By Jonathan Easton
ITV-BBCS joint-venture SVOD BritBox has made its bow in Australia.
The streamer offers viewers ‘the largest streaming collection of British drama and comedy on demand’, and launches in the country following successful rollouts in the US, Canada and the UK. The former two countries have a combined total of more than one million subscribers.
Launching on November 23 – a day dubbed ‘Doctor Who Day’ by fans of the iconic sci-fi series – viewers will have access to a wide range of content including favourites like The Vicar of Dibley, Midsomer Murders, Blackadder, and, of course, the entire collection of Doctor Who from 1963-2019. The streamer also features originals such as reboots of Spitting Image and All Creatures Great and Small.
BritBox is available via web, iOS, Android, Chromecast, Apple TV, Samsung Smart TV, LG Smart TV, Telstra TV and Fetch. Users will be offered an introductory 7-day free trial, after which point they will pay AUS$8.99 per month or AUS$89.99 per year.
This expansion comes as part of a global rollout in ‘up to 25 countries’, with the company previously pledging AUS$35 million(US$25.49million) in the Australian venture alone. Australia, as a country densely populated with British immigrants, was a logical market for BritBox, and the JV will look to expand to similar nations in the coming months.
General manager for BBC Studios ANZ Fiona Lang said: “BritBox is very much a part of BBC Studios’ future strategy in Australia. The global growth of BritBox has been truly impressive and there is no doubt that we are heavily invested in ensuring the success of BritBox in Australia as part of our partnership.”
Country manager of BritBox in Australia, Moira Hogan said: “Australians have an affinity for British television and the launch of BritBox in Australia is a unique opportunity to tap into this passion and nostalgia. We look forward to firmly establishing ourselves with Australian streaming audiences.
“Our aim is to be the place to discover hidden gems or find your new favourite series. We’ve delved into the rich catalogues of BBC Studios and ITV to deliver thousands of hours of classic and contemporary mystery, crime, drama and comedy titles for launch. This is just the start, with plenty more favourite British series, territory premieres, exclusives and originals to be released on BritBox each month. BritBox will also be the home to a variety of recently and previously broadcast series that viewers may have missed the first time around, now available for streaming on demand all in the one place.”https://www.digitaltveurope.com
