TIDMITV
RNS Number : 0497G
ITV PLC
19 July 2019
Full Stream Ahead for BritBox in UK as ITV & BBC Sign
Agreement
ITV and the BBC have now signed an agreement to launch BritBox
in the UK in the fourth quarter of this year. This is a bold, new
step for ITV and BBC as they seek to work together to offer
something fresh and distinctive to the public.
-- BritBox will be competitively priced at GBP5.99 per month in
HD and across multiple screens and devices, which is less than
other streaming services.
-- BritBox will be full of the nation's favourite programmes and
the home of the largest collection of British boxsets. In addition
to this storehouse, BritBox is commissioning a broad range of
original series made exclusively for BritBox.
-- The brand-new streaming service will be co-branded by ITV and
the BBC and will showcase the depth and breadth of British
creativity, on demand, ad free and all in one place.
-- Mainstream audiences are moving to SVOD in large numbers and
research shows that there is a real appetite among British viewers
for a new British streaming service - in addition to their current
subscriptions.
-- BritBox will be the place to view shows recently broadcast on
ITV and BBC including Love Island, Famalam, Cleaning Up and
Gentleman Jack as well as bringing home iconic shows such as Gavin
& Stacey, Victoria, Happy Valley, Broadchurch, Les Miserables,
The Office and Benidorm which will be on the service at launch or
come onto the service shortly after when licences with other SVODs
end.
Carolyn McCall, CEO of ITV, commented on the news:
"The agreement to launch BritBox is a milestone moment.
Subscription video on demand is increasingly popular with consumers
who love being able to watch what they want when they want to watch
it. They are also happy to pay for this ease of access to quality
content and so BritBox is tapping into this, and a new revenue
stream for UK public service broadcasters.
"ITV and BBC have made, and continue to make, the programmes
that both reflect and shape British culture and creativity. We now
look forward to working together to launch the largest collection
of British boxsets ever - bringing the very best in past, present
and future British programming and award-winning content to viewers
all in one place.
We are already working together on BritBox in the US and Canada
and this is proving to be very successful, exceeding its
targets.
We are committed to making BritBox UK a great success.
Discussions continue with other content and distribution partners
and we are looking forward to making further announcements in the
coming months."
BBC Director General, Tony Hall, said:
"We have a world beating TV industry with outstanding content.
The BBC and ITV are at the centre of that. Together, we have been
responsible for delivering the majority of "must see" moments on
British TV over the last decade. That "must see" content will now
be on BritBox.
"But this service isn't just about the past. I am really excited
about the new shows it will commission. With a remit to be daring
and different, many future classics will be commissioned and live
on BritBox for the future. These are exciting times for people who
love quality TV. Importantly, these shows will be truly British,
showcasing our culture and telling distinctive stories. It's what
makes real British TV so special."
BritBox will tap into the demand for a new British streaming
service and the innovative new service will have thousands of hours
of the nation's favourite content from ITV and the BBC (as well as
from other British broadcasters and production companies) across a
variety of genres, including critically acclaimed drama, crime
thrillers, classic comedy and powerful documentaries alongside
reality hits and entertainment.
Past
ITV and the BBC will open up their archive of owned content to
BritBox viewers. BritBox will be a multi-genre service, with a
strong focus on multi series drama boxsets, and from launch
thousands of hours of much-loved British television will be
available. BritBox will curate this unique store of award-winning
television to enable viewers to reconnect with favourite shows and
to discover classic programmes they missed first time.
Present
Both ITV and the BBC will also provide a new and regular flow of
fresh programmes as soon as they come out of their broadcast and
catch-up windows. This will provide viewers with hundreds of hours
of new ITV and BBC content every year. Many of these shows will be
exclusive to UK viewers through BritBox and the flow of programmes
will ensure that the content on BritBox is refreshed every
week.
Future
BritBox is also commissioning original content from British
production companies specifically created for BritBox. The first
new show is expected to be commissioned soon and will be available
to BritBox viewers from 2020.
Governance and equity structure
BritBox will be an ITV-controlled venture, but as a founding
partner, the BBC will contribute to the development of the core
purposes and strategic direction of the venture. ITV initially
holds 90% and the BBC holds 10% of the equity. The BBC has an
option to acquire additional shares over time up to 25% in total
and ITV will have the ability to bring additional investors on
board. ITV will be able to appoint a majority of the BritBox board
while the BBC's equity stake provides it with board representation
from the outset.
BritBox will have its own dedicated management team led by
Reemah Sakaan, Group Director ITV SVOD, responsible for making
editorial decisions about the service content while also ensuring
alignment with ITV's and the BBC's branding and editorial policies.
Reemah reports to Kevin Lygo, ITV's Director of Television, who has
overall commissioning responsibility for BritBox.
BritBox will pay market rate fees for all content provided by
ITV, BBC and other rights owners.
Promotion and marketing
Both ITV and the BBC will support the launch of BritBox with a
high-profile marketing and promotional campaign and will also look
at how best to connect viewers between BritBox, ITV Hub and BBC
iPlayer as they search for the content they wish to view.
With ITV's and BBC's commitment to BritBox they will be building
a distinctive library of content, as existing licence agreements
with other players expire.
Notes to Editors
1. The BBC and ITV continue to speak to regulators and the wider industry about BritBox.
2. BritBox is in discussions with other partners to provide
content and to distribute BritBox to viewers and future
announcements will follow in coming months.
3. Consumers who are interested in subscribing to BritBox when
it becomes available can register their interest now at
www.BritBox.co.uk.
4. Viewers will want to subscribe to BritBox because it is
uniquely British. There is growing consumer demand in the UK for
streaming services with more than 13 million households having at
least one SVOD service. BARB data shows that more households are
taking multiple subscriptions - while the annual growth in homes
with any SVOD service is 20%, the growth in homes with multiple
services is 34% with 5 million homes now having more than one
subscription.
5. Independent research carried out by Differentology shows that
desire for British content is high - with 44% of the UK claiming
they are likely to subscribe to a new SVOD service which features
British content. Over half (54%) of UK Netflix subscribers claimed
they would be likely to subscribe to the new proposed service. This
would be predominantly in addition to their current
subscriptions.
6. Around a fifth of the UK population claim to be already aware
of BritBox. This figure is from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was
1038 adults of which 22% are aware of BritBox. Fieldwork was
undertaken between 19th - 21st June 2019. The survey was carried
out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative
of all UK adults (aged 16+).
Media enquiries
ITV
Paul Moore
Paul.moore@itv.com / 07860794444
Jenny Cummins
Jenny.cummins@itv.com / 07595106670
BBC
Jonathan Reed
Jonathan.Reed@bbc.co.uk
Rhona De La Mer
Rhona.delaMer@bbc.co.uk
BBC Press Office - 020 7765 5900
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END
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