OTT Network BritBox Aims To Lure Older Subscribers With TV, Radio Campaigns

BritBox, the over-the-top streaming video service owned by the BBC, ITV and AMC Networks, is embarking on a multimillion-dollar ad campaign to lure new subscribers.

The campaign is an unconventional one for a streaming service,  as it will not only be relying on traditional TV and digital advertising, but daytime radio advertising as well. 

Unlike other streaming services focused on reaching young consumers, BritBox -- which launched a year ago -- is trying to reach older, more affluent consumers. The campaigns are also launching in cities that the service says have been “hotbeds” for new subscribers, including Austin, Texas and Portland, Oregon.

“We have experience with radio being a great medium for time targeted decision-making,” Reemah Sakaan, senior vice president of creative for BritBox U.S., tells Digital News Daily. “Drivetime often syncs with your evening's planning -- what to eat, what to watch. And in combination with TV advertising -- to bring to life the pictures -- I have seen the media multiplier effect work well for content promotions. So we wanted to try this for BritBox in one of our strong regional areas.”

BritBox’s campaign stars actor and comedian Alan Davies, who frames the service as an “escape” to a different type of television.

BritBox will launch its first original series, “The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco,”  a spinoff of an earlier show, later in 2018.

BritBox is a clearly differentiated SVOD: pure British, in sync with British launches and seasons and covering every genre from drama to current affairs to reality," Sakaan says, adding that the company will continue to “invest and innovate in multiple media channels to drive awareness and buzz” in the service.

BritBox and competitors like Acorn TV are trying to secure space as a niche complement to other streaming services.

AMC Networks, which has a minority stake in BritBox, recently struck a deal to acquire RLJ Entertainment, which owns Acorn TV and the Urban Movie Channel OTT services. The company also operates the Shudder OTT horror service.

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