Is It Worth It
Acorn TV is almost the very definition of a niche streaming service. It concentrates on dramas primarily from the UK and features shows from Australia, New Zealand, and other parts of the world. Many of the shows are murder mysteries, and theres no doubt that the British TV industry loves offering that kind of programming. The service has a small but growing list of exclusive shows. Dont look for too many comedies or any kid shows at all on this service. This one is strictly for adults. If you love UK murder mysteries, this service is for you. If you dont, you might want to bypass this service.
Britbox Vs Acorn TV: Content Quantity
Quality and quantity are arguably the two most important metrics when you’re thinking about a streaming service. We’ve covered quality, so what about quantity? After all, you don’t want to run out of things to watch a few months after signing up.
At the time of writing, Acorn TV carries more than 250 different shows and movies. About a quarter of them are movies and there’s also a handful of foreign-language content, so you’ll have around 200 TV series to get stuck into.
Many older shows are represented in full. For example, the seven series of Men Behaving Badly are available, as are the nine series of Foyle’s War, and all 19 series of Midsomer Murders.
BritBox has a similar number of shows. The bulk of them fall under either the Drama or Comedy categories.
In short, both services will keep you fulfilled for a long time. It’s hard to accurately determine the number of hours of programming available, but they both run into several thousand.
Note: The number of shows on both services fluctuates slightly from month-to-month as new shows are added and old shows are removed.
How Does The Acorn TV Quality Compare
From a technical standpoint, most shows on the Acorn TV are just okay. They look fine, and you may not even notice they are not 1080p or 4K like almost every other streaming media app these days. They sound fine. You won’t be blown away by any surround-sound audio filling your living room, and that’s not really the point.
You can hear the dialogue easily. Most of the shows are bent on hooking you into the plot so the reason to keep watching is to find out who did some dastardly deed and not because a spaceship seems to fly overhead and blast the aliens into burnt toast.
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Is Acorn TV Free With Amazon Prime
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As many people know, you can subscribe to Acorn TV through Amazon Prime Video. It gives you all the great Acorn TV shows, except instead of viewing them through the Acorn TV app, you watch them through the Amazon app on your TV, phone, or tablet. You can always watch those Acorn TV shows on a laptop or desktop computer by simply going to the Amazon website.
This works especially well for those people who have Samsung or other Smart TVs that don’t offer the Acorn TV channel by default. It allows you to subscribe without the need to buy an additional device to plug into your television.
The part that confuses some people, though, is how you pay for it. If you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you probably know that it gives you access to a fairly large library of free TV and film content. In fact, we maintain a list of . This, plus the fact that Acorn TV is available on Amazon Prime, leads many to wonder if Acorn TV is included for that price.
What Acorn TV Offers
Acorn TV offers a broad range of content from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and Spain, and the service offers a large number of exclusive mysteries, dramas, comedies, and documentaries. Acorn continuously expands its offerings, but currently licenses shows from BBC Studios, ITV, All3Media, and others.
The service offers many programs that will be familiar to people who have spent time in Acorn’s various focus countries, such as “Doc Martin,” “Murdoch Mysteries,” and “A Place to Call Home” but Acorn also creates its own original content. Some exclusive shows the service has premiered include “Queens of Mystery,” “Agatha Raisin,” “Loch Ness,” “Striking Out,” and “Detectorists.”
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Britbox Vs Acorn TV: Content
Please note: content mentioned may not be available in all regions.
At a glance, Acorn TV has a smaller library of content when compared to BritBox. As we’ve already mentioned, it’s targeting a specific market, so most of its highlights are from within the crime and mystery genres.
Some of the service’s most popular shows include Keeping Faith, Whitstable Pearl, Line of Duty, Jack Irish, and Bloodlands.
Acorn TV also features a small range of documentaries, most of which focus on British history, nature, or culture.
Its worth noting that the UK Acorn TV content library is smaller than the US offering. Whether this is due to the service only launching in 2020 in the UK or due to competition with other, more prominent services, the selection is limited for potential UK subscribers. UK Vviewers will also find series like Line of Duty, Deadwater Fell, and Keeping Faith are already available on free alternatives like BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub, too.
By comparison, BritBox has a much larger and broader content library. Enduring comedy faves like Gavin & Stacey, Sherlock, The Inbetweeners, and Fawlty Towers stand alongside new dramas likeGrace, The Beast Must Die, and The Pembrokeshire Murders.BritBox is also the exclusive home of Line of Duty Season 6 in the US!
