ITV4 TV Guide: Listings, Schedule & What’s On ITV4 Tonight

ITV4 launched on 1 November 2005, taking over ITV’s off-peak Freeview slot from the ITV News Channel before absorbing what was left of the old Men and Motors the following spring. Two decades on, it’s ITV plc’s channel for live sport and archive action, running everything from live racing to reruns of classic drama and American sitcoms. There’s no live fixture in Thursday 20 August’s schedule, so primetime turns to cycling and comedy instead: a highlights package from Stage Two of the Women’s Tour of Britain opens the evening at 8pm, then four editions of Benidorm run back to back from 9pm, crossing over from the end of series one into the start of series two. Black Sails closes out the night at 11pm. By day, classic drama reruns carry the schedule, with two-episode runs of Magnum, P.I. either side of Boon, The Professionals and Robin of Sherwood.

ITV4 Schedule: Thursday 20 August 2026 (Full Listings)

Here is the complete ITV4 schedule for Thursday 20 August 2026, on Freeview 26.

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on ITV4 today

Thursday’s overnight hours open with a two-episode run of Benidorm from 1:05am (series 1, episodes 3 and 4), before BattleBots screens the World Championship VII final at 2am (series 7, episode 28) and teleshopping fills the rest of the small hours from 3am. Magnum, P.I. gets the day under way with a two-episode run from 6am (series 7, episodes 8 and 9), and Robin of Sherwood follows at 8:05am (series 3, episode 4). The late morning brings Boon at 9:10am (series 7, episode 4) and The Professionals at 10:15am (series 2, episode 4), before Robin of Sherwood returns at 11:30am (series 3, episode 6). Magnum, P.I. comes back for another two-episode run from 12:30pm, running through to 2:35pm, when The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes takes over (series 5, episode 6). Boon’s fifth episode airs at 3:45pm, The Professionals returns at 4:50pm, and Sharpe closes out the afternoon at 5:50pm (series 4, episode 3), ahead of the cycling highlights opening primetime.

ITV4 tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the ITV4 primetime line-up for tonight, Thursday 20 August 2026.

Cycling: Women’s Tour of Britain Highlights — ITV4, 8pm

Stage Two of the Women’s Tour of Britain gets the highlights treatment at 8pm, condensing the 110.5km route from Clitheroe to Blackpool promenade into an hour. It’s a package cut together after racing finished for the day, not a live broadcast.

Benidorm — ITV4, 9pm to 11pm

Four half-hours of Benidorm follow from 9pm, and the run crosses a series boundary partway through. The first two episodes close out series one, with a pub quiz turning sour for the Oracle and a beachside mishap landing Mick in trouble, before series two opens at 10pm with Madge’s new boyfriend Mel making his entrance. By 10:30pm, Martin and Kate have been landed with babysitting duties. It’s ninety straight minutes at the Solana with no break in between.

Black Sails — ITV4, 11pm

Black Sails takes the 11pm slot with “XIII”, an episode from the drama’s second series. The EPG marks it as new, but Black Sails is a US pirate drama that first aired in 2015 and this is not a premiere — the channel is simply continuing its run through series two, with Miranda trying to save the island while Vane deals with a problem of his own.

What kind of shows are on ITV4

Live sport: racing, rugby and darts

ITV4 carries the bulk of ITV’s live sport rights outside of ITV1’s biggest occasions. ITV Racing has been the channel’s anchor since horse racing moved to ITV from Channel 4 in 2017, running near-daily meetings alongside the showpiece Saturdays. The Nations Championship, rugby’s new global competition launched in July 2026, means ITV4 now shows live rugby through the summer months, when British fans wouldn’t normally get much international action on terrestrial TV. The channel has also carried live darts in recent seasons, including instalments of the World Series of Darts.

