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Streaming platform Acorn TV beefs up UK, Aussie drama.

"Quality of script and acting" a feature of premium drama titles as Acorn TV steps up Aussie streaming platform.

Streaming platform Acorn TV, which launched quietly in Australia last year, has ramped up its UK and Australian offering, with popular drama and mystery titles.

The North American-based service was described by The New York Times as having “the most robust, reliable selection of European, British, Canadian and Australian shows.”

UK titles include Cold Feet, George Gently, Foyle’s War, Doc Martin, Broadchurch, Mr. Selfridge, Victoria, Line of Duty, Agatha Raisin, Gunpowder, Grantchester, Humans, The Indian Doctor, The Bletchley Circle while Aussie titles include Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Brides of Christ, Anzac Girls, Janet King, Jack Irish, Winter and The Moodys.

Kerensa Samanidis, general manager for Acorn TV International, told TV Tonight, “It wasn’t called a beta launch last year because we launched fully across 30 international markets with a relatively limited content offer.

“We were so pleased with the uptake in Australia that we decided to really focus on the Australian market.

“So we have dramatically increased our content offer and added a lot of content relevant for the Australian market and we’re increasing our marketing.

“There are shows that keep on giving. Midsomer Murders and Doc Martin are two all-time favourites for Acorn TV with audiences all around the world. We have every single episode of Foyle’s War & George Gently and newer shows like Line of Duty which has had incredible ratings year after year.

Loch Ness is also a Subscription Video on Demand premiere.”

New shows, including yet-to-be-announced Australian premieres, will join in the coming months. Available in HD on devices including IOS (iPad and iPhone), Android (phone and Tablet), Android TV, Apple TV, Fire TV, Chromecast or by visiting acorn.tv, fees are AU$6.99 per month or an annual subscription for AU$69.99. It also offers a free one week trial.

“What we offer is based around Drama and Mystery / Thriller, and there is some Comedy. What hangs it all together is story and plot, the quality of the script and acting, with characters that people connect with,” said Samanidis.

Highlights include:
• The only place to stream all seasons of beloved British police dramas George Gently and Foyle’s War;
• Peabody and BAFTA Award-winning serial crime drama Broadchurch, starring Oscar-winner Olivia Colman and Doctor Who’s David Tennant, with Seasons 2 and 3 to be added in the coming weeks;
• All three seasons of Irish detective drama Jack Taylor, starring Game of Thrones’ Iain Glen;
• The complete collection of Mr. Selfridge, starring Jeremy Piven as the eponymous department store impresario and the Night Manager’s Catherine Kelly;
• Seasons 1-5 of cherished romantic comedy series Cold Feet, starring James Nesbitt, Hermione Norris and Helen Baxendale;
• Classic, detective series Midsomer Murders (Seasons 1-3), Britain’s longest running detective series;
• Season One of critically acclaimed costume drama Victoria, starring The Cry and Doctor Who star Jenna Coleman;
• Seasons 1-3 of 1950s detective drama Grantchester;
• Record-breaking ratings hit and critically acclaimed series Line of Duty (Seasons 1-4), dubbed “king of the crime dramas” by The Telegraph UK;
• The first two seasons of popular, long-running medical comedy drama Doc Martin starring Martin Clunes, with more seasons to be added in coming weeks;
• Acorn Original Series Agatha Raisin, starring Ashley Jensen as the titular amateur sleuth;
• The first two seasons of beloved Australian drama Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries starring Essie Davis;
• Six-part crime series Partners in Crime, starring Little Britain’s David Walliams and Call the Midwife’s Jessica Raine, based on the Agatha Christie Tommy and Tuppence novels;
• All series of British period drama The Bletchley Circle, featuring Line of Duty’s Anna Maxwell Martin and Peaky Blinders star Sophie Rundle;
• Three-part BBC One/HBO miniseries Gunpowder from Game of Thrones star Kit Harington, based on the Gunpowder Plot in London 1605; and
• Season One of British sci-fi drama Humans, starring Crazy Rich Asians’ Gemma Chan.

acorn.tv

3 Responses

    1. I guess that’s up to the consumer, streaming is opening up plenty of formerly dormant catalogues of shows and movies which don’t often get seen on terrestrial TV in their entirety, personally I like to see more original series made but like everything else you have to pay for it, at least older shows mean cheaper pay to view subscriptions per month though the free streamers who show commercials would be the best choice for most viewers who enjoy nostalgia, in my opinion.

  1. All of these British dramas would’ve been on abc iview for free . It would be great to have a SVOD service that has series that aren’t already shown on free to air or Foxtel

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