UKTV refreshes in bid for younger viewers
UKTV channel adopts a sense of spirited fun as it pushes its Entertainment shows to younger viewers.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under Subscription, Video
UKTV is refreshing its channel branding from Monday, in a push to appeal to a younger demographic, while retaining its core audience.
New channel IDs will reflect its Entertainment programming drawing upon British humour, irreverence and spirited fun, providing a contrast to the premium drama of BBC First.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHJnYEQEqGU
New programming highlights include Michael McIntyre’s Big Show (pictured) and Insert Name Here alongside more seasoned titles such as The Graham Norton Show, 8 Out of Ten Cats, BAFTA Awards and the Proms.
The refresh, created in-house by BBC Worldwide Australia, follows from research which found a strong cultural resonance and shared humour was a strong lever for audiences’ love of popular British programmes.
Tim Christlieb, Director of Channels, BBC Worldwide ANZ, said: “In this ever-evolving media landscape we want to make sure that UKTV reflects the needs of our audience. So we’re fine tuning what entertainment means both to the brand and the schedule.
“In programming we are putting entertainment more to the fore with some new titles and introducing a new logo, new look and new lingo. With the refresh, UKTV will become more dynamic and inclusive, establishing itself as integral part of people’s everyday lives.
“Drawing on the great British traits of wit and storytelling, UKTV’s new brand personality will embody the spirit of the raconteur. It will be witty and sociable, light-hearted, quirky, confident and spontaneous. A place where viewers come for fun, amusement and relaxation, a place to escape boredom and a place where viewers feel included in the conversation. And it will all be underpinned by the trustworthiness of the BBC brand.”
UKTV will remain home to lively chat in the form of The Graham Norton Show, quirky quiz coms like 8 Out of Ten Cats, big British events like the BAFTAs and hilarious comedies like Mrs Brown’s Boys as well as a daily dose of drama. Audiences can spend time with unique, larger than life characters, find out more about their favourite celebrities, get wrapped up in a murder mystery or indulge in a good laugh. New shows which amp up the humour include Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, starring one of the UK’s biggest comedians and combining stand-up, celebrities and musical performance, and comedy panel show Insert Name Here in which two teams battle it out answering questions about famous people past and present who share the same name.
13 Responses
I really can’t imagine the younger audience demographic getting excited about Michael McIntyre.
It’s not aiming for youth, it’s aiming to be younger than it’s current average. I would guess aiming for 30s.
So far this 34yr old hasn’t been interested in anything brought in by the refresh. Tried McIntyre, aside from his stand up, it’s not overly entertaining.
I wish they’d buy some fresh episodes of Pointless, and screen Only Connect. England does the best quizzes. And never let Michael McIntyre darken our doorsteps
I agree, replaying the same two series of Pointless over and over again is very frustrating.
So did anyone notice at 0.42 sec the credit squeeze? Yes after many years of blissfully enjoying full screen credits & uninterupted theme tunes they are now going down the route of commercial networks. I guess the writing was on the wall once they added 10 mins of ad breaks to eastenders.
Great, another channel with a marketing driven re-brand that has no doubt cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, these don’t come cheap. Good to see Foxtel subscribers are getting value for their money, including the recently introduced bug/watermark that now stains and distracts on Showcase and their forcing in of sponsored trailers before closing credits which I thoroughly detest. HBO in the US don’t even stoop that low.
Yes i’m surprised that they can get away with that a show that normally runs for 30 mins goes for 40 mins now.I know they are happy with the way the show always rates but it did do better in the more suitable earlier slot.My suggestion would be is turn the channel over when the ads come on.Give yourself about 4 mins then switch back
They could go a step further and model it on the actual U.K. networks, having daytime blocks, first run prime time blocks following the soaps etc. Would be good to see some UK daytime shows shown during their daytime block. This Morning, Lorraine and Loose Women could be shown the day after airing, there’s a load of game shows they could screen in daytime (Tipping Point, Countdown, Ejector Seat) and in prime time they could also show Strictly Come Dancing and I’m A Celebrity again along with UK X Factor, UK Gogglebox, UK first Dates to name a few plus comedies and dramas. So much they could do if they wanted to refresh it further.
I agree, looks like the only new entertainment show is michael mcintyre and the rest is just advertising their new logo
It really is disappointing that Foxtel have been unable to relaunch a HD feed of UKTV in the past 2 years. Like seriously I would have thought giving a popular entertainment channel it’s HD feed back would have been a higher priority than seeing stock market figures (Sky News Business) in HD.
I wouldn’t mind them keep charging the $10 HD fee but only if they flick over all the channels into HD
Totally agree. If Foxtel is serious about fighting off Netflix etc, they need to bring all the entertainment channels to HD.