UKTV Unveils Digital-Only VOD Service

LONDON: UKTV is launching its first non-linear brand, UKTV Play, which will feature advanced previews of original commissions and acquisitions as well as box sets of hit shows from across its channel bouquet.

UKTV Play will get a soft launch on iOS this summer; PC and YouView will follow by the end of the year. Among the programs being offered are Storage Hunters, Crackanory, Alan Davies: As Yet Untitled, Dara O Briain: School of Hard Sums, Inquisition, Raiders of the Lost Art, Crime Stories, Rescue Code One, Most Haunted and Ghost Adventures. Box sets will be available for popular shows such as Lizard Lick Towing, 24 Hours to Go Broke, Black Ops and Museum Secrets. The service consolidates the commercial network’s existing on-demand offerings, currently available by individual channel players, by making content from the various channel brands, such as Dave and Really, available in one place.

“UKTV Play will be as easy as switching on your TV,” said Darren Childs, the CEO of UKTV. “We will curate content by topics and events, so UKTV Play will take away the difficulty that some viewers find with video on demand: choosing what it is they want to watch.”