BritBox, the subscription-based streaming service from ITV and the BBC, has recently made two changes to its pricing model: one that will disappoint customers who are yet to trial the service, and another that might benefit avid fans. Plus: some can use a trick to pay even less.
The UK version of BritBox (a different one also exists in the US) is a streaming service that launched on November 2019, which brings together British TV programmes and films from ITV, BBC, Channel 5 and Channel 4 (See our full BritBox review).
The service features both newer programmes (shortly after they air on ITV and the BBC), as well as old classics, including more than 600 classic episodes of Doctor Who, and a collection of films from Film4.
BritBox is also working on a number of original productions, including the new season of Spitting Image, which returned to our screens this week as a BritBox exclusive, and will run for ten weeks.
And while BritBox was only available on a limited number of devices when it launched, it’s now available on most of the leading streaming devices (Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Samsung TVs, some Freesat boxes and more), with two major ommissions – there’s no Roko app, and no Freeview Play app, for now.
BritBox Cost Changes
Normally, BritBox costs £5.99/month, and until recently, you could also get a 30-days free trial. That, however, has changed – and the free trial is now limited to just 7 days.
This is in line with other streaming services in the UK that made changes to their free offering – Disney+ used to offer a 7-days free trial, and removed it entirely. Netflix used to have a 30-days free trial – and removed it as well, in the UK.
But other services still offer a trial – NOW TV offers 7 free days for most of their passes, and Amazon Prime Video still offers a generous 30-days free trial.
But there’s some good news from BritBox as well: In addition to the regular £5.99/month, BritBox has also added an annual subscription, for £59.99/year – that’s 12 months for the price of ten, saving you more than 16%.
The beauty of TV cord cutting and streaming subscription services is that they’re flexible, and don’t tie you up with long contracts – therefore, I’m not usually a fan of these annual offers.
But if you’re certain that you’re going to stay a BritBox subscriber for a while, then this can still save you some money.
How To Pay Less For BritBox
With the return of Spitting Image, BritBox has seen a surge of interest, and presumably a lot of new customers who are either using the limited free trial, or have subscribed for a month.
Some users, who are now trying to cancel the BritBox, have been getting a special offer: three months for £10 (instead of £17.97). Once the three months are up, the subscription will revert back to the regular price:
To try and get this offer, you simply need to go through the cancellation process on the website, and see whether you get it. You might not, since this is probably a limited-time offer – but it’s worth a try.
Get BritBox Free For 6 Months
And finally, if you want yet another possible BritBox deal, EE customers (both new and existing) on Pay-Monthly contracts can get six free months of BritBox. Plus, data you use to stream BritBox will not go down from your plan.
At the end of the six months, the subscription will auto-renew at the regular £5.99/month, so remember to cancel if you don’t want it.