ITV announced on Tuesday it will stream all its programmes from its one terrestrial and three digital channels online. In 'a few weeks' the network claimed itv.com it will become the biggest commercial website offered by any major broadcaster in the world. Programming like Coronation Street, Champions League Football, Kingdom, Emmerdale and Who Wants to be a Millionaire will all be available as online simulcasts at the same time they're screening, then viewers who missed them will be able to watch them online for up to 30 days after they screened. As well, ITV chairman Michael Grade said 20,000 hours of classic archive programmes, including the Carry On films and The Professionals will be available, mostly free, to itv.com users. Michael Grade said: "Today we're combining the best of TV with the best of the web to create a service unrivalled by any other broadcaster, anywhere in the world. "Some are already streaming their channels, some are providing catch-up, and some building their archive - but itv.com will provide all three." Other features of the revamped itv.com will include: • Exclusive behind-the-scenes content • Made-for broadband commissions • User-generated content and news services • Broadband games and much more. For example, Web Lives, a collaboration with film-maker Roger Graef, will be a new online daily show with members of the public documenting their lives in three-minute episodes. Another innovation, ITV Uploaded, will enable the public to load their take on the day's news, with excerpts screening on ITV's TV news shows. ITV says the new itv.com uses advanced 'click and watch' technology, meaning anyone with a reasonably modern PC will be able to view it, while Apple Mac users will eventually also be catered for. The announcement of the new itv.com streaming service comes a day after the BBC gave the green light to its online video on demand service.
