Ant and Dec confirm 'end of era' after ITV confirms channel axe

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Presenting duo Ant and Dec have claimed it's the 'end of an era' after ITV confirmed it would axe children's channel CITV after 40 years on air.The kid's channel - known for iconic shows including My Parents are Aliens and Jungle Run - is set to go off-air this September reports the Liverpool Echo.ITV plans to replace it with their new streaming service ITVX.The Newcastle pair appeared on CITV with Cat Deeley SMTV Live from 1998 until 2001.

Reposting a nostalgic snap from SMTV, Ant and Dec captioned the post: "End of an era", followed by a crying-face emoji.Craig Morris, Managing Editor of ITVX said: "We’re really excited to launch this dedicated destination for kids on ITVX, which will be home to a wealth of content including new series, recognisable brands and existing favourites for a range of ages, all in one child-safe area, with editorial curation to guide viewing."Greg Childs, of the Children’s Media Foundation, said ITV had failed to invest in younger viewers, meaning it would not build brand loyalty at early stage.

He said: “Children’s programming always was loss-making. The question is: do you want to provide for the children’s audience?”.ITV has revealed that the average time spent by British kids watching children’s television channels declined by 62% in three years.Explaining the ITVX Kids service, ITV said: “The Kids ITVX homepage, accessed within a child-safe ITVX Kids profile, will bring together over 100 brilliant titles in a dedicated homepage, with over 1000 hours of programming to choose from, a near doubling of the current offer, with curated rails and collections.“The curated collections will feature a wide range of titles, including brand new programmes dropping monthly on the service, from July