BritBox UK streaming service opens its doors with Channel 4 on board

BritBox, the long-awaited UK TV streaming service, has finally opened its servers for business and it's saved a little surprise for the big day.

The BBC/ITV collaboration has signed a three-year partnership with Channel 4, which brings thousands of hours of TV shows and films from All 4 and Film4 to BritBox, all available from 2020.

There are also BritBox partnerships for both BT and EE for distribution of the streaming service across their pre-existing mobile and TV platforms.

You can sign up to BritBox now on the BritBox website. Registration comes with a 30-day free trial of the service, with subscription then costing £5.99 per month. With that you get HD programming and access to the biggest collection of British boxsets available on any video streaming service.

• What is BritBox? The new BBC and ITV streaming service explained

A BritBox subscription means access to the service on multiple devices from a single account via the likes of dedicated apps on iOS and Android, plus Apple TV. Samsung's will be the first smart TVs with a built-in BritBox app. Support for Freeview Play, YouView and sets from other manufacturers will come in 2020.

Content on BritBox at launch will include Downton Abbey, Broadchurch, Gavin & Stacey, Love Island and all 627 episodes of Classic Doctor Who. There are also exclusives such as drama Lambs Of God and some titles - A Confession and Manhunt from ITV, for example - that will be exclusive to BritBox once their window on catch-up services finishes.

EE and BT are set to reveal the full details on their BritBox products and bundles in the coming months.

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