UKTV Ramps Up Dave’s Digital Content Offering

UKTV has commissioned five short-form comedy shows for its Dave-branded social channels as it aims to boost its digital content portfolio.

Two shorts head for Dave’s YouTube channel are Big Zuu’s Wrap Clash, a food competition and a spin-off of Dave’s Big Zuu’s Big Eats; and Who Cares?, hosted and produced by Chicken Shop Date creator Amelia Dimoldenberg.

UKTV and BBC Studios have commissioned exclusively for Dave’s Facebook page The Comedy Guide to Life, featuring stand-up comics offering observations on modern life; BackChat​, a comedy talk radio show created by Ciaran Bartlett and Luke Mason; and Bad Advice with Olga Koch, an eight-part comedy chat show.

Also a part of its new digital strategy, a team of social media experts are being recruited to manage Dave’s Facebook and YouTube channels to increase UKTV’s engagement with viewers and fans. A video manager, video editor, junior social