The BBC and ITV have confirmed plans to launch BritBox, which will compete with the likes of Netflix. The streaming service will come online later this year.

BBC and ITV come together
The BBC and ITV have come together and agreed on a joint vision for the upcoming streaming service that will be named BritBox. The two companies are also inviting other partners to join the initiative.

- “I am really pleased that ITV and the BBC are at the concluding stage of discussions to launch a new streaming service. BritBox will be the home for the best of British creativity - celebrating the best of the past, the best of today and investing in new British originated content in the future,“ said Carolyn McCall, CEO of ITV.

The name is hardly a surprise since BritBox is already available in the US and Canada where it is “ahead of expectations having already broken through targets with over half a million subscribers”. The new development is that BBC and ITV have confirmed plans to launch the streaming service in the UK to rival Netflix and others.



BritBox will offer “the biggest collection of British content available on any streaming service”, ITV said. It will also offer “brand new commissions for British production companies specifically created for BritBox”.

To justify the joint venture, the partners pointed to growing demand for streaming services amongst UK consumers. More than 12 million households in the UK have at least one streaming subscription service. The market is growing 20% per year and more than 4 million homes now subscribe to more than one service.

The aim is to launch BritBox in the UK in the second half of 2019. Pricing details were not announced but it will be “competitive”, according to BBC and ITV. More information will be announced closer to launch and you can sign up to receive more information later on britbox.co.uk.

- Source: ITV