BBC and ITV's BritBox streaming service launches in the UK
The catalogue of shows is sadly lacking, however.
With the popularity of British TV shows in the US, the launch of the BritBox streaming service in 2017 was an attempt by UK broadcasters to cash in on the streaming wave. ITV, the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5 banded together to offer content through a single BritBox subscription, though it was originally only available on the other side of the pond. Earlier this year, it was confirmed that the service was finally coming to the UK, and now it's arrived.
The catalogue of content available through the UK version of the service is different from that available in the US, though both suffer from a dearth of the most popular shows. Shows available through the UK service include standard fare like Downton Abbey, Gavin & Stacey and Broadchurch, although notably absent are well-known shows like Planet Earth, The Great British Bake-Off or the modern series of Doctor Who.
In the future more shows and movies will be added, with content from Channel 4 and Film4's back catalogue coming next year as well as original shows from Comedy Central UK.
For £5.99 ($8) per month, the service supports high definition playback and multi-screen viewing with no contracts and no ads. With the affordable price, BritBox is aiming to undercut services like Netflix which costs £8.99 ($12) per month in the UK for HD on two screens. The lack of top modern shows and the popularity of the BBC's free on-demand service, BBC iPlayer, may hamper these ambitions though.
To try out the service, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial on the BritBox website.
