the mix (such as Barbie, Winx Club and Tara Duncan). 

To help grow the platform going forward, Nartey wants to build relationships with a wider range of kids content suppliers. “We’re always available for meetings. We want ideas from all over the place to have a slate as diverse as possible.”

While specific audience figures for the kids hub aren’t available, the streaming platform has more than 40 million registered users overall. “We take our responsibility to serve British kids really seriously,” Nartey notes. “I’m a firm believer that ‘if you build it, they will come’. Kids are really savvy with discoverability—especially the six-to-12 audience that we target.”

What is ITVX Kids looking for?
Though preschool programming is part of the catalogue, it’s not currently a high priority. “Across commissioning, co-pros and acquisitions, six to 12 is the age range we’re really focused on.”

The service will continue pursuing its entertainment-first strategy, steering away from educational content (which other UK pubcasters already cover well). While Nartey is open to a variety of genres for acquisitions, he says comedy is probably the best bet for commissions. “We’re also [interested in] live-action co-pros where we can take the UK rights.”

Last fall, ITVX launched the Roblox game-inspired Piñata Smashlings produced by Nelvana and Toikido

In terms of format, ideal episode lengths are seven minutes, 11 minutes or half hours. ITVX Kids isn’t looking for anything shorter due to its AVOD model, but Nartey is open to package deals where full-length series reside on the streamer, with companion shorts available on the broadcaster’s YouTube channel. 

And while movies aren’t currently in the mix, specials are an option. “If they have recognizable talent attached, then yes, we would consider it,” says Nartey.

Recent and upcoming releases
Last year, ITVX Kids added a handful of Nickelodeon hits to it lineup, including Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Loud House. More recently, its fall rollouts included Toikido’s Piñata Smashlings (the platform’s first-ever series based on a Roblox IP) and quirky book adaptation Bad Jelly from Mukpuddy, Cantilever and Sphere Media. 

Coming up next, ITVX Kids has secured second-window rights (after WarnerMedia EMEA) to comedy series Goat Girl from Daily Madness, MIAM! and Thuristar. And as the UK home of Lion Forge Entertainment’s breakout title Iyanu (featured image), the service is gearing up to launch the second season (10 x 22 minutes) of this Nigerian superhero toon later this year.

This story originally appeared in Kidscreen‘s Q1 2026 magazine issue.