Angela Jain has made driving down the average age of the ITV2 audience one of her key strategic aims.

ITV’s director of digital channels and acquisitions is understood to have shared research with some producers that revealed the channel skews too old. Some have suggested that its average viewer could be older than 40, although ITV insiders deny it is this high.

Entertainment spin-offs The Xtra Factor and Britain’s Got More Talent, plus repeats of Coronation Street and Jeremy Kyle, are understood to be a factor, and Jain is looking to commission content tailored for 16 to 34 year-olds.

A series taking a tongue-in-cheek look at The London School of Modelling is set to launch next month on ITV2, while the channel has also recently commissioned a pilot following the lives of X Factor boy band One Direction.

Jain’s former channel and key commercial rival E4 has outperformed ITV2 in attracting younger viewers this year. E4 has pulled in a consolidated average share of 4.77% among 16 to 34 year-olds in 2011, compared with ITV2’s 3.9%.

In contrast, ITV2 has attracted a 2.24% share of over-35s this year, compared with E4’s 0.94% share.

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