As ITV2 moves towards its fifth anniversary the channel is celebrating its continued success as the fastest growing station in multi-channel homes for the second year running (defined by share point growth). Over 8.5m viewers tune into ITV2 every week, this has elevated the station to become the second most popular non-terrestrial entertainment channel in 2003 behind only Sky One (individuals in all time).

ITV2 has warned off competition from rivals UK Gold, E4 and BBC3, and increased its share by almost 25% thanks to brand extensions like Pop Idol Extra and top movies such as X-Men, Gone In 60 Seconds and Mission Impossible 2 (in transmission time).

ITV2 has also had enormous success in the 16-34 demographic, taking a 2.12% share, which makes it the third most popular non-terrestrial channel for these key viewers in 2003.

New commissions have been a big hit for the channel with Coronation Street Secrets averaging audiences of over 180,000 viewers and the channels soap storyline specials for Emmerdale and Coronation Street drawing impressive audiences of 527,300 and 382, 300 respectively.

Sport has also continued to be a strong element of the ITV2 programming mix, providing viewers with exclusive footage of some of the world’s top sporting events such as The Rugby World Cup 2003, F1, The Tour De France 2003 and the current season of the UEFA Champions League. ITV2’s top performing programme so far this year was 19/03’s Champions League match between Valencia and Arsenal, which gained an audience of 1.8m viewers.

Moving into its sixth year of trading, the channel looks forward to continued success, with over 800 hours of new programming planned for 2004.

Zai Bennett, Head of Programming Strategy for ITV's Digital Channels said: “We are delighted with the ongoing success of ITV2, this years figures prove that our strategy of ITV1 brand extensions, blockbuster movies, premium sport and unique commissions has been warmly welcomed by our viewers and delivered enormous value for our advertisers.???