BBC and ITV partner to launch Netflix-rival streaming service BritBox
Britain’s two biggest broadcasters are setting aside their own rivalry to create a joint streaming platform dubbed BritBox.
BBC & ITV box clever to launch joint UK streaming service
Advanced discussions are now taking place between the BBC and ITV with the expectation that other providers can be cajoled into taking part, providing a one-stop shop for British box sets, brand new commissions and on demand classics.
Carolyn McCall, chief executive of ITV, said: “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.”
BBC director general, Tony Hall, added: “I am delighted that the BBC and ITV are working together on something truly special - BritBox. A new streaming service delivering the best home-grown content to the public who love it best.”
BritBox is already a reality in the US where it has exceeded expectations to accrue half a million subscribers, with a UK edition now expected to land in people’s homes from the second half of this year.
Both the BBC and ITV remain tight-lipped their proposed subscription rates, saying only that it will be ‘competitive’.
ITV’s net investment in BritBox will be up to £25m in 2019, rising to around £40m in 2020 and declining thereafter, according to ITV's full year results report.
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The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters are at Broadcasting House in Westminster, London.
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