BritBox Australia streaming service will be the new place for Australian audiences to view premieres of some of the biggest shows from BBC Studios, picking up fan favourites Death in Paradise, Call The Midwife and Silent Witness when BBC First exits Foxtel, Binge and Fetch in a few days on July 31st 2024.
In early June news broke that most BBC channels (BBC Earth, BBC News, CBeebies, and BBC First) and related on demand content would be leaving Foxtel/Binge/Flash at the end of July and that Fetch had lost the BBC First channel.
At the time I correctly predicted that the first run new series which used to appear on BBC First and Foxtel would soon be available to Australian Britbox subscribers instead.
Since that has occurred as expected, my next prediction for Britbox is a series of further announcements about adding extra exclusive content including more first run premieres. It would make sense for Britbox to also have BBC World News live streaming as a channel.
This will probably be accompanied by a price rise from the current rate of $9.99/month within 6-12 months at the latest because BBC has to replace the revenue lost from Foxtel and Fetch.
BritBox subscribers will be the first to see Don Gilet (Sherwood, EastEnders, Shetland) as the new lead detective in Death in Paradise.
Making his debut in a feature-length Christmas special, before a brand-new series is released in early 2025, Gilet will play Detective Inspector Mervin Wilson – who arrives on the idyllic island of Saint Marie from London, and isn’t overly pleased with his new surroundings…
BritBox will also premiere The Jetty – a new crime thriller starring Jenna Coleman set in an eerie lakeside town where an arson, a missing persons cold case, and an illicit triangle are intricately intertwined .
Written and created by Cat Jones and produced by BBC Studios independent production label Firebird Pictures for BBC iPlayer and BBC One, the four-part mystery examines sexual morality, age of consent, grooming, identity and memory. The series is currently screening in the UK where it has has been hailed as “the new Happy Valley”.
Sarah Kenny, Head of Content and Editorial, BritBox and Branded Services, Australia and New Zealand commented:
“These shows have a huge resonance with Australian audiences and, together with other exciting new and exclusive titles like The Jetty, will drive further growth for BritBox. We are also acquiring more of the most recent seasons of these titles as we build up our collections. I’m so pleased that BritBox will now be the premiere home of these iconic British dramas”.
