ITV is taking steps to recover lost advertising revenue by launching its new consumer-focused affiliate marketing platform and online shopping tool, ITV Kerching.

Powered by Kindred, the browser extension helps users save money by automatically searching for and applying discount codes during online shopping.

The media company has allocated £8.5 million worth of advertising space across its network to promote Kerching, securing a minority equity stake in the company in exchange.

This move signals ITV’s strategic shift towards affiliate marketing, with the broadcaster set to earn commissions when shoppers use the tool, aiming to offset revenue declines as more viewers transition to streaming services.

“We know that consumers are making more of an effort to save money wherever they can, and this is a really smart bit of tech which scours the internet for eligible discounts and codes and presents them to customers on the sites where they shop,” said Kelly Williams, ITV Commercial MD. 

Advertisers on ITV Kerching cannot only use existing discount codes but also create exclusive offers tailored to the platform, allowing them to allocate media budgets based on the click-through rate generated by Kerching.

Kindred, ITV’s partner, manages a network of over 100,000 merchants. Unlike traditional advertising focused primarily on brand awareness, this initiative emphasises measurable outcomes, aligning marketing budgets with conversion-driven results.

ITV’s research shows that around 79% of ITVX viewers already use discount codes, though many miss out because they don’t know where to find them. 

Kerching aims to bridge this gap, making it easier for consumers to engage with promotions from their favourite brands.