, to launch the service, which will be accompanied by a marketing blitz.
ITV has first pick of the “last eight” knockout games, giving it exclusive rights to an England tie, should Gareth Southgate’s team advance that far. Although the games will be shown on terrestrial TV, millions of England and Wales fans are set to watch the World Cup on mobile and laptop screens. Figures from software company Amdocs found that while most viewers plan to watch the World Cup on live TV, 44 per cent of millennials and 38 per cent of Gen-Z fans intend to stream games.
ITV is taking a risk that the technology underpinning ITVX will be able to cope with the expected demand without the buffering failures that afflicted its predecessor during high-profile live events.fans condemned a “shambles” last year when the Hub crashed, showing an error message, just moments before the series was due to return.