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ITV has claimed that the CiTV channel will be the most-watched commercial kids station in the UK within 18 months.
The new service, launching on Saturday, March 11, will take on a host of commercial rivals such as Nickelodeon, Turner, Disney and Discovery in the already-crowded childrens market but crucially, will be the only full-time commercial service on Freeview.
The BBC's two childrens' channels - CBBC and CBeebies - lead the market as a whole and their dominance is not expected to change. CiTV has a budget of an estimated £35 million, around a third that of the BBC channels.
Broadcasting daily between 6am and 6pm during the downtime of ITV4, CiTV will feature blocks of programming targetted at 2-5 year olds and 6-9 year olds. Familiar shows in the lineup include Ninja Turtles, My Parents Are Aliens and Pocoyo while original commissions include Horrid Henry, based on Francesca Simon's best-selling books, and sitcom Uncle Dad.
