✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

You have reached the limit of free articles.


To enjoy unlimited access to Culture Whisper sign up for FREE.
Find out more about Culture Whisper

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy

Each week, we send newsletters and communication featuring articles, our latest tickets invitations, and exclusive offers.

Occasional information about discounts, special offers and promotions.


OR
LOG IN

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

Thanks for signing up to Culture Whisper.
Please check your inbox for a confirmation email and click the link to verify your account.



EXPLORE CULTURE WHISPER
✕ ✕
Turning tips into memories
Login
Signup

Please fix the following input errors:

  • dummy
Forgot your username or password?
Don't have an account? Sign Up

OR
  • LOG IN WITH FACEBOOK

If you click «Log in with Facebook» and are not a Culture Whisper user, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and to our Privacy Policy, which includes our Cookie Use

Support Us Login
  • Home
  • Going Out
    • Things to do
    • Food & Drink
    • Theatre
    • Visual Arts
    • Cinema
    • Kids
    • Festival
    • Gigs
    • Dance
    • Classical Music
    • Opera
    • Immersive
    • Talks
  • Staying In
    • TV
    • Books
    • Cook
    • Podcast
    • Design
    • Netflix
  • Life & Style
    • Beauty
    • Fashion
    • Gifting
    • Wellbeing
    • Lifestyle
    • Shopping
    • Jewellery
  • Explore
  • Shopping
  • CW SHOPS
  • Support Us
  • Get Started
  • Tickets
  • CW SHOPS
Get the Best of London Life, Culture and Style
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
TV

BritBox: cost, shows, future

07 Nov 19 – 07 Nov 20, 12:00 AM

Here's everything you need to know about the new streaming venture from the BBC and ITV. Shows include Broadchurch, Fawlty Towers and Downton Abbey

By Euan Franklin on 7/11/2019

BritBox launches in the UK
BritBox launches in the UK
BritBox: cost, shows, future BritBox: cost, shows, future Euan Franklin
Yes, the British effort to do battle with the American streaming giants – Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Disney – has finally launched in the UK. BritBox is a new streaming service founded by the BBC and ITV, which reportedly contains the ‘widest range of UK box sets of any service'.


But do we need a British streaming service when many of the shows are already available on Netflix or Amazon? This isn’t even considering the fact that newer shows won’t appear on BritBox until BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub take them down (which can take a year). Still, it’s difficult not to be impressed by the massive selection that BritBox offers.




BritBox cost


£5.99/month
. Not bad, but not all that appealing either.


It’s the same price as the cheapest Netflix subscription, although Netflix has a slew of original shows. Amazon Prime Video, which has few original shows in comparison, is more expensive at £7.99 a month – but its selection is much wider than that of both Netflix and BritBox.


Even more ambitious is Apple TV+, which launched last week, with a £4.99 monthly subscription and a fervent drive toward all-original content – immediately kicking off with Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon and Steve Carell in The Morning Show. BritBox has no such appeal, even to British audiences.



Apple TV+ is the cheapest option at only £4.99 a month

Disney's new streaming service Disney+, yet to be released in the UK, is predicted to cost £6.99 a month. This service will house every show and movie Disney has made since the 30s and will produce original content, including the much-anticipated Star Wars prequel series The Mandalorian.


BritBox shows


BritBox has a massive back catalogue of British TV, including the entire collection of 600 classic Doctor Who episodes from 1963 (dropping on Boxing Day). Other oldies include the 1991 ITV Helen Mirren detective series Prime Suspect, the 1979 BBC adaptation of John le Carré’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and the classic John Cleese comedy Fawlty Towers from 1973.



Newer additions include the acclaimed adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, the tragic whodunnit Broadchurch, and the 80s-inspired detective fantasy Ashes to Ashes.


BritBox also has original programming in the works, including the Australian show Lambs of God. This is a weird, bloody drama involving an island-based convent with twisted rituals. Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale) stars alongside The End of the F***ing World’s Jessica Barden.


BritBox future


Channel 4 and Film4 have joined in on the action, and over 1,000 of their shows and movies will arrive on BritBox by spring 2020. ITV has also made a big deal with mobile company EE, to make BritBox available to millions of mobile phone users. BritBox has also stated an aim of six original programmes per year.


It’s unlikely that BritBox will topple the giants; Netflix has nothing to worry about. However, there will be probable demand for classic British TV that the major streamers can’t provide, or that’s not available on the channels’ own streaming services. But is that preferable to the new, challenging, immersive choice coming to Netflix and Amazon and Apple TV+ and Disney+?


In a time when we'll have to be more selective, BritBox might not make the cut.



What BritBox: cost, shows, future
When 07 Nov 19 – 07 Nov 20, 12:00 AM
Price £5.99/month
Website Click here for more information



Most popular

Things to do in London this weekend: 24–26 March. Photo: The Parakeet, Kentish Town
Things to do in London this weekend: 24–26 March
Irene Maiorino and Alba Rohrwacher in My Brilliant Friend season 4, HBO/Sky Atlantic (Photo: HBO)
My Brilliant Friend, season 4, Sky Atlantic: first-look photo, release date, plot, cast
Best art exhibitions in London. Photo: Thin Air at the Beams
Top exhibitions on now in London

Editor's Picks

Billie Piper in I Hate Suzie Too, Sky Atlantic (Photo: Sky)
Christmas TV schedule 2022 UK: I Hate Suzie, His Dark Materials and Happy Valley return for the holidays
Josh O'Connor plays Prince Charles in The Crown season 3
Josh O'Connor interview: 'I don’t see real-life Prince Charles as my character'
Olivia Colman in The Crown season 3, Netflix
The Crown season 3, Netflix review
Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar Jones in Normal People, BBC Three
Why Normal People is beautiful television
Oliva Colman, Fionn Whitehead and Shalom Brune-Franklin in Great Expectations, BBC One (Photo: BBC/FX Networks/Pari Dukovic)
What to watch on TV this week
© Secret Cinema - Luke Dyson
Secret Cinema presents Stranger Things review
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).

BritBox

Streaming

British

TV

2019

You might like

  • Reese Witherspoon in The Morning Show, AppleTV+

    The Morning Show, Apple TV+: release date, trailer, photos, cast, plot

  • Eleanor Tomlinson in The War of the Worlds, BBC One

    The War of the Worlds, BBC One review ★★★★★

  • Julia Ormond and Ben Barnes in Gold Digger, BBC One

    Gold Digger, BBC One review ★★★★★

  • Jessica Barden in The End of the F***ing World, Channel 4/Netflix

    The End of the F***ing World season 2, Channel 4/Netflix review ★★★★★



  • The Culture Whisper team
  • Support Us
  • Tickets
  • Contact us
  • Press
  • FAQ
  • Privacy
  • Terms and conditions
  • Cookies
  • Discover
  • Venues
  • Restaurants
  • Stations
  • Boroughs
Sign up to CW’s newsletter
By entering my email I agree to the CultureWhisper Privacy Policy (we won`t share data & you can unsubscribe anytime).
×