# Britbox vs Acorn TV...which is better (need answer kinda fast...Christmas present) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 25, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079 "2022-12-25T15:51:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/1 "2022-12-25T15:51:13Z")
I am looking to gift someone a subscription to either Britbox or Acorn TV. (streaming TV services) I am curious what opinions you all have of either service and if you have a preference? I mean to give the gift in the next either hours or so (I know…very last minute). Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/2 "2022-12-25T16:02:32Z")
My wife loves all the Brit Detective shows on Britbox, Acorn was far more limited for such. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/3 "2022-12-25T16:06:43Z")
We had Acorn a few years ago, and now have Britbox. We like Britbox, and ISTR we liked Acorn, too, but after a while we weren’t watching it that much any more, so we canceled. I haven’t looked at it recently. The only bad thing about Britbox is that on our Roku, it has been less stable than almost any other channel: it will lock up, boot you out to the Roku home screen, and sometimes freeze so that you have to reboot the device. Those problems were more common a year or two ago, so they seem to have been fixing things. If Britbox has more of the shows you want, I wouldn’t avoid it for that reason. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/4 "2022-12-25T16:07:05Z")
This. If they like British detective shows, definitely BritBox. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/5 "2022-12-25T17:11:51Z")
Thanks all. BritBox it is! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2022, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/6 "2022-12-26T04:42:21Z")
I did both for a while…. Now just have Britbox as we watched it much more. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2022, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/7 "2022-12-26T05:07:27Z")
This is timely. I never watched the much praised Prime Suspect or moderately praised Life on Mars back in the day and I thought I might try Britbox and give them a go. Amazon Prime is running a teaser for the next week of $1.99/month for two months before the regular pricing kicks in. However I was wondering if the content is still reduced for Prime vs directly through the Britbox app - apparently that was the case a few years back, but I’m finding it hard to find if that is still true. Anyone have any idea? Probably not all that important - looks like Amazon Prime at least has those two shows available. But I do hate buying (renting/leasing) gimped services. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2022, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/8 "2022-12-26T14:41:27Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > BritBox it is! Excellent. We’ve had both and prefer BritBox by far. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/9 "2022-12-26T22:07:56Z")
This reminds me that I had gotten a subscription to Acorn TV last year specifically so I could watch some shows, and haven’t used it in quite a while. I kept hearing about shows that sounded good which weren’t available on Acorn but were on BritBox, but never got around to switching. I really need to do that. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2022, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/10 "2022-12-29T14:09:58Z")
I think they’re both essential. Acorn has more than just British shows, for example NZ’s Brokenwood Mysteries and the excellent Irish miniseries Blood. Right now Acorn has more seasons available of Midsomer Murders than Britbox. Britbox has a fine collection as well so a truly awesome present would be to give both. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/11 "2022-12-30T20:32:52Z")
My wife and I switch between them every few months, maybe as long as a year. They both have excellent choices, with some overlap. Really inexpensive for the amount of shows we watch on them. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/12 "2022-12-30T20:41:30Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Amazon Prime is running a teaser for the next week of $1.99/month for two months before the regular pricing kicks in. Thanks for noting this - I just subscribed to both, good timing since I’m at home mostly for the next 2 months. It doesn’t seem to care that I have subscribed in the past periodically, including taking advantage of promo offers in the past for both. > [@Tamerlane](#): > > However I was wondering if the content is still reduced for Prime vs directly through the Britbox app - apparently that was the case a few years back, but I’m finding it hard to find if that is still true. Since I have them active on Prime now, let me know if there’s any availability you want me to check. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/13 "2022-12-30T20:45:05Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > Since I have them active on Prime now, let me know if there’s any availability you want me to check. Appreciate it, but I already pulled the trigger myself so if anything is missing I guess I’ll find out 😉. Too good of a deal not to give it a shot - I’d spend more on a latte than two months of streaming content. ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/britbox-vs-acorn-tv-which-is-better-need-answer-kinda-fast-christmas-present/977079/14 "2022-12-30T20:48:45Z")
And my thanks to everyone, too. We had Britbox ~3 years ago, then cancelled after a while (the Mrs. is a bit shy about switching devices), but this is a great deal. I too was able to get the $1.99 deal for the first two months despite being a previous subscriber.