Beloved streaming service abruptly disappears weeks before ITV shuts down app forever

VIEWERS who were late to the BritBox game - or simply want to watch it before it disappears - are no longer able to subscribe.

Launched in 2019 by ITV and BBC Studios, the standalone service was revealed to be shutting down at the end of April.

While there was hope that it might stay alive in some form on Amazon's Prime Video, that dream quickly faded last week.

Now, ITV has revealed to The Sun that Amazon has stopped new viewers from subscribing to the soon-retired BritBox.

An ITV spokesperson said: "Amazon Prime has turned off the ‘subscribe’ button and removed some promotional ad placements on the BritBox Prime Video Channel in the run up to the upcoming service closure."

BritBox will cease operating as a standalone service on April 30, though the date might be different for those subscribing through Prime Video.

From that date onwards, BritBox content will only be available via ITVX or BBC iPlayer.

Previously, viewers could subscribe to BritBox via Prime Video, where they were able to combine their membership costs for both streaming services.

According to ITV, existing subscribers will "continue to have access to the service until closure".

But customers will receive a message from Amazon "regarding channel closure and date later this week".

Streamlining efforts

ITV CEO Carolyn McCall said the move to axe the BritBox standalone app formed part of ITV's plans to streamline its services.

“In 2024, the BritBox UK service on Amazon Prime Video Channels and the BritBox UK standalone app will close as we further simplify our offering," she said.

“This will consolidate all our subscribers under one ITVX Premium brand and will give us complete ownership of the subscriber base.

"The closure of these services is expected to impact subscriber numbers and subscription revenues in 2024.”

It comes just days after ITV quietly axed its Catchup channel on Prime Video.

The channel, previously known as ITV Hub+, allowed Prime Video viewers to dodge adverts at a cheaper cost.

For advert-haters, the Prime Video version was cheaper than a full ITVX Premium subscription - and allowed access to more content.

Now it seems that all signs are pointing towards the ITVX app, which will become the only place to catch up on missed shows from the broadcasting house.