Taking aim at the red-hot SVOD market, BBC and ITV have moved ahead with the U.S. launch of BritBox, a service that specializes in British television and sells for $6.99 per month following a seven-day free trial period.
BritBox is starting off with a library with “thousands” of hours or programming, with most exclusive to the service. Its “Now” category will stream out certain British soaps and other shows as soon as 24 hours after their U.K. broadcast premiere, including EastEnders, Emmerdale, Holby City and Casualty, among others. Premieres slated for the U.S. include New Blood and Tutankhamun.
BritBox’s library also features a slate of British dramas and comedies (i.e. Miss Marple, Inspector Morse, Blackadder, Sherlock Holmes, Are You Being Served?, Agatha Christie’s Poirot: The Early Cases, the original version of The Office, the premiere of The Moonstone), and exclusives such as Upstairs Downstairs and Brideshead Revisited.
The service will also include curated playlists such as “Very British Beginnings” (a showcase of actors such as Daniel Craig, Emily Blunt, and James Corden early in their careers), “Best of British Comedy,” “Iconic Detectives,” and “Literary Adaptations.”
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