• BritBox to launch in Australia later this year 
  • Ad-free subscription service pricing not yet announced
  • Deliver it directly to Australian audiences via a proven and seamless streaming service,” says BBC Studios ANZ MD

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BBC Studios and ITV take BritBox to Australia: Service to launch down under later this year 

BBC Studios, the principal commercial arm of the BBC, and ITV, the UK’s biggest commercial broadcaster today announced its plans today to launch the BritBox streaming service in Australia. 

The ad-free subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) streaming service - currently available in the UK, US and Canada - will launch in the Australian market later this year.

The duo behind the service said: ”We will bring Australians an unrivalled collection of great British TV shows, and will build on the successful launch and operation of the service in both North America (USA and Canada) and most recently in the UK.”

BritBox Australia will be run as a 50/50 joint venture between ITV and BBC Studios, drawing on the experience of the teams and technology that have successfully launched BritBox in North America and the UK while also recruiting a local team, including a country manager, to lead the operations in Australia.

Announcements on content, price and partnerships have not yet been confirmed and have been promised to follow in the coming months.

BBC Studios ANZ general manager Fiona Lang said: “There‘s a real opportunity to build on the momentum and brand that has been established in North America and to make BritBox part of BBC Studios’ future strategy in Australia.

“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.”

BritBox features the biggest collection of British content available on any streaming service as well as brand new commissions for British production companies specifically created for BritBox.

It also offers expert curation and playlists that will enable viewers to easily find programmes they know and discover new favourites via web, mobile, tablet, connected TVs and Chromecast.

ITV Studios Global Entertainment Asia Pacific Sales and Distribution executive vice president Augustus Dulgaro said: “It’s 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.”

Alongside the launch of BritBox in Australia, which means the service has expanded into its fourth market, BBC Studios and ITV said the opportunities for roll-out of in additional territories around the world will be evaluated.

British political satire Spitting Image will return to UK screens after a 24-year absence, becoming the first original commission BritBox since the service launched in the UK at the end of last year.

The satirical TV show, made famous in the mid-1980s, will feature puppets mimicking the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Beyonce, according to the BBC.

Co-creator Roger Law, who is on board as executive producer, said: “The new Spitting Image will be global through a uniquely British eye, it will be more outrageous, audacious and salacious than the previous incarnation.”

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