ITV, BBC Move Ahead With Streaming Venture to Take on Netflix

Greg Ritchie, Bloomberg News

PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 09: Soumya Sriraman, President of Britbox United States and Canada speaks during the 2019 Britbox segment of the 2019 Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Langham Huntington, Pasadena on February 09, 2019 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) , Photographer: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images North America

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K.’s ITV Plc and the British Broadcasting Corp. plan to start their new streaming venture in the fourth quarter, as they seek to respond to the incursion from Netflix Inc.

The venture, which follows months of discussions by the companies, is part of ITV Chief Executive Officer Carolyn McCall’s push to diversify the company’s revenue away from traditional TV, as consumers seek to watch content whenever they want and advertisers increasingly direct more spending online.

Attempts by broadcasters across Europe to pursue streaming partnerships to take on Netlix and Amazon.com Inc. have been met with skepticism from some industry observers, however, because they’re seen to lack the scale and technological prowess to counter their U.S. rivals.

Their BritBox service will launch at a monthly price of 5.99 pounds ($7.50) and include recently broadcast shows on ITV and BBC, such as “Love Island” and “Gentleman Jack.” The companies also plan to commission new original series. The price is lower than Netflix’s U.K.’s 8.99 pounds a month subscription fee for its standard service.

ITV will own 90% of the equity in the new venture, while the BBC will own the remaining 10%.

“The agreement to launch BritBox is a milestone moment,” McCall said in a statement. “Subscription video on demand is increasingly popular with consumers who love being able to watch what they want when they want to watch it.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Ritchie in London at gritchie10@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net