UKTV & BT Sign New TV, Streaming Deal

LONDON: BT TV has inked a new agreement that sees the full portfolio of UKTV channels becoming available to its customers for the first time, and also includes catch-up and streaming rights.

Starting this month, UKTV's Eden, Good Food and Home will be available via BT set-top boxes, joining Gold, Alibi, Watch, Dave, Really, Yesterday and Drama already on the service. BT subscribers will also be able to catch up on programs from across UKTV's pay channels for seven days after broadcast via a UKTV Play branded service. The new pact also extends to internet and mobile streaming for UKTV's ten channels via BT's TV Everywhere app, available on smartphones, tablets and PCs. This includes seven-day catch-up rights for all ten UKTV channels.

Delia Bushell, managing director of BT TV and BT Sport, said: "BT TV is rapidly expanding and these three great new channels will help us to offer the breadth and quality of programming that our customers want. UKTV is a key partner for BT TV and we are delighted to have extended the relationship to offer the full span of UKTV's popular comedy, drama, natural history and lifestyle channels, and to add these to our BT TV Everywhere service, as well as launching the excellent UKTV Play on demand service. This further supports our vision for providing customers with a range of great quality TV at affordable prices."

Darren Childs, CEO of UKTV, added, "UKTV's continued investment in original content has made our channels more popular with viewers than ever before. I'm delighted BT's customers will now be able to enjoy programs from across our network and watch great entertainment on demand with UKTV Play."