Lord Alan Sugar has warned ITV fans to 'watch out' over what he calls a 'sneaky' practice on its £5 premium streaming service, ITVX, and has asked regulators to investigate.
The businessman, best known for hosting the BBC reality show The Apprentice and owning Tottenham Hotspur for a decade, took to social media on Wednesday (July 21) to voice his frustration.
He posted on X: “Watch out. I subscribed to ITVX, agreed to pay £5 a month, [to] not see adverts. However their claim is very sneaky, instead of interrupting programmes with third party commercial adverts. They interrupt with promos of their own programmes. I think Ofcom should investigate.”
ITV responds to criticism
ITV responded to Lord Sugar's post on X a few hours later, pointing out that 'licensing restrictions mean we’re required to show promos'. The company wrote: “Hi Lord Sugar! To bring you the best content, licensing restrictions mean we’re required to show promos on a small number of programmes on ITVX Premium, though standard ads are removed. It's in our terms and conditions but we know it can be frustrating. Please direct message us if you'd like to chat further.”
ITVX launched in 2022, and was recently purchased by Sky in a £1.6bn deal that saw the broadcaster snap up Britain’s oldest commercial TV company’s broadcasting and streaming divisions.
Lord Sugar reiterates complaint
It is not clear if Ofcom will intervene after the exchange. Even though Lord Sugar was fulsome in his praise of the ITV programme he was watching, he reiterated his complaint hours later. He said in another post on X: “Excellent series on ITV. The Twisted [Tale] of Amanda Knox. Superb acting by Grace Van Patten. The story [has] been dramatised for TV. It follows real events.” He added: ”Good binge watch on ITVX, but adverts and promos will drive you nuts. Even if you pay the £5 a month.”
