AMSTERDAM—Tim Davie, CEO of BBC Studios, provided an update on his company’s U.S. subscription video service, BritBox, during the annual IBC Show.
After previously disclosing a subscriber total of 250,000, Davie said Britbox now has more than 400,000 subscribers and that his company wants the service to have 500,000 subscribers by its second birthday.
BritBox officially launched in March 2017 as a partnership between ITV and BBC Worldwide, which is half-owned by AMC Networks. The service, which costs $6.99 per month after a seven-day free trial, offers episodes of British soaps and other programs 24 hours after they broadcast in the U.K. BritBox also compiles classic BBC and ITV series.
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“We are delighted to expand our current partnership with BBC Worldwide and view this investment as a strategic opportunity for AMC Networks to participate in a digital platform dedicated to offering shows of the highest quality," said AMC Networks CEO Josh Sapan in a statement.
While BritBox’s subscriber base in the U.S. is relatively small compared to the massive audiences paying for Amazon, Netflix and Hulu, Davie said that the service is really about generating incremental income for the BBC outside of the U.K.
“We’re not trying to beat Netflix in that market. I think that might not work,” Davie said. He said that the U.S. can be a difficult market for SVOD but that it can work out for streaming services that find an effective niche.
Davie said that the BBC and its partners are currently evaluating other markets for BritBox.
In February, BritBox said that it had reached 250,000 subscribers about one year after its U.S. launch and not long after launching its service in Canada.