Ahead of BritBox UK being integrated into ITVX, the BBC will no longer be a shareholder in the streaming platform.
BritBox UK launched in 2019 with ITV controlling 90% and BBC Studios the remaining 10%. However, the BBC will remain a content partner for both BritBox UK and BritBox International. A new long-term supply agreement will ensure BBC programmes will remain available on the service, alongside content from Channel 4 and Channel 5.
ITV told investors this morning that public service broadcasting partners are still “committed” to BritBox UK. Financial terms of the deal to take the BBC’s share in BritBox UK were not disclosed.
The BBC, on the other hand, is developing its own streaming platform – the BBC iPlayer – into a destination for a broader range of current and archive programmes. At the same time, its commercial arm, BBC Studios, is developing UKTV Play.
BritBox UK has seen a year-on-year increase in subscriptions of 45%, bringing the total to 733,000 subscribers. Churn rates have halved since launch. Original content, including Spitting Image is helping increase numbers.
Combined with ITV Hub+, ITV now has 1.2 million paying subscribers.
Later this year, its online streaming services will merge into a single destination, ITVX.
Internationally, BritBox has 2.4 million subscribers in North America, South Africa and Australia. The service will launch in the Nordics in the first half of 2022 and will continue to roll out in other locations in the coming years.
ITV expects that by 2030, it will have 10 to 12 million international subscriptions.