Motorsport, rally and archive sport

Beyond the live fixtures, ITV4 fills its schedule with motorsport digest shows. World Rally Championship Highlights and Motorsport Mundial both round up international series that rarely get UK coverage elsewhere, and the channel runs nightly highlights through Isle of Man TT race week each spring. Archive strands such as The Big Match Revisited and Goals of the 1990s dig into old football footage.

American reruns, action and wrestling

The rest of the schedule fills out with imported American comedy and reality (Two and a Half Men, American Pickers) and classic British crime drama reruns such as Minder. None of it demands your full attention. All Elite Wrestling: Dynamite airs weekly in the late-night slot, with a repeat the following Saturday.

How to watch ITV4

Channel numbers

Here’s where to find ITV4 across the main UK television platforms:

ITV4 is free on all of the above platforms, with no subscription required. Virgin Media and Freesat’s +1 position can move about more than Freeview and Sky, so your on-screen guide is the definitive source if it doesn’t line up exactly.

Streaming online

ITV4 streams live and free through ITVX at itv.com/watch and via the ITVX app on smart TVs, mobiles, tablets and streaming devices including Amazon Fire TV and Roku. You need a free account. Most of the archive and clip-show programming sits in the ITVX library afterwards, though racing and rugby rights usually mean shorter catch-up windows on the live sport.

ITV4 +1 and sister channels

ITV4+1 runs the same schedule an hour behind. The 8pm cycling highlights turn up on the +1 feed at 9pm instead, so anyone who misses the start on ITV4 itself gets a second chance an hour later.

ITV4 sits alongside ITV1, ITV2, ITV3 and ITVBe in ITV plc’s channel family, all streaming through ITVX. ITV1 carries the network’s biggest live sport occasions, ITV3 leans into drama and period pieces, and ITV4 gets the more male-skewing sport and action mix.

Frequently asked questions

What channel is ITV4 on Freeview?

ITV4 is on Freeview channel 26. ITV4+1 is on Freeview channel 59. Both are free with no subscription needed.

What channel is ITV4 on Sky, Virgin Media and Freesat?

Channel 120 on Sky, channel 118 on Virgin Media, and channel 117 on Freesat. ITV4+1 is on channel 220 on Sky; check your on-screen guide for the exact +1 position on Virgin Media and Freesat.

What’s on ITV4 tonight?

Thursday 20 August 2026: no live sport on ITV4 this evening. Stage Two of the Women’s Tour of Britain gets a highlights package at 8pm, then Benidorm runs four episodes back to back from 9pm, moving from the end of series one into the start of series two by 10pm. Black Sails closes primetime at 11pm — it isn’t a new episode of the show despite the EPG’s flag, simply series two continuing.

What is ITV4+1?

A timeshift channel showing the ITV4 schedule exactly one hour later, on Freeview 59 and Sky 220.

Is ITV4 free to watch, and does it have adverts?

Yes, entirely free to air with no subscription fee on any platform. As a commercial ITV channel it carries advertising breaks, the same as ITV1.

Can I watch ITV4 online for free?

Yes, live and free through ITVX at itv.com/watch and via the ITVX app. A free account is required.

Verdict

ITV4 does one thing very well: live sport, without a subscription in sight, from a broadcaster that’s covered racing, rugby and darts for years. There’s none of that tonight. Thursday 20 August falls back on the channel’s steadier furniture instead — cycling highlights and a run of Benidorm rather than a fixture worth clearing your evening for.

The Stage Two highlights open the night at 8pm without asking much of the viewer, condensing 110.5km of racing from Clitheroe to Blackpool into an hour. Benidorm then takes over completely, four episodes deep from 9pm to 11pm, tipping over from series one into series two along the way. Black Sails closes out primetime at 11pm; despite the EPG marking it new, it’s an episode from the drama’s existing second series rather than a premiere. Anyone chasing live sport is better off checking tomorrow’s ITV4 listings, or ITV1 for the network’s bigger fixtures.

Related: What’s On TV Tonight | ITV1 TV Guide | Film4 TV Guide | Films on TV This Week