Sky and Virgin customers warned that the streaming service will disappear next month

A BIG-name streaming service is closing down forever in Britain next month.

The platform featured a number of popular TV shows, including Outlander, starring Caitríona Balfe and Sam Heughan.

But now fans of the historical drama are left in the dark about where they can continue watching the series.

In December, Lionsgate+ announced it was leaving the UK market for good.

“I hope we get to see the second half in the UK as LIONSGATE UK closes next month,” wrote a concerned fan on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“So I just found out that Lionsgate Plus will be closing next February! My only concern is if other steamy sites will pick up their series,” said another.

The service launched in the country in October 2022, following a rebrand from STARZPLAY.

Despite some notable programs, such as The Great and the Power series, it seems that Lionsgate+ has struggled to compete with the likes of Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video.

Could more streaming sites close?

Analysis by Jamie Harris, Senior Technology and Science Reporter at The Sun

Everyone wants to launch their own streaming service – or at least they did.

Streaming platforms have been making a big dent in traditional TV territory for years, but these days there are so many that it would be prohibitively expensive to subscribe to them all.

And so you are left with the big established players such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video.

In many ways, it's easier and cheaper to produce shows and sell them to platforms instead.

Sony – which doesn't have its own major streaming service beyond niche interest Crunchyroll – has made a conscious decision to avoid the mainstream and focus on just producing shows, which the CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment described as the 'right choice' given the pressure.

In the US, HBO Max and Discovery+ were merged into a new Max app, while Disney is testing one and Hulu.

Experts believe that more mergers are inevitable.

Affected customers should have already been informed about the closure of the app.

Sky has said that those who pay for Lionsgate+ through them will automatically cancel their subscriptions so they won't be billed after the cut-off date.

“If you already have an account, you will be contacted with details about when your subscription will expire,” the company said.

“Anyone who has subscribed but has not activated their Lionsgate+ account will only be contacted by Sky.”

Lionsgate+ has already closed in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Benelux, Scandinavia and Japan.

The service ends on February 29 in Britain and Ireland.