Really Hits the Mark with “Life on TV”

Luke Hales, the general manager of UKTV’s Really, Good Food, Home and Eden, tells TV Real about how the factual channel Really has become the destination for real-life programming in the U.K.

British commercial broadcaster UKTV’s Really channel has been around for eight years. The channel, which is available on Freeview, Sky and Virgin, presents an array of documentaries, true-crime titles, lifestyle programming and paranormal content. “Really launched as a slightly different channel from what it’s evolved into today,” Luke Hales, the general manager of UKTV’s Really, Good Food, Home and Eden, explains to TV Real. “But today we are the home of high-quality, real-life documentaries.”

“Where we set ourselves apart from the market is that we have access to the highest-quality content out there,” Hales continues. “We are making major inroads into commissioning our own content, moving into presales and trying to get ahold of all the new and exclusive U.K. content that we can.”

While the channel has historically been focused on acquisitions, Really is now concentrating on commissioning. Hales says: “We’re moving aggressively into commissioning now, focusing on blue light or emergency services content.” Two recent commissions in that space are Helicopter ER and Cops UK: Bodycam Squad. “Those shows produce huge numbers for us and our viewers love them.” Hales is particularly enthusiastic about Into the Fire, a documentary series that was commissioned earlier this year and is coming in the fall. “For the first time, we’re going to follow the fire service. The footage we’re seeing is mind-blowing.” He says commissioning content is beneficial because the channel has editorial control as well as rights for the titles on all platforms.

Hales says that in the last 18 months or so, much work has been done to establish a “real clarity of purpose” with regard to airing content that matches with the channel’s objective. “‘Life on TV’ is our tagline, so we’ve been clear about our brand guardrails and we try not to veer from that,” he explains. The main content pillars for the channel are lifestyle, real life, true crime, emergency services and paranormal. Really recently received a brand refresh, with new idents, bumpers, logos, the aforementioned tagline and more produced by the broadcaster’s in-house UKTV Creative team.

Really is scheduled around its viewers’ habits. “The only reason we exist is because we have viewers,” Hales notes. “We’re very respectful of the fact that they come to us and watch us. We want to keep them happy, so everything we do is focused on fitting in with their lifestyle and their habits.” The daytime slate is stocked with “gentle content.” He says: “Daytime tends to be stuff we know viewers love; content that is very watchable. We tend to strip that across the week, so we’re very reliable; people know when and where to find that content.”

The programming that airs during peak hours is the heart and soul of the channel. Hales explains: “9 p.m. is our showcase. It’s a window into our core brand proposition. That’s the big-hitting, real-life documentaries, such as Embarrassing Bodies or One Born Every Minute, or emergency services series, including Helicopter ER and Cops UK: Bodycam Squad.” Embarrassing Bodies and One Born Every Minute “follow people’s emotional journeys at a time in their lives when they’re very vulnerable. These are powerful, moving stories.” The evening slot also features “hard-hitting factual” shows like those with Louis Theroux, who fronts programs that delve into people’s addictions to plastic surgery, gambling and more. On weeknights at 10 p.m., Really’s audience can tune in for new and exclusive content. At that time, the channel airs an all-new exclusive episode of a show or a brand-new series launch.

From 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., Really focuses on true-crime shows. “We’ve spent a lot of time refining our content offering in that space, so every night of the week we have three hours of the best true-crime programming you can find, and that’s doing very well for us. Viewers are connecting with it.”

Friday is Frightday, with an agenda chock-full of paranormal shows like Ghost Adventures and Most Haunted from 9 p.m. through to the early hours of the morning. “People talk about rushing home from work with a bottle of wine and settling in for paranormal night on Really,” Hales says. On Saturdays and Sundays, the channel runs more seasonal and topical programming. “We might show back-to-back episodes because people have a bit more time on their hands,” he notes. “We’re more fluid on the weekends because people’s lives are a bit more fluid.”

According to Hales, “We like to maintain a healthy amount of fresh U.K. content. We’re constantly on the lookout and hungry for content. We’re always searching for new commissioning ideas and co-pros as well,” including ways to make co-productions within the UKTV portfolio of networks. “We want brand-defining pieces that speak loudly about who we are to our viewers. Our main focus is rounding off our originals and cementing our brand message. We’ve got real clarity around our content offering. It’s now about delivering content for the audience when and where they want it.”