BritBox strikes deal with Channel 5 and Comedy Central

BritBox and Viacom have struck a deal which will see British content from Channel 5 and Comedy Central available on the online streaming service when it launches later this year.

A rival to the likes of Netflix and Amazon, BritBox – a joint venture between ITV and the BBC – will be an ad-free service providing both recently broadcast shows and British box-sets.

Under the new deal subscribers will be able to watch British comedies from Comedy Central UK and factual and entertainment content from Channel 5, though they will have to wait 30 days post-broadcast for Channel 5 box-sets to migrate from the My5 service.

“We are thrilled to announce that another British Public Service Broadcaster is joining BritBox, ensuring that we offer viewers the very best of British creativity across a variety of genres,” said Reemah Sakaan, group launch director for ITV SVOD.

According to ITV, BritBox is in the middle of discussions with other potential content partners, with future announcements to follow in the coming months. However, Channel 4 remains conspicuously absent from the line-up so far.

The streaming service is set to launch in the fourth quarter of this year and will cost viewers £5.99 per month. In comparison, Netflix recently hiked its own prices by as much as 20%, and its most popular standard plan is now priced at £8.99 a month.

Elsewhere, regulator Ofcom gave the green light for the BBC’s investment in BritBox earlier this week, determining that there is no significant risk that the service will create an unfair advantage.