History[edit]

Acorn TV is owned by RLJ Entertainment, Inc.^[1] Acorn Media Group has distributed British television in the United States since 1994, originally selling VHS tapes before moving into DVD and Blu-ray media.^[2] Continuing the company's expansion into new formats, Acorn TV launched as a subsection of Acorn's direct-to-consumer e-commerce website in 2011.^[3] In 2013, Acorn TV was relaunched as a standalone service with expanded content offerings and monthly and annual subscription options.^[4] In 2013, the service began offering exclusive content, starting with the United States premiere of Doc Martin, Series 6.^[5] In 2015, Acorn TV was the only niche streaming service to have a program nominated for an Emmy when Curtain: Poirot's Last Case was nominated for Outstanding Television Movie.^[6] As of December 31, 2016, it had 430,000 paid subscribers.^[7][8]


Acorn TV launched in the United Kingdom as a service in its own right on April 29, 2020.^[9]


On 24 November 2022, Acorn TV announced without further elaboration that it would no longer be available in South Africa by the end of 2022, and requested that subscribers cancel their memberships.^[10][11] The service previously launched in South Africa from December 2018.^[12][13]


On August 29, 2023, it was announced that Acorn TV would end its services in Portugal as of September 29.^[14]


On December 20, 2023, Acorn TV announced that it would not be available in Mexico after February 6, 2024.^[15]