Billionaire Lord Alan Sugar has sparked a debate after complaining about his £5-a-month ITVX subscription, despite being worth an estimated £1 billion. Some have pointed out the irony of him expressing annoyance about paying such a small amount, while others have defended him, arguing that no matter how wealthy he is, he has a right to complain about ads on a paid subscription.
Lord Sugar's tweet
In a tweet shared on Tuesday night, The Apprentice star wrote: 'Watch out. I subscribed to ITVX agreed to pay £5 a month [to] not see adverts [sic]. However their claim is very sneaky, instead of interrupting programmes with 3rd party commercial adverts. They interrupt with promos of their own programmes. I think Ofcom should investigate [sic].'
The tweet has since been liked 20,000 times and viewed 1.6 million times, sparking a plethora of reactions ranging from flummoxed to empathetic.
Reactions
'Amazing this isn't a parody account,' an X account called Ticketmancity commented. Going in another direction, SiddeekMMA remarked: 'Just because he's rich doesn't mean he's wrong. You pay for a service, it would be expected you get that service.'
'It's a fiver mate! God forbid,' riksimp89 put bluntly, while theoptionmonkey agreed with him, writing: 'Did the same – and was similarly annoyed. Cancelled immediately. It's awful, really awful.'
ITVX terms
On the website for the streaming platform, people can either choose a free plan or opt for ITVX Premium, which costs £5.99 a month and is said to allow viewers to watch TV 'ad-free'. However, that 'ad-free' detail comes with a stipulation, which reads: 'Ad-free applies to our on-demand library only and programmes may contain ITV promotions where contractually required. Live TV plays with ads.'
Despite Lord Sugar's grievance against ITVX, the business mogul – who founded his electronics company Amstrad in 1968 – followed up his tweet about the streaming platform with praise about the true crime drama The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox. 'Excellent series on ITV. The twisted story of Amanda Knox. Superb acting by Grace Van Patten. The story's been dramatised for TV [sic],' he wrote.
However, the 79-year-old then quipped about the ads and cost of ITVX once again, stating: 'It follows real events plus a BIT OF VAT good binge watch on ITVX but adverts and promos will drive you nuts. Even if you pay the £5 a month.'
One fan called Lorna commented in response: 'One of the reasons I admire you is that you are still a down-to-earth man and stick to your principles (re. ITV X issue).' However, Michael piped up: 'Are you still whinging about that? They last about 30 seconds.'
