James R | On 13, Mar 2021

BritBox UK has hit its target of half a million subscribers. The streaming service, which was created by the BBC and ITV and includes content from Channel 4 and Channel 5, launched at the end of 2019, and has been bringing British programmes and films from the past and present to audiences for just over a year.

Content and subscriptions to BritBox UK have both grown rapidly, with the service leveraging the broad collection of exclusive content available from broadcasters’ archives, most notable 600+ episodes of Doctor Who Classic. The streamer also has plans for original productions that will debut over the next two years, led by a revival of Spitting Image that debuted last October. The reboot of the satiric puppet comedy paid off handsomely, with a tenfold increase in the daily rate of new subscriptions in the 24 hours following the show’s premiere. A second season will arrive later this year, while BritBox’s first original drama, The Beast Must Die starring Cush Jumbo and Jared Harris, will launch on the platform in May.

Most-viewed content on the service since launch has included the likes of Broadchurch, Only Fools and Horses, Love Island, and the Doctor Who Classic collection. Classic cult and sci-fi TV, as well as a selection of productions from The Royal Ballet Company and National Theatre have also proved popular.

Partnerships, including those with BT and EE announced in 2020, have also been crucial to BritBox’s success, as it makes itself as accessible as possible from a broad range of devices. Indeed, BritBox will also launch on Amazon Prime Video Channels this spring, which will make the service available as an add-on to Amazon Prime accounts via the Prime Video app, Fire TV devices and at amazon.co.uk/channels.

ITV’s chief executive Carolyn McCall said: “It’s been a great first year on BritBox, with all of the UK PSBs on board and the launch of our BritBox Originals strategy with Spitting Image. Achieving half a million subscriptions in little over a year from launch puts BritBox ahead of plan and firmly establishes the service in the UK OTT market.”

A subscription to BritBox UK costs £5.99 per month.

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