BBC and ITV reveal BritBox streaming TV launch plans

[HEXUS]

Subscription service will go live between October and end of the year, priced from £5.99 (HD).

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[Friesiansam]

Just took a look at the BritBox YouTube link. If that is indicative of what we can expect, ie. all the popular programmes that are ready shown over and over and over again, on the likes of Gold, Dave and ITV3, what is the point of paying extra?

[Tabbykatze]

But I bet you won't be able to have this without a TV license.

As Friesiansam says, most of Britbox is on constant repeat cycle anyway!

[MajorZod]

what is the point of paying extra?

Because they arent making enough money fleecing people on TV licenses

[SkywalkerLuke]

If the service is a good (crappy) as BBC's own catch-up service, they haven't got a chance in the UK...

[Irien]

As MajorZod said - I don't mind paying for the TV licence with its content on iPlayer etc. What I object to is constantly being double-dipped having effectively paid for the content already. The crazy BBC DVD pricing is another example of this (older Dr Who anyone?)

[adidan]

Will this be more aimed at the international market?

[Bagpuss]

Looks like it was dreamt up in a BBC committee room on a wet Weds afternoon.

[Corky34]

They must be off their rocker if they think people are going to subscribe to something they're already subscribed to.

[cheesemp]

Got to be honest - this growth of alternative streaming services is getting as bit irritating. I've already got Amazon prime and Netflix. I'm not going to be spending more. I'll probably have to chase whichever offering has the stuff the kids want on (Blaze, Paw patrol and Disney) but I'd rather just pay a bit more and get everything from one provider. I can see pirating thriving again should it get any worse... People just aren't going to subscribe to 5 or 6 providers.

[Iota]

I can see pirating thriving again should it get any worse... People just aren't going to subscribe to 5 or 6 providers.

I actually find myself in agreement, the streaming market is becoming much more fragmented and in doing so risks losing more than they have gained by making the content easily available on other streaming platforms. It's either that or I'm going to start cycling my subscriptions between Netflix / NOWTV / Disney (when it launches in the UK) etc. One service that isn't going to be included in that cycle is Britbox, because as others have alluded to the content is on constant repeat on other channels or I've already paid for that content through the license fee so would feel aggrieved by having to pay for it a second time.

BBC boss Lord Hall has dismissed complaints that viewers will have to pay twice for its shows with the launch of the service.

This gentleman is delusional if he thinks consumers are stupid.

[Spank]

I honestly can't understand the point of this at all, it's just repeats of programmes that have been on BBC or ITV (although I never watch ITV and couldn't name a dozen BBC progs I watch)

[markzero]

Here in the U.S., you can also get Britbox as a "channel" on Amazon Prime instead of just standalone. Same price (assuming you are already a Prime subscriber), but it's conceivably nicer to have a shared wishlist, recommendation engine, and catalog to scroll through. Presumably you'll be able to do the same thing, at some point.

I've been thinking about it, actually, but there's also Acorn, BOB (Best of British TV), PBS Masterpiece, etc., for Anglophiles. I don't know much about their respective back catalogs, so I need to sit down and decide what I care about more.

[nobodyspecial]

Cycle your subs. No need for netflix, amzn yearly. I can see maybe going britbox once we exhaust all of hallmark channel first as a USA person who hasn't seen everything brits have here. But hallmark is a lot cheaper ($33 or so a year, WOW, was $29 the first year). Best to just use each for a year and switch. Binge whatever you need to and move on from one to the next

With all the free TV on roku channel, tubi, etc, you only need one other sub to have more tv than you can keep up with. Cable? LOL. Dead to me. We are not even 1/2 through hallmark and they keep adding more now they they bought the channel from feeln. Slowly but surely you are getting all of hallmarks stuff from decades (about to hit 3rd year shortly). I used to hate commercials, but now that they are NOT coming with a $100 cable bill attached too, I don't mind Tubi/Roku etc as much. Commercials are shorter on these and sometimes only 1-2 show, or even zero, so bring more roku/tubi etc Late at night you might have 2 of the breaks during a show have no commercials, it just blinks and returns to shows. Free TV is pretty good these days, with way more than we can watch, never mind just keeping up with hallmark monthly. I see tons in the pics here I'd watch after hallmark switch at some point. As long as it's not brit english (that crap I can't even understand AS english...LOL), I'll watch. NOBODY in our family likes to read subtitles to understand ENGLISH (or anything else for that matter). We partially quit netflix just because you can ELIMINATE all foreign audio content (used to be able to do this with your settings). I WILL NOT READ SUBS. If you want anyone in my family (multiple houses) to watch your crap, make english or dub it to english PERIOD. I WATCH TV, not READ it.

[Jonj1611]

Currently I am only paying for a subscription if there is something I want to watch then will watch all of it and whatever else I want for the rest of the month and not pay again until something comes out that I like. It's costing far less so far but this is getting silly with the subscription services, same as the gaming ones. At one point you won't be able to afford to pay for all so will be picking and choosing, and then you will get complaints for the streaming services there revenues are down.

Netflix recently had a similar issue, it put its price up but then didn't hit its subscriber projection. I'm surprised that they were surprised

[Saracen999]

I have ro wonder if, especially given the BBC & ITV tie-in, with some rumours of C4 too, if this isn't a preliminary move to BBC going subscription only, and ditching the entire, complicated and expensive to adminster, licence fee.

Bear in mind that quite a lot of both BBC and ITV content isn't actually made by those companies but is either commissioned from, or simply bought from, independent production companies.

And given that, it's very possible that, going forward, rights to some VERY big hit shows will appear on BritBox ONLY, and the BBC could cut back core production pn FTA to statutory requirements only.

All told, streaming has thrown a flash-bang down the departmental trousers of the BBC, made the justification for a mandatory licence fee harder to justify and a subscription service nay well prove to be the only long-term route as it is, effectively, an optional licence fee for that extra material.

At the very least, I think the Beeb are dipping a toe in, to test the waters.