BBC’s BritBox in South Africa is shutting down after 3 years

BritBox is shutting down in South Africa this August. This is just three years after it launched in the country in August 2021. BritBox SA, which is run by BritBox International, offers a range of British television series, documentaries, and other interesting programs.

BritBox Shutdown in South Africa

South African users of the streaming platform were left perplexed by the new development, which caused the company’s representative to release a statement. The statement read:

“Our service is refocusing on its more established markets and the areas of the business that will have the highest opportunities for growth. A large proportion of the content on BritBox has been exclusive to the service in South Africa. However, we expect some of this great British programming will find a new home on other platforms and channels in the territory in the future.”

The statement further read: “There is also a suite of BBC-branded channels on DStv. The likes of BBC Earth, BBC Brit, BBC Lifestyle, BBC UKTV, CBeebies, and BBC World News.”

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BritBox Shutdown in South Africa: Shutdown Due to a Competitive Market

The exact statistics of BritBox SA subscribers are unknown. However, the BritBox International CEO, Reemah Sakaan, after the local launch, highlighted that the platform had “thousands and thousands” of users and that the company was pleased with its local progress.

This was before the streaming industry became competitive in the country. Many streaming platforms also have a share in the South African streaming industry. These include Disney+, Netflix, and Showmax 2.0. The competitive market might have discouraged BritBox as it lost its audience to the other platforms.

There are speculations stating viewers in SA might watch BritBox content through a deal BritBox struck with MultiChoice last year in June.

Sakaan had said: “Through this new partnership with MultiChoice we will bring BritBox’s unparalleled Original series to DStv subscribers across South Africa. This includes the largest collection of British programming, all in one place.”

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Conclusion

However, it is not yet clear if BritBox contents can be accessed through Dstv after it shuts down.

BritBox SA’s development comes after the abrupt exit of AMC Networks’ Acorn TV, and Amazon Prime Video. The companies had stated that they would no longer be producing local content in Africa, including South Africa.