BBC star Alan Sugar fuming as he says he feels 'cheated' by 'really frustrating' ITV

The Apprentice's Lord Alan Sugar took to social media this week to complain about ITV's streaming platform ITVX, telling fans that he feels "cheated" by the subscription service

Streaming platform ITVX was criticised by Lord Alan Sugar in a tweet this week, with him telling fans that he feels "cheated" after having signed up for a subscription.

Lord Sugar, 77 - the founder of Amstrad, who is now best known for his role on the BBC's the Apprentice - posted about ITV's streaming service on Thursday afternoon. He shared a tweet about it on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The entrepreneur - who took aim at the broadcaster just last month over the National Television Awards - told his followers that he had expected there to be "no adverts" with his ITVX subscription. He however complained, saying that it had been "constantly advertising" ITV shows to him.

He wrote: "I feel I have been cheated by ITVX. I paid for a subscription on the basis that there would be no adverts in the programmes." Lord Sugar added in the tweet: "However, whilst there are no 3rd party adverts, they are constantly advertising their own shows. It's really frustrating."

ITVX offers two plans at the moment, including a "free with ads" option. The other, ITVX Premium, is priced at £5.99 a month or £59.99 a year after a 7 day free trial. Its website promises that Premium customers can "watch ad-free," but a disclaimer warns: "Ad-free applies to our on-demand library only and programmes may contain ITV promotions where contractually required. Live TV plays with ads." Another page states: "With ITVX Premium, you can watch most shows and movies on demand without the adverts, and download them to watch offline."

Lord Sugar received some support over his tweet about the streaming platform - which officially launched back in 2022, replacing the ITV Hub - this week. Several people responded in agreement to his criticism of the subscription service.

One person wrote in a reply: "Me too, there are still ads showing under the ITV branding." Another said: "Totally agree." A third reacted: "Done the same to watch a USA TV show on there and there was ads all the way through. I promptly cancelled as it was pointless. No ads should mean no ads."

Not everyone felt the same though, with some people defending ITVX against his criticism. One person responded: "They're just trailers - not regarded as ads." Another said: "What's wrong with ads of other ITV shows?" Someone wrote: "Only on certain shows. It's explained in the terms when you sign up."

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