BritBox ‘struggles to keep viewers’ after 30-day free trial with only 380,000 estimated to be paying £5.99 a month for BBC and ITV’s streaming service
- BritBox, launched last year, offers 283 box sets and claims to have a larger UK collection than rivals, including Amazon and Netflix
- But only 1.5% of respondents to survey by Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates said they were paying subscription after free trial – equal to about 380,000 households
- In comparison, Netflix has 9.1m streamers in UK alone, who pay £5.99-per-month to £11.99-a-month for 4K+HDR to watch programmes
BritBox, the new subscription streaming service launched by the BBC and ITV, is struggling to hold onto viewers once its free one-month trial has ended, according to research.
The £5.99 service, which was launched last year, offers 283 box sets and claims to have a larger UK collection than rivals, including Amazon and Netflix.
However, only 1.5 per cent of respondents to a survey by Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates said they were paying a BritBox subscription after the 30-day free trial finished – equal to about 380,000 households.
BritBox, the new subscription streaming service launched by the BBC and ITV, is struggling to hold onto viewers once its free one-month trial has ended, according to research
The £5.99 service (above), which was launched last year, offers 283 box sets and claims to have a larger UK collection than rivals, including Amazon and Netflix. However, only 1.5% of respondents to a survey by Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates said they were paying a BritBox subscription after the 30-day free trial finished – equal to about 380,000 households
The actual subscriber and viewing figures are not known as BritBox says it is too early to measure how the platform has performed, according to The Times.
By way of comparison, Netflix – which began its streaming service in 2010 – has over 60million subscribers in the US alone, and 148million paid subscriptions worldwide.
It has 9.1million streamers in the UK, who pay from £5.99-per-month to £11.99-a-month for 4K+HDR to watch series like The Crown and Stranger Things.
Meanwhile, Amazon Prime offers its 6.4million UK fans The Grand Tour and The Man In The High Castle for £7.99-per-month after a free 30-day trial period.
There have also been complaints that BritBox viewers are being made to pay to watch programmes – such as David Attenborough documentaries, along with classics like Fawlty Towers and Only Fools And Horses – that they had already funded through the TV licence fee.
The Oliver & Ohlbaum Associates survey also found that 2.6 per cent of those polled said they had given BritBox a go but would either not subscribe after the free trial ended (about 560,000 homes) or had cancelled their subscription already (100,000 homes).
There have been complaints that BritBox viewers are being made to pay to watch programmes – such as David Attenborough documentaries, along with classics like Fawlty Towers and Only Fools And Horses (above) – that they had already funded through the TV licence fee
Meanwhile, more than 25 per cent had not heard of the service.
The research comes as Disney+ has thrown down the gauntlet in a bid to undercut UK competitors with its introductory offer of a £4.17-per-month platform.
Brits will be able to enjoy Star Wars, Marvel, and Pixar films – as well as original series – on Disney+ at a discounted £49.99-per-year ahead of its March 24 launch.
The entertainment giant had previously announced that Disney+ would be priced at £5.99 per month in the UK.
Would-be customers in Britain have now been offered a slim window of opportunity to seize the discount before the normal fee is restored.
UK subscribers will have instant access to 25 Disney+ Original series, including the highly-publicised Star Wars spin-off series The Mandalorian.
Other Disney+ Original series include High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, The World According To Jeff Goldblum, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
UK streaming: What content Netflix, Amazon Prime, and others offer, and how much you have to pay to watch them
Disney’s big announcement is sure to shock Netflix, which has 9.1million UK subscribers, and Amazon Prime, with 6.4million customers (file photo)
Disney+ – which will normally cost £5.99-per-month – is offering UK customers a discounted £4.99-per-month ahead of its March 24 launch. Disney hopes to squeeze out its UK streaming competitors by throwing down the gauntlet. Ranked from most expensive to cheapest, UK streaming services offer their millions of loyal customers a range of content, including:
Amazon Prime (£7.99-per-month):
- The Grand Tour (motor enthusiasts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May travel the world and get up to all sorts);
- The Man In The High Castle (a post-World War II dystopia);
- Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (a CIA analyst combats terrorism)
Netflix (£5.99-per-month):
- The Crown (the series that explores life in Buckingham Palace during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, as Britain finds its place in the post-1945);
- Stranger Things (in 1980s Indiana, a group of young friends witness supernatural forces and secret government exploits);
- You (a New York bookstore manager and serial killer develops a a disturbing and toxic obsession with women)
BritBox (£5.99-per-month):
- Wolf Hall (a historical drama based on the life and loves of Henry VIII);
- Extras (a down-on-his-luck actor struggles to make the big time);
- Whitechapel (detectives deal with copycat historical murders)
Apple TV (£4.99-per-month):
- The Morning Show (a newsroom satire starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell set in the #MeToo era);
- For All Mankind (an alternative history of a prolonged Space Race);
- Truth Be Told (a true crime podcaster investigates a convicted killer, who continues to claim innocence years after the incident)