BBC and ITV to launch BritBox streaming service in 2019

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The Netflix-rival will show classic, current and brand new British programmes.

BBC and ITV to launch BritBox streaming service in 2019

BritBox, a new TV streaming service from the BBC and ITV to rival the likes of Amazon and Netflix, is set to launch in the UK later this year. The video service will, unsurprisingly, focus on British TV shows, combining old and current TV series, as well as investing in the creation of brand new British programmes.

BritBox aims to offer "the biggest collection of British content available on any streaming service", with boxsets and original series available for on-demand viewing. 

The BritBox streaming service is set to launch in the second half of 2019 in the UK, and will be a premium service, promising to be "competitive" when it comes to price. Netflix currently starts at £5.99 for the basic plan.

The latest news, announced in a joint release this morning, looks set to be the conclusion of what has been a long-running saga. Back in 2008, Project Kangaroo, as the plan for a joint streaming service from the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 was then known, was criticised as anti-competitive by Competition Commission. 

BritBox was then finally launched in the US in early 2017 and now claims over half a million subscribers. Netflix has more than 60 million US subscribers.

Now the UK streaming service is set to arrive in the UK, with the launch set for the second half of 2019. You can sign-up for more information on the BritBox website.

Joe Cox
Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).