8 Niche TV Streaming Networks That You Didn't Know Existed

Focus – British TV

Living in Britain, we take it for granted that the vast majority of great original British programming comes from the BBC (and to a lesser extent ITV and Channel 4), who each offer free services (iPlayer, ITV Hub and All4) enabling access to catchup and box sets. Across the pond it is much more difficult to get ahold of things after they’ve aired on BBC America or PBS (which picked up the likes of Sherlock and Downton Abbey), though Netflix and Amazon do offer a selection of the bigger hits such as recent series of Doctor Who and Peaky Blinders.

Many other British creations have found a home on Britbox, a joint venture between the BBC and ITV. There is a heavy focus on soaps, with Eastenders, Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Casualty and Holby City all available on the service, supplemented by older programming that might notable financially viable for the larger networks to pick up.

This includes timeless sitcoms such as Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, The Office, The Young Ones and Red Dwarf, as well as period dramas and murder mysteries such as Upstairs Downstairs, Cracker, Poirot and Inspector Morse.

Appealing to expats and Anglophiles alike, Britbox is only available in America and Canada, but has picked up more than 250,000 subscribers since its launch two years ago, indicating that there is considerable appetite for the output of the world’s second largest English-speaking television industry.