Can the BBC and ITV Challenge Netflix?

'The BBC, the UK's national broadcaster, and ITV, the biggest private player in the UK market, are in the 'concluding phase of talks' to create a rival to Netflix,' writes Slashdot reader AmiMoJo.
The BBC's director general Tony Hall said the aim was to launch the 'BritBox' rival to Netflix in the UK the second half of 2019. Neither organisation would say how the services would be priced, but Lord Hall said it would be 'competitive'. There are reports it could cost £5 a month.
A similar service, also called BritBox, is already available in the US and has amassed 500,000 subscribers.

Their announcement promises 'an unrivalled collection of British boxsets and original series, on demand, all in one place.' Diginomica writes that 'the more cynical among us' might call it 'a knee-jerk reaction to Netflix,' adding 'the BBC has a bad case of Netflix envy.'
They ask where this would leave future BBC-Netflix joint productions -- and whether BBC content would be removed from both Netflix and Amazon. But they also believe that if there is a threat to Netflix, it's the upcoming Disney+ streaming service with original Star Wars content scheduled to launch in late 2019.

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