• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
Arts & Entertainment

There’s A New Streaming Service for Fans of British TV

By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Tom Huddleston Jr.
Down Arrow Button Icon
March 7, 2017, 1:27 PM ET
Courtesy of BBC

A TV streaming service aimed at U.S.-based Anglophiles is now officially available.

BritBox, created in partnership with rival British broadcasters BBC and ITV, opened for business on Tuesday. The subscription Netflix-like streaming service is home to a variety of new and old programs from BBC, the U.K.’s public broadcaster, and ITV, the country’s largest commercial broadcaster. The two broadcasters market the service as the “largest collection of British programming available to U.S. audiences.”

A BritBox subscription costs $6.99 per month, following a week-long free trial period, and it includes access to what the BBC and ITV describe as “thousands of hours” of programming. That includes new episodes of somecurrent series (Eastenders, Emmerdale, Holby City, Casualty) that will be available to subscribers as soon as 24 hours after they air in the U.K.

“BBC and ITV are known for a vast array of diverse and award-winning programming that fans in the U.S. love and want to watch,” BritBox president Soumya Sriraman said in a statement. She went on to say that the video-on-demand service “offers a single point of access to an extensive collection of outstanding British programming to discover and enjoy.”

In addition, BritBox also offers exclusive access to certain classic shows that include British comedies As Time Goes By and Are You Being Served? as well as detective dramas such as Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple and Inspector Morse. Other shows—Blackadder, the U.K. version of The Office, Absolutely Fabulous, and Prime Suspect, among others—that are available elsewhere online will also be included with a BritBox subscription. BritBox also includes episodes of current TV dramas such as Cold Feet and Silent Witness.

BritBox is immediately available on computers as well as Apple TV and iOS and Android smartphones and tablets. The companies said the service will also work with Roku and Google’s Chromecast “shortly” after Tuesday’s launch.

When BBC and ITV announced their plans to partner on a streaming service in December, it was clear the broadcasters were entering a crowded market full of specifically tailored streaming options, from the growing list of live-television streaming services (Dish Network’s Sling TV, Sony’s Playstation Vue, Google’s YouTube TV) to popular on-demand services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune‘s technology newsletter.

BritBox’s potential for success mostly depends on the level of demand in the U.S. for British TV shows, some of which American audiences may not even be aware of yet. And, while some classic British shows can already be streamed on Netflix, Hulu, and other services, BritBox will also compete with Acorn TV, the subscription streaming service owned by RLJ Entertainment that features programming from the U.K. and a few other countries. Launched in 2013, Acorn TV has only about 430,000 subscribers.

Interestingly, AMC Networks invested $65 million in RLJ Entertainment last fall in a deal that gave AMC the right to eventually acquire as much as half of the company. AMC, which runs BBC America through a joint venture with BBC, has a minority stake in BritBox, as the companies noted when they announced the service in December.

About the Author
By Tom Huddleston Jr.
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Arts & Entertainment

Arts & EntertainmentMedia
Former Amazon Studios boss warns the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal will make Hollywood ‘a system that circles a single sun’
By Jason MaDecember 6, 2025
3 hours ago
Raul Rocha Cantú
LawCrime
Miss Universe co-owner gets bank accounts frozen as part of probe into drugs, fuel and arms trafficking
By Fabiola Sánchez and The Associated PressDecember 6, 2025
4 hours ago
Zaslav, Sarandos
BankingMedia
A Thanksgiving dealmaking sprint helped Netflix win Warner Bros.
By Michelle F. Davis and BloombergDecember 6, 2025
7 hours ago
Nuzzi
Arts & EntertainmentMedia
Olivia Nuzzi to leave Vanity Fair while denouncing ex-fiance Ryan Lizza’s Substack attack as ‘fiction-slash-revenge porn’
By David Bauder, Hillel Italie and The Associated PressDecember 6, 2025
7 hours ago
Mark Zuckerberg laughs during his 2017 Harvard commencement speech
SuccessMark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg says the ‘most important thing’ he built at Harvard was a prank website: ‘Without Facemash I wouldn’t have met Priscilla’
By Dave SmithDecember 6, 2025
11 hours ago
netflix
Arts & EntertainmentAntitrust
Hollywood writers say Warner takeover ‘must be blocked’
By Thomas Buckley and BloombergDecember 5, 2025
23 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Two months into the new fiscal year and the U.S. government is already spending more than $10 billion a week servicing national debt
By Eleanor PringleDecember 4, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Big Tech
Mark Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook for the metaverse. Four years and $70 billion in losses later, he’s moving on
By Eva RoytburgDecember 5, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits he works 7 days a week, including holidays, in a constant 'state of anxiety' out of fear of going bankrupt
By Jessica CoacciDecember 4, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
‘Godfather of AI’ says Bill Gates and Elon Musk are right about the future of work—but he predicts mass unemployment is on its way
By Preston ForeDecember 4, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nearly 4 million new manufacturing jobs are coming to America as boomers retire—but it's the one trade job Gen Z doesn't want
By Emma BurleighDecember 4, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
‘There is no Mamdani effect’: Manhattan luxury home sales surge after mayoral election, undercutting predictions of doom and escape to Florida
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 4, 2025
2 days ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.