ITVX passes 3.6 billion streams, beating its full 2025 total with two months to spare

ITVX passed 3.6 billion streams on 30 October, surpassing its entire 2025 full-year streaming total in just ten months. The figure, reported by ITV on 6 November, confirms the platform's growth has accelerated beyond what was already a record-breaking 2025.

The milestone landed alongside ITVX's best October on record. The service delivered 358 million streams during the month, a 33 per cent increase year-on-year and the platform's biggest streaming jump in 2026 outside World Cup months.

What drove the October record?

Reality television topped the individual titles. Big Brother, which concluded on 5 November, took the number one spot for October with more than 30 million streams. The full series, including the Group Chat spin-off, has reached 53 million streams — up 20 million on the 2025 season.

Drama was the biggest genre driver overall. It delivered 112 million streams in October, up 37 per cent year-on-year. This was the fourth month in 2026 that drama exceeded the 100 million stream threshold, doubling its record of two such months in 2025. Top titles for the month included Winter, The Blame, Adultery and The Party.

The Blame stands out among them. Its peak episode drew a consolidated audience of 8.3 million viewers, making it the biggest new drama of 2026 across any channel or streamer in the UK market.

Soaps ranked second by genre, contributing 61 million streams in October, up 38 per cent year-on-year.

How are FAST channels performing?

ITVX's portfolio of pop-up FAST channels grew to 20 during October. A new film channel joined the lineup, alongside back-to-back episodes of retro titles including classic Coronation Street and Thunderbirds, complementing existing channels dedicated to Love Island, Vera, Crime Drama and Comedy.

FAST channel viewing has grown 31 per cent year-on-year since the new channels were added. The Classic Corrie channel has been an immediate performer: after only two weeks on air it ranks as the fifth most watched channel on ITVX, behind only the longer-running Midsomer Murders, Vera, The Chase and TOWIE channels.

The Christmas Movies channel, launched on 1 September, remains ITVX's fourth most-watched channel.

What does this mean for ITV's streaming strategy?

For operators of ad-funded streaming platforms, the numbers point to a clear pattern: archive content packaged as linear-style FAST channels is pulling meaningful incremental viewing, while premium drama sustains scale. Drama crossing 100 million streams in four separate months — twice its 2025 frequency — indicates the genre is now the platform's structural growth engine rather than an occasional spike.

The Big Brother result also shows how a single franchise can anchor monthly totals. At 53 million streams for the series, it accounts for roughly one in seven of October's streams when combined with its spin-off.

With two months of 2026 still to report, ITVX has already banked a full year's worth of growth. The December period, typically boosted by seasonal channels such as Christmas Movies and winter drama schedules, should extend the platform's lead over its 2025 baseline.