What To Watch On Brit Box
BritBox basically cornered the market on classics like Doctor Who, Coronation Street and EastEnders, thanks to its co-owners the BBC and ITV. The company says it thrives by tapping into the underserved audience of women 45 years and older, so if you fall into the demographic, chances are good youll find what youre looking for at BritBox.That means there is plenty of Dame Helen Mirren, including all seven seasons of Prime Suspect, and Dame Judi Dench, in series like Cranford and movies like Mrs. Brown, as well as lots of series with strong female leads, like the police proceduralBancroft. There are also plenty of Charles Dickens adaptations – including David Copperfield, Bleak House, and Oliver Twist to balance out buzzed-about hits like Kenneth Branaghs Wallander or James Cordens breakout role in Gavin & Stacey.
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How Much Data Does Acorn TV Use
As with every streaming service, watching content with Acorn TV will burn through your data allowance. The platform doesnt offer any official information on data usage, but streaming usually can burn anywhere from 300MB an hour on the lowest video quality to 3GB an hour for a high-quality HD stream.
How Do I Cancel My Acorn TV Subscription
If you signed up via the Acorn TV website, you have to cancel through a web browser on your computer, tablet or via the mobile site on your smartphone. Go to the Acorn TV website and click on My Acorn TV in the top right-hand corner of the site. Then, click on the Manage Account section and select the option to Cancel Membership. Finally, confirm the cancelation by clicking Cancel Acorn TV.
Note that deleting the app does not cancel your subscription you still have to follow the steps above. If you signed up through a third party , you need to contact that provider to cancel your Acorn TV subscription.
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Is A Subscription To Acorn TV Worth It
With plenty of streaming services available, it can be tough to figure out which ones are worth it, and which ones are worth missing out. However, with more streaming platforms coming to the market many of which are looking to fill niche needs turning to smaller platforms like Acorn TV may suit plenty who are in the mood for some good ol British telly.
As one of the cheaper services available in Australia, Acorn TV still offers plenty within its content library to keep you entertained, and doesnt just focus on British shows and movies, with international films and shows also available, in addition to local Aussie content, meaning that some will definitely find a subscription worthwhile.
Is Acorn TV Or Britbox Better
Acorn TV seems to be more solid in terms of its list of old-school mystery TV series and shows. For fresh content and shows which are currently running on BBC or ITV or were recently aired, BritBox is the place to go. If money is not a problem, we recommend you to subscribe to both to enjoy the best of both worlds.
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Britbox Vs Acorn TV: User Interface And Features
Both BritBox and Acorn TV opt for very simple, easy-to-use interfaces that are very similar and easy to navigate in your browser.
Both curate their content into helpful categories with navigation bars, and both showcase their recommendations in helpful carousels, too. Viewers can quite happily jump between TV shows and movies, A-Zs, and genre-specific lists with relative ease.
The actual video player is essentially the same on each service, too, minus slight variations. For example, Acorn TV offers the choice of streaming quality whereas BritBox doesn’t yet, but BritBox has the option to skip ahead or backward by 10 seconds which is not available on Acorn TV.
Neither has the info-dense overlay you find on Amazon Prime, nor does either platform have the multitude of options available on Netflix, but you’ll find closed captions and the option to watch in full-screen on a computer easily enough.
The big win in utility is Acorn TVs picture-in-picture player, though. This will pop out a small player and pin it to your desktop as an overlay, allowing you to crack on with other tasks on a computer.
However, BritBox users can opt to download their favourite shows on iOS and Android mobiles and tablets, which Acorn TV users cannot do.
Get Acorn TV For $099 For One Month On Amazon Prime Video Channels Plus Movie Deals For Prime Members
Amazon has been offering limited time discounts on PrimeVideo Channels this holiday season, and Acorn TV is next up on the list. Rightnow, you can get one month of Acorn TV for $0.99. Normally, a subscription tothe channel costs $5.99.
Click here to go to the Acorn TV page on Amazon Prime Video. Click on the banner to learn more, then click on Get Started to sign up with the discount. This deal ends tonight, so act fast to get your discount.
With your Acorn TV subscription through Amazon Prime VideoChannels, you can watch some of the best in British TV. Stream titles includingMidsomer Murders, Foyles War, Doc Martin, and Deadwater Fell.
Along with the deal for Acorn TV, Amazon has more titles on sale to rent, including:
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How Does Acorn TV Work
Acorn TV works just like Netflix or any other subscription streaming service. You can view shows from your desktop or you can access the app via your smart TV or a via a streaming device like Roku or the . AcornTV just added Android compatibility, which means you can also download the app via Google Play and watch shows using Google Chromecast.
Acorn TV
Britbox Vs Acorn TV: Which One Is A Better Streaming Service
At the first glance, Acorn TV and BritBox seem basically the same: The both offer a mix of old school and new crime series from Poirot to Vera along with a host of documentaries and popular British films. They are both available on platforms like Amazon Video and even their subscription price point is in the same range.
So when it comes to watching British TV via streaming services, does it matter picking one vs. the other? Actually it does. These two streaming services, although have some similarities, are quite different in terms of focus and breadth of offerings they bring to their audience.
We have done a side-by-side comparison of these two services from various angles to help you choose what fits your needs:
History of BritBox vs. Acorn TV
Acorn TV has had a presence in the U.S. market for more than two decades. Acorn Media Group has distributed British television in the United States since 1994, originally selling VHS tapes via catalogues before moving into DVD and Blu-ray media.
Continuing the companys expansion into new formats, the company launched a direct-to-consumer e-commerce website in 2011 and in 2013, Acorn TV was relaunched as a standalone service with expanded content offerings and monthly and annual subscription options.
The Differences Between BritBox vs. Acorn TV
Acorn TV, on the other hand, has an impressive list of Original series
So Should I Subscribe To BritBox Or Acorn TV?
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Britbox Vs Acorn TV: Overview
Neither of these services is going to change your mind about your Disney+ or Netflix subscription, but thats not why they exist. You’re much better off thinking of both BritBox and Acorn TV as supplements to your normal streaming habits.
BritBox is a joint venture between ITV and the BBC and is billed as the home of British entertainment, bringing more complete box sets of old and new shows to viewers than any other streaming service on the market.
BritBox has already gained over one million subscribers in the US, and has a steadily growing userbase in the UK which has already reached 500,000 people.
Meanwhile, Acorn TV is a targeted service aimed at bringing new shows from around the world to fans of detectives, police dramas, and thrillers.
Acorn TV reached its one million subscriber milestone back in 2019, which is equally impressive given it has a smaller amount of content available!
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Which Is Better Britbox Or Acorn TV
It’s hard to pick a true winner between BritBox and Acorn TV. Both have strengths and weaknesses, so it really depends on what shows you’re looking for.
Acorn TV is slightly less expensive, but it has fewer options in several categories. “Dr. Who” fans will like that the early seasons are on BritBox. But if you’re a big fan of mystery shows, you won’t get a complete experience from either.
For example, “Vera,” the show based on Ann Cleeves’ fantastic book series, is split between the two services. Seasons one, two, six, and seven are on Acorn TV, while BritBox has seasons three through 11. Most of Agatha Christie’s series are on BritBox, but Acorn TV has the 2015 “Partners in Crime” series and a couple of the more recent miniseries, like “And Then There Were None.”
In addition to old favorites, both services offer their own original content. Acorn TV has “Agatha Raisin,” based on the M.C. Beaton books, and “My Life Is Murder,” starring Lucy Lawless. There’s also the fun follow-up to “Miss Fisher,” “Ms. Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries,” which is set in the 1960s and follows Phryne’s niece.
While BritBox is playing catch-up, it recently released “Time” with “Game of Thrones” star Sean Bean. It’s already announced “Magpie Murders” based on Anthony Horowitz’s novel and “Why Didn’t They Ask Evans,” an Agatha Christie miniseries starring Hugh Laurie.
What Content Is On Acorn TV
The library is organized into categories, so you can easily find something to match your preferences. Categories include mystery, period drama, modern drama and more. Your geographic location affects what shows you can access. You cant access Acorn content from some countries outside the US.
The service specializes in TV series, but some feature films are available as well. You can browse the library before you sign up for a free trial, so you can get a big picture of what content you gain access to once subscribed. New content is added every month. Check the Schedule section to see upcoming titles.
- Detectorists
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Recap: Is Acorn TV Worth It
For anyone who loves British dramas and mysteries, Acorn TV is a good option. I would say it is second only to BritBox in that regard, which is a better app with a more diverse roster of shows. The acting is good, the plots are well-written. You will find a few British dramas on Hulu and even on Netflix, but not nearly as many.
It’s one of the easiest decisions to make when it comes to streaming media. If you like these types of shows, the $5.99 fee is a no-brainer. Acorn TV adds new shows on a routine basis, and the quality is good. Obviously Netflix and Hulu and many others are better apps with more shows and movies, but they also cost far more per month.