ITV, which is currently bidding against Northern Ireland rival UTV to acquire Dublinbased television station TV3, will provide a mix of pay TV and free downloads online.

Jeff Henry, chief executive of ITV's consumer division, said the broadcaster is also hoping to provide live content such as Champions League football matches online.

"I am convinced that the mix of free and pay is the best way to get something that's sustainable, " he said.

According to Henry, who announced the internet strategy in an interview with the Guardian newspaper last week, ITV is hoping advertisers will buy in to its plans.

The broadcaster is hoping to open up a new revenue stream by selling advertising on the internet content.

ITV therefore plans to lock its media player to ensure viewers will not be able to skip or fast-forward through commercial breaks on the downloaded video files.

ITV's announcement follows similar moves by both BBC and Channel 4. BBC is preparing to launch a service called MyBBCPlayer which will enable viewers to watch live programmes online and download shows they missed.

Channel 4, meanwhile, has announced plans for a videoon-demand service.

The one remaining obstacle to be sorted out is the issue of rights for independent productions. Most of ITV's content, including such popular shows as Footballers' Wives and The X Factor, is produced by independent companies.

ITV still has to reach agreement with the producers on the issue of how long it can retain the right to offer downloads of the programmes.

The producers favour a seven-day window but ITV wants control of the content for longer.