BritBox, the U.S. streaming service operated by British commercial broadcaster ITV and BBC Studios, has hit 500,000 subscribers – coming in ahead of target.

The company has doubled its subscriber growth year-on-year, beating the March target that BBC Studios Tim Davie revealed at the IBC technology conference in Amsterdam.

In addition to over 4,600 episodes of British programming, the service has also recently moved into original commissioning with series including The Bletchley Circle: San Francisco from Line of Duty producer World Productions and Canadian firm Omnifilm Entertainment.

Soumya Sriraman, President, BritBox said, “We knew that our special sauce of combining our ‘Now’ feature of near live television, with the best British TV programming would make this a must-have service. British content is as popular as ever, and we are doubling down by making amazing series accessible while continuing to build our ever-growing community around desirable content.”

Ann Sarnoff, President, BBC Studios – Americas and BritBox Board Chair, said, “We are very proud that BritBox has reached this milestone so quickly. Our fantastic team has worked brilliantly to strike a chord with British ‘telly’ fans by super-serving them all things British. Our continued commitment to content investment will mean even more great programming to engage the fans going forward.”

Martin Goswami, ITV Director of Pay and Distribution, added, “The fantastic growth of BritBox is a testament to the work of the team involved since its launch, the quality of programs the BBC and ITV offer through the service, and the appetite for the best British TV amongst viewers in the U.S. and Canada. We’re at a really exciting point for BritBox and look forward to further developments in the year ahead.”