BritBox UK has now moved to ITVX, marking the end of an era for the service. BritBox launched in 2019 when the BBC formed a partnership with ITV. Their aim at the time was to compete with Amazon and Netflix. Since then, ITV has bought out the BBC, making them the sole owners of the platform.
Source: Pexels
Fierce Competition between Streaming Services
To compete in the current market, streaming services are being forced to offer more diverse offerings to their users. Similar movements have happened in other entertainment sectors, including the online gaming and casino industry. At one point, if you logged onto a casino, you’d be able to play a limited range of games, usually choosing between either live card games or slots.

Now, it’s possible for an online casino to offer a range of different games in one platform, as well as offering original slots and exclusives. Live blackjack, poker and roulette can also be played almost anywhere in the world if you have a VPN. This helped the gaming sector to boom and opened up new opportunities for the market.

To try and target an international market, and to follow in the same footsteps. BritBox made the bold move of taking its offerings international. The service operated in nine different countries, including Europe, Australia, North America, and South Africa. Subscribers could also access a huge range of content, along with TV shows and movies. Even though ITV has bought out the service, as the international version is still owned partially by the BBC, international viewers can access it as normal.

Source: Pexels
New Licensing Deals for ITV

For ITV, the deal has increased its ability to conduct deals across the world. Various media giants want to acquire film and TV rights. The BBC also have the option to free up its strong brand, as they now no longer have to make joint decisions. They can also pursue their international streaming service, rather than being in partnership with ITV. ITV have also confirmed that for now, the price is going to stay the same for those who want to access the platform. As new content is released and new deals are pursued, however, it may be that the price increases with time, as it has done with other streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.

When you crunch the numbers, it’s evident to see that the platform was valued at £500m. ITV paid £133 per subscriber, which is double the annual revenue of someone who signs up with the platform. With that being said, now they wholly own the service, they can begin to set their sights on a bigger level of international expansion. This could pave the way to new content and partnerships with international media giants. The BBC, which is more focused on broadening and strengthening its audience in the UK, can also strategically achieve their goals in a way that makes sense for its business model.
Overall, the deal makes sense for both parties, and it won’t be long until we start to see the effects of it in terms of new content.