COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

ITV is to launch a new channel on Freeview, Sky and Virgin.



ITVBe - the broadcaster's fifth major channel - will feature lifestyle and reality programming from the UK and the US.

From launch, ITVBe will become the exclusive home of award-winning reality series The Only Way Is Essex, which previously aired on ITV2.

Aimed at a younger female audience, the channel is intended to "complement ITV2, which will continue to strengthen its position as the home of entertainment for 16-34 year olds".

Adam Crozier, Chief Executive of ITV, said: "ITVBe will be a terrific new addition to our family of channels. It reinforces our plan to maximise audiences and revenues from our broadcasting business."

ITV is also introducing a new pay channel on Sky - ITV Encore will be dedicated to the broadcaster's best drama output and will be launched in 2015.

"Alongside our recently announced new pay channel ITV Encore, this is another important step forward in our strategy to become the most watched, most loved and most talked about family of free and pay channels for every household and every advertiser in the UK," said Crozier.

New ITV channel ITVBe to launch in October



ITV has confirmed the launch date for its new channel ITVBe.

The channel will begin its run on October 8 and will be the exclusive new home of The Only Way Is Essex.

A number of other new shows will also be hitting the channel, including The Real Housewives of Cheshire, a UK spin-off of the American franchise.

New reality show Seven Days With..., which follows the lives of different celebrities for a week, will also find a home on the channel, as will an original run of hit cooking show Dinner Date.

ITVBe is the broadcaster's fifth major channel and is intended to "complement ITV2, which will continue to strengthen its position as the home of entertainment for 16-34-year-olds".

It will launch the new channel on Freeview, Sky and Virgin.