We take a look at Britbox, the new streaming service backed by the BBC and ITV which brings together content from all of the UK’s main free to air broadcasters.
What’s on BritBox?
The service offers a selection of past drama and comedy greats from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 plus a number of original commissions, all available advert-free.
Current or recent highlights include all surviving episodes of the original Doctor Who, Friday Night Dinner, Allo Allo, One Foot In The Grave, Thunderbirds, plus more recent hits such as Cold Feet, Grantchester and Vera.
As you’d expect, newer shows are presented in High Definition as are some classic titles – including Joan Hickson’s Miss Marple, Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock Holmes, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and the BBC’s House of Cards trilogy.
There’s also a selection of British films including titles from the ITV Studios, Film4, and Studiocanal libraries, with some classic titles owned by ITV remastered in HD for the service.
As well shows from the archives, BritBox offers recently broadcast programmes as early as 31 days after the last episode was shown or left the broadcaster’s catch-up service (iPlayer, ITV Hub, My5 and All4).
How Much Is BritBox and How Do I Watch?
Subscriptions cost £5.99 per month, with a 7-day free trial. There are two ways to sign up – the first is direct at BritBox.co.uk which allows you to watch via the service’s own website and Android, iOS and Smart TV apps.
There’s also an option for Prime Video subscribers to add the service to their Prime account for £5.99 per month. This is especially useful for those who prefer to manage as many services as possible on one bill. However, by signing up through Amazon, you’ll only be able to watch via the Prime Video app.
Can It Be a Success?
BritBox bosses have been clear that they’re not trying to compete with Netflix,or Amazon but are instead focussed on offering something that sits alongside the US giants and, so far, their strategy seems to be working – as of March 2021 the service had signed up over half a million subscribers.
Is it Worth Getting?
Yes – provided you’re largely just looking to re-watch shows you saw the first time round, or something you missed on broadcast. There’s a good mix of content and BritBox does a nice job of curating and signposting shows to make them easy to discover.