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

Published: 25 August 2026

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 sport on ITV4 on Wednesday 26 August either. The classic-drama reruns that fill the daytime — Magnum, P.I., Robin of Sherwood, Boon and The Professionals — run right up to early evening, when Minder takes over the whole 6pm hour from 5:55pm. From there a recorded fishing charity event gives way to River Monsters, and the night’s film, Universal Soldier, is interrupted by a short news bulletin before Ligue 1 highlights close the evening.

ITV4 Schedule: Wednesday 26 August 2026 (Full Listings)

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

Overnight

Breakfast

Morning

Afternoon

Early evening

Primetime

Late night

What’s on ITV4 today

Wednesday’s overnight hours open with Dark Side of the Ring at 12am (series 2, episode 7), followed by a Minder rerun at 12:55am (series 3, episode 7) and BattleBots at 1:50am (series 7, episode 28). Unwind with ITV closes out the strand at 2:45am, then Teleshopping fills the schedule from 3am until breakfast.

With no live sport to fill the day, Wednesday’s daytime is another straight run of classic drama reruns. Magnum, P.I. opens at 6am and 7am (series 7, episodes 16 and 17), Robin of Sherwood follows at 8:05am (series 3, episode 7), Boon takes 9:10am (series 7, episode 8), and The Professionals runs at 10:15am (series 2, episode 8). A second Robin of Sherwood airs at 11:25am (series 3, episode 8), before Magnum, P.I. returns twice more from 12:25pm (series 7, episodes 19 and 20). The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes takes the 2:35pm slot (series 7, episode 3), and a further Boon and Professionals close out the afternoon at 3:45pm and 4:50pm, ahead of Minder opening the evening proper at 5:55pm.

ITV4 tonight — primetime and the evening schedule

Here’s the ITV4 primetime line-up for tonight, Wednesday 26 August 2026.

Minder — ITV4, 5:55pm

The archive strand takes the whole 6pm hour tonight rather than easing into it. Terry McCann’s series 3 outing runs from 5:55pm to 7pm, pushing the fishing show back by five minutes and setting the pattern for a night with no live sport anywhere on the channel.

Target Sports Stars Fishing Championship — ITV4, 7pm

Thirty-two sports stars swap their usual arenas for the bank at Tunnel Barn Farm Fisheries in Warwick. It’s a recorded two-hour charity event rather than a live broadcast, so don’t expect rolling scores.

River Monsters — ITV4, 9pm

Jeremy Wade opens a new series at 9pm, tracking down freshwater predators with a habit of turning up where they shouldn’t. Half an hour, no ad-break padding.

Universal Soldier — ITV4, 9:30pm

Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren’s 1992 action film anchors the back end of the evening, playing from 9:30pm. It breaks for a five-minute FYI Daily bulletin at 10:30pm before picking straight back up at 10:35pm and running through to 11:35pm — one film, not two, however the schedule table splits it.

Ligue 1 Highlights — ITV4, 11:35pm

A half-hour round-up of round one in France sends the night off, condensing five results from the new season into edited clips, PSG’s away day at Rennes among them. Like everything else on ITV4 this evening, it’s a recorded package rather than a live feed.

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. Tonight’s 9pm River Monsters turns up on the +1 feed at 10pm 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?

Wednesday 26 August 2026 has no live sport at all. Minder holds the 6pm hour from 5:55pm, a recorded charity fishing event takes 7pm, River Monsters follows at 9pm, and the film Universal Soldier runs from 9:30pm with a short break for FYI Daily at 10:30pm. Ligue 1 Highlights closes the night at 11:35pm — recorded, not live.

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 usually earns its keep on live sport without a subscription in sight, but Wednesday 26 August is another night off from all of it — there isn’t a single live fixture on the channel today.

Instead the evening leans on a mix of archive drama and recorded action. Minder claims the whole 6pm hour before a charity fishing event fills the 7pm-to-9pm gap, River Monsters goes hunting at 9pm, and Universal Soldier plays out either side of a five-minute news break from 9:30pm. Ligue 1 Highlights rounds things off at 11:35pm — worth knowing it’s a highlights package rather than live coverage. Anyone after live sport will need to wait for the next fixture; anyone after a comfortable evening of familiar faces and an early-90s action film is well served either way.

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