BBC, ITV to launch Britbox streaming service in Australia

UK media heavyweights BBC and ITV will launch their subscription streaming service Britbox later this year.

Best of British, Rick Stein.

Australia's already crowded streaming market is getting another player, with UK media heavyweights BBC and ITV to launch their subscription streaming service Britbox later this year.

Britbox, which will run as a 50-50 joint venture between UK's biggest commercial broadcaster ITV and BBC's primary commercial division BBC Studios in Australia, will feature content "curated especially for the market".

In a joint statement on Thursday, BBC and ITV said the streaming service will launch with a "breadth of beloved British content from across the decades, including classic and contemporary box sets". However, no specific details were released on the content line-up or subscription price.

The announcement comes as more than 20 streaming players, including Netflix, Stan, Foxtel, Amazon Prime Video, Hayu, plus free-to-air television broadcasters like Seven West Media, Nine Entertainment and Network Ten vie for the consumers time and money.

The commercial TV broadcasters, plus local public broadcasters ABC and SBS all operate streaming services that are free, but feature ads, putting pressure on the industry's profit margins.

Foxtel, which consists of a pay-TV service and streaming platforms Foxtel Now and Kayo Sports, recently renewed its long-standing relationship with the BBC, which provides customers with premium British drama, entertainment, documentaries, natural history, news and kids programming.

"Much more of that programming is available on demand than ever before and through popular BBC channels including BBC Earth, BBC First, BBC UKTV, BBC World News and CBeebies," a Foxtel spokesman said.

Fiona Lang, general manager for BBC Studios in Australia and New Zealand, said there is a "real opportunity to build on the momentum and brand" that has been established in North America since March 2017 and the UK last November.

"Complementing our existing partnerships in the region, Britbox will draw on our vast combined catalogue of acclaimed British content and will deliver it directly to Australian audiences via a proven and seamless streaming service," Ms Lang said.

BBC and ITV said streaming service will "draw on the experience of the teams and technology that have successfully launched" the service in North America and the UK. They also plan to recruit a local team, including a country manager, to lead the Australian business.

ITV Studios senior executive Augustus Dulgaro said it is "great to have a new route to market in Australia for ITV’s best loved British content."

"We know the powerful combination of UK producers and distributors that the Britbox brand represents has been a consumer hit elsewhere and we look forward to bringing it to Australian fans in 2020.”

BBC Studios and ITV are considering rolling out Britbox in other countries.

Britbox North America, which was launched with a library of British box sets, drama premieres and live events, has more than one million subscribers now, and is "proving profitable", according to BBC and ITV. That streaming service counts BBC’s commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, and ITV as equal majority stakeholders, with American entertainment group AMC Networks holding a non-voting minority interest.

In the UK, Britbox is 90 per cent owned by ITV and the rest by the BBC. However, the BBC has an option to acquire more shares over time up to 25 per cent, and ITV can bring additional investors on board.

Foxtel is 65 per cent owned by News Corp Australia, publisher of The Australian, with the remainder held by Telstra.