BritBox Review

What is BritBox?

BritBox is a video-on-demand (VOD) streaming service that has some of the most popular shows and movies from British TV, including BBC and ITV programming. It’s a niche service that focuses on British content, including comedies, dramas, and soap operas. With more than 1 million North American subscribers as of 2020, BritBox has grown substantially over the past few months. It’s not quite Netflix, but it could be a British substitute for Hulu. 

When it comes to content in its catalog, however, it’s nowhere near the size of Hulu. But if you’re only looking for British-specific content, BritBox is one of the best options out there. 

BritBox plans and pricing 

The service gives you the option of saving a few bucks by purchasing an annual BritBox subscription for $69.99.

BritBox supported devices 

Britbox is available across most major devices on the market, including Android and iOS mobile phones and tablets. Here’s a list of the devices BritBox is compatible with. 

• AirPlay
• Amazon Fire TV
• Android devices
• Android TV
• Apple TV 
• Google Chromecast
• iOS devices
• Roku
• Smart TVs
• Web browser

What to watch on BritBox 

BritBox provides shows and movies from BBC, Channel 4, Film4, ITV, and ViacomCBS. There’s a variety of new and classic content available in BritBox’s catalog from Upstairs Downstairs to The Royal. You won’t find live TV on the service, but daily shows — like Brexitcast, Coronation Street, and Good Morning Britain — are updated regularly. 

Whether you’re in search of a specific show or just browsing, you can either filter BritBox’s titles alphabetically or search by genre and category. 

The BritBox catalog is categorized into a few major subsets. 

• Mystery
• Comedy
• Drama
• Doc & Lifestyle 
• New to BritBox 
• Popular 
• All’s Fair

There are also a few select titles that appear as their own categories. 

• Now
• Midsommer Murders 
• Classic Doctor Who

Some of the most popular mystery titles on BritBox include Father Brown, Shetland, Shakespeare & Hathaway – Private Investigators, Vera, Waking the Dead, Bancroft, A Touch of Frost, and Dalziel & Pascoe.

It features several comedy titles such as Gavin & Stacey, QI, Mum, There She Goes, 8 Out f 10 Cats, Would I Lie to You?, Hold the Sunset, Newzoids, Keeping Up Appearances, Mr. Bean, and the original British version of The Office. You’ll also find dramas from The Sweeney to Our Girl. Documentary and lifestyle fans can enjoy selections such as This Farming Life, Harbour Cops, and 24 Hours in Police Custody. 

BritBox also offers several classic movies, including Hamlet, Henry V, Oliver Twist, and Great Expectations. 

A few titles are noticeably missing. You would hope BritBox would carry the newer episodes of Doctor Who. But unfortunately, it only offers the older, classic episodes. None of the show’s episodes from 2005 to the present appear in the service’s library. 

Even though the BritBox catalog is made up mostly of shows from BBC and ITV, the company plans to release original content. It expressed interest in producing content for 2020 that will be exclusive to its VOD subscription service. Both BBC and ITV are investing millions of dollars into developing original series for the service. 

BritBox features 

There aren’t any DVR storage features with BritBox. But that’s pretty much standard for streaming services that aren’t traditional TV alternatives. But some similar services, like CBS All Access, will let you download content for offline viewing. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case here. With BritBox, you won’t be able to watch content without an internet connection. 

Unlike Hulu and Netflix, there are no user profiles to create on the BritBox streaming app. So you won’t benefit from personalization and recommendation features. That said, while using the same account, you’re able to stream on up to five screens simultaneously. And you’re also able to share a watchlist by adding your favorite titles to view later. 

Now, if you have kids and want to make sure they can’t access mature content, you’re in luck — BritBox has parental controls. Just head to Settings and select Parental Controls. You’ll subsequently be advised to input your password. From there, you’ll need to create a 4-digit PIN and toggle the level of restrictions from TV-G to TV-MA. In the future, you’ll need to use your new pin to watch restricted content. 

Note that you won’t be able to stream in 1080p HD resolution on mobile devices. Instead, you’re limited to 720p, which is actually pretty good. If you watch BritBox with your smart TV, you’ll be able to stream in 1080p.

The final cut 

BritBox is one of the most successful niche VOD streaming services in North America. British TV shows and movies from BBC and ITV make up most of the service’s catalog. So whether you’re interested in TV dramas like Father Brown or movies like Jane Eyre, you’ll be able to find tons of great programs to enjoy. If you’re a fan of British TV and want to give the service a try, you can take advantage of the streamer’s free seven-day trial.

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