Here in the UK there’s a multitude of streaming services. We’re at the stage now where, if you join several paid-for services, quite a bit of money will be leaving your bank account per month so that you can watch shows from competing companies.
The BBC iPlayer is used by a rising number or licence fee payers, but if you want the rest of general UK TV, you’ll need to get other apps – ITV Hub, All 4, My5, UKTV play and so on.
However, if you’re after more then you’ll generally have to pay more. Netflix, Amazon Prime and Apple TV+ etc. Today BritBox is being added to that list, and it’s a service from the big UK TV channels. It will let you watch a stack of shows from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 without any ads, plus you can watch in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. You can also, if you’re in the UK and travelling in the rest of the EU, use the service temporarily there too.
New shows probably won’t immediately be available on the platform, as the existing free streaming apps will carry those first, but older shows which have slipped off the general 30 day availability period will appear. The price for BritBox is £5.99 per month and you get 30 days free. No contract and you can cancel any time. The service has been live in the USA for a couple of years.
Programmes include BBC TopGear, Wolf Hall, Victoria, Gavin & Stacey, Deep Water, Manhunt, Whutechapel, Maigret, Broadchurch, Cracker, Prime Suspect, Brideshead Revisited, Ashes to Ashes, Absolutely Fabulous, Extras, Blackadder and Fawlty Towers plus much more.
Channel 4 and Film4 content will be available next year with Comedy Central also coming on board. There’s Android and iPhone apps too. The service has HD streaming and allows for multi-screen viewing.
It’s good to see the traditional TV channels collaborating in this way, and should mean a greater choice of shows in one place.
Head to BritBox.co.uk for more info.