BritBox and Acorn TV, two subscription streaming services, have made it easier than ever for Americans who love British culture to enjoy the same entertainment as their friends abroad. So, does choose one streaming service over another matter when it comes to watching British TV online? the other?
Actually, despite some similarities, these two streaming services have very different focuses and ranges of services they offer to their audiences. Please continue reading if you’re interested in learning more about BritBox and Acorn TV.
What Is Acorn TV
Acorn TV’s connections and experience may be its biggest assets. Countless police dramas and vintage British “cozies” are among the mystery series with the heaviest content.”
While its collection of Agatha Christie titles has dwindled, it still has David Suchet in Being Poirot, and the more recent specials such as The Witness for the Prosecution and the stylish 2015 BBC co-production of Partners in Crime.
Acorn TV is also producing original works, with nearly 30 original series, including the award-winning comedy Detectorists, about the eccentric and odd friends in a metal detecting club, and charming family drama Pitching In, about life in a “camping-park” or motor home community in Wales.
Acorn TV offers shows from Ireland, Canada, Spain, New Zealand, and Australia to American viewers in addition to British programming.
From the latter comes not only the great Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries and its follow-up film Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears, but as part of its original programming, it is the only source of the show’s snappy mod 1960s spin-off, Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries, which fans of the original will be very excited to get a taste of.
Fans of the period series will also enjoy the short-lived Bomb Girls, a group of women who work in a munitions factory and are the subject of a Canadian WWII television series.
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What Is BritBox
2017 saw the debut of BritBox. The service focuses on a variety of current and vintage BBC and ITV series. Its biggest win is probably ongoing popular soaps and dramas, as well as classic comedies of the ilk that any Anglophile who grew up hearing the names of classic series from the 1970s and ’80s would be able to identify, from EastEnders to Blackadder.
When it comes to the still-current soaps, such as EastEnders and Coronation Street Similar to Hulu, BritBox provides next-day availability for new episodes.
Similar to Acorn TV, while some of its programs are accessible through Netflix or Hulu, rarely are they the most recent seasons, and if they are, you must pay per episode or season rather than accessing them all as part of a monthly subscription.
While some popular British mystery series on both services are available elsewhere, more recent seasons are only available online, and, as mentioned, BritBox has the majority of the popular series Vera.
BritBox is also getting into original programming and has now produced as many as AcornTV, including spin-offs of existing series, such as The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco, its first original series.
Differences Between BritBox And Acorn TV
Using the same slick, tidy interface across all of their platforms, BritBox and Acorn TV both provide a straightforward, intuitive experience.
User Experience
Regardless of whether you’re watching on your TV, laptop, or smartphone, you can use either service’s home page to access an episode of your favorite show in just two clicks.
You can pick up watching your show where you left off on another device because all three platforms have the same user interface. This allows searches made in the app on your mobile device to appear on the service’s website.
Despite the fact that both services can be accessed via websites or mobile apps, Acorn TV is simpler to set up for TV streaming. Simply add the Acorn TV channel to your Android device or download the Acorn TV app to your Amazon Fire TV or Roku, then sign in.
You can add the BritBox app to your Roku. However, in order to use BritBox on Amazon or Apple TV, you must subscribe to it through Amazon Channels or Apple TV Channels, and those subscriptions are distinct from the ones you would use on BritBox.com or its mobile apps.
You would require two subscriptions if you wanted to watch BritBox content on both an Apple TV or Amazon device and a laptop or smartphone.
Device Compatibility
BritBox device compatibility
- Android devices
- Apple TV (4th Generation or Airplay to older models)
- Chromecast
- iPhone/iPad
- Laptops/desktops
- Roku
- Samsung Smart TVs
Acorn TV device compatibility
- Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick
- Android devices
- Apple TV (tvOS version)
- Chromecast
- iPhone/iPad
- Laptops/desktops
- Roku
Personalization
Both BritBox and Acorn TV take pride in their straightforward user interfaces, which limit customization and add-ons. The only real functionality offered by both services is the ability to quickly add shows to a watchlist and keep track of your most recent viewing history so you can resume where you left off.
Features
Both services offer a selection of closed captioning options that viewers can use to tailor their viewing experience. To enable closed captioning, click the CC icon in the BritBox viewer. Depending on the device, different closed captioning options are available for Acorn TV.
However, the service allows users to change the font and color of the captions. Only a few BritBox titles have the option.
In comparison to AcornTV, BritBox allows users to have up to five streams running at once. Using a PIN code, BritBox enables you to also set parental controls. Acorn TV, on the other hand, is devoid of this feature.
Content
In order to provide a variety of entertaining content, both BritBox and Acorn TV share the same goal. BritBox is cultivating its own line of new original shows, including the Luke Evans show Pembrokeshire Murders, McDonald and Dodds starring Jason Watkins from The Crown, as well as timely talk shows and a “Game shows on Panel Channel, etc.
Acorn TV makes the most of its classic Agatha Christie holdings, including series featuring the exploits of Miss Marple and Poirot and The Agatha Christie Hour. By combining a variety of shows from various eras, like “Doctors in Time” on BritBox and “Irish Tales” on Acorn TV, both services aim to promote a sense of discovery.
What Is Their Price?
A seven-day free trial is available for Acorn TV, which costs $6 per month or $60 per year. The service is also available as an add-on channel for Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video.
BritBox has a seven-day free trial and costs $7 per month or $70 annually. Similar to Acorn TV, the service is accessible as an add-on channel for Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video.
Although there is a flat monthly fee for each service regardless of how you sign up, you can combine your membership with an existing Amazon Prime or Apple account by subscribing to either platform as an add-on channel. This streamlines billing and enables you to view everything in a single app.
Conclusion
Both services provide a ton of viewing entertainment, and the cost is reasonable given the amount of content provided. According to what you’re looking for. We advise you to subscribe to both if money is not an issue so you can benefit from the best of both worlds.
