BritBox International Boss Speaks For First Time Since $330M BBC Studios-ITV Deal, Says Best-Of-British Streamer Feels No “Creative Pressure” From Its New Majority Owner

EXCLUSIVE: BritBox International is operating “autonomously” and free of “creative pressure” from the BBC, according to its president, who branded the streamer “the best route to market for British TV outside of the UK.”

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Robert Schildhouse was speaking to Deadline for the first time since being promoted to President of BritBox North America and General Manager of BritBox International after the landmark £255M ($329M) deal that saw BBC Studios acquire ITV’s shareholding in what was previously a JV streamer, which was followed by the exit of his predecessor Reemah Sakaan. The deal was one of convenience, fulfilling the BBC’s desire to grow internationally while ITV sought to pump investment into new domestic streamer ITVX.

Schildhouse said BritBox, which is available in North America, Australia and Scandinavia with a library featuring Gavin & Stacey, The Sixth Commandment and a hefty Agatha Christie back catalog, has “not changed materially,” while BBC Studios bosses have stressed autonomy and a desire for BritBox to continue buying and co-producing shows with other networks. The New York-based exec was speaking to Deadline a day after meeting with the likes of BBC Studios CEO Tom Fussell at a UK away day.

“The beauty of the relationship we have with the BBC is that they still want us to run the business autonomously without any creative pressure on where we source our shows from,” said Schildhouse. “While the BBC makes incredible TV shows, we are heavily invested in shows that come from non-BBC sources and that is the proposition we have made to our audiences. We see ourselves as the best route to market for British TV outside of the UK.”

Of late, BritBox has co-produced splashy ITV series such as Jason Isaacs biopic Archie and Andrew Buchan’s Passenger , while it is making a doc series with Channel 4 in which David Suchet relives Agatha Christie’s travels around the world.

Far from muddying waters, Schildhouse said BBC Studios’ BritBox buy – its biggest commercial deal of all time – provided “clarity of vision.” “Things have gotten a bit simpler in the best possible way,” he added.

While streamers have hit a series of obstacles over the past year or so, BritBox says subs have risen by 25% over the same period to 3.8 million. Schildhouse wouldn’t be drawn on what has gone so wrong for some of America’s biggest legacy media companies and their streaming operations but said BritBox’s quiet growth comes from being “laser focused on delivering the best of British TV.”

And opportunities are ripe given the target market and BritBox’s USP, he added. “The Hollywood system is predicated on broad international distribution of shows but this is not a two way street,” he added. “The British equivalent of Friends is Gavin & Stacey and yet despite James Corden being a star [in the U.S.] that show is a relative unknown in the States. We have Gavin & Stacey [on BritBox] and that is the role we can look to play.”

Other shows on BritBox that feature big-name talent such as Harry Potter star Isaacs or Matthew Macfadyen are big draws, he added. He showered praise on British shows for being “well told stories and having talent that treats acting as a craft, combined with a sense of place.”

Series to have performed well of late include Blue Lights and After the Flood , along with stalwarts like Vera and Death in Paradise . BritBox will continue to co-commission as well as buy but will be selective, Schildhouse said. Shows like double-BAFTA-winner The Sixth Commandment , which was made with the BBC, are good for exposure and critical reception but aren’t necessarily huge subs drivers, he added.

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“We are not in the ‘singular hit’ business we are in the portfolio business,” said Schildhouse.

The former Hulu exec talked up the strength of BritBox’s Agatha Christie library, which contains numerous older adaptations, recent David Jonsson-starrer Murder is Easy and, soon, Towards Zero, starring Anjelica Huston and co-produced with the BBC. But he remained coy on details over BritBox’s involvement with future adaptations of the British novel-writing doyen’s work.

“We would love to work with the best source material,” he added. “Of course we would love more Agatha Christie programing, we want more programing from a breadth of British IP creators. Agatha Christie was just so prolific and we’ve made a significant investment in ensuring that our audience has a very deep library of her work.”

South African exit

Under its full-BBC Studios ownership, expansion to territories beyond the U.S., Canada, Australia and Scandinavia seems unlikely. In fact, just a few weeks after the BBC Studios-ITV deal, BritBox revealed it would be pulling out of South Africa less than three years after launch there, citing a focus on “more established markets and the areas of the business that will have the highest opportunities for growth.”

Schildhouse doubled down here, saying BritBox will “deploy our resources in the places where we think we will get the most return,” and pointing to other big players such as Amazon rowing back from the African continent.

“We considered South Africa very carefully,” said Schildhouse. “We had a loyal audience base but in terms of how we think about being disciplined in our resources and where we invest, we made a decision to invest our resources in markets where we felt more opportunity.”

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