ITV announces major change to four of its channels – but only eagle-eyed viewers will notice the big difference

ITV has announced it will haul in targeted advertising on four channels for up to 1.3million households this month.

The targeted ads will run on ITV2, ITV3, ITV4 and ITVBe.

The broadcaster already features targeted advertising on the on-demand streaming service ITVXRex

TV viewers who use YouView, including BT telly customers, will now see targeted advertising on four more ITV channels.

The big change follows a 12 month beta trial, which saw 30 million ads being targeted at select customers.

The broadcaster already features targeted advertising on the on-demand streaming service ITVX

In the announcement, ITV boasted it had already pushed delivered “over 12 billion addressable ad opportunities” via ITVX.

This means households will be offered adverts that ITV and third party companies think apply to them.

For example, if you are marketing a luxury holiday, you can serve ads only to households ITV believes are more likely to be able to afford, and be in the market for, a pricey getaway.

The technology is not new. 

It’s already a standard practice at Sky and on Channel 4’s on-demand service All4.

The audience for a targeted advert is not a perfect science either.

Which ads viewers see is determined by data gathered from ITV’s registered users.

But there are often multiple people of different ages and incomes under one roof.

So, viewers may sometimes see adverts that don’t directly apply to them.