ITVX sets new May streaming record as drama and soaps drive growth
June 5, 2026 12.46 Europe/London By Julian Clover


Believe Me
ITVX has recorded its strongest May ever, surpassing its previous monthly record with four days still remaining in the month.

Total streams increased by 19% year-on-year, representing more than 45 million additional streams compared with May 2025. The result follows a record April and means ITVX has now delivered double-digit growth in two months this year. Overall streams for 2026 are up 12% compared with the same period last year.

Drama remained the biggest contributor to viewing, generating 92 million streams during May, up 10% year-on-year. The standout performer was Believe Me, which attracted 16 million streams. The four-part drama about victims of serial offender John Worboys became ITVX’s most-watched drama launch in more than a year based on its first seven days of availability.

Espionage thriller Secret Service generated 10 million streams during the month, while acquired titles including The Affair, A Taste For Murder and The Family Next Door were also among the platform’s strongest performers.

ITV’s soaps continued to deliver strong streaming audiences, with Coronation Street and Emmerdale attracting a combined 58 million streams, an increase of 35% compared with May 2025.

Entertainment programming generated 50 million streams, up 27% year-on-year, led by Britain’s Got Talent. The latest series delivered 25 million streams, making it the show’s best streaming performance to date and ITVX’s second most-streamed entertainment title of 2026 behind I’m a Celebrity… South Africa.

The month also ended strongly for ITV Sport. Soccer Aid 2026 delivered its highest peak television audience in three years, with almost four million viewers, while ITVX viewing for the charity match increased by 58% year-on-year.

ITVX is now looking to build on that momentum with its coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The broadcaster says it will offer enhanced features throughout the tournament, including social sign-in on connected TVs, dedicated content hubs, and a new mobile fan zone featuring live commentary, clips, quizzes and match insights powered by Google Gemini.

The service has also started June strongly, with the launch episode of Love Island attracting the largest audience of the day among 16-34 year-olds across all channels. ITV said ITVX streams on launch day were up 63% compared with the equivalent day in 2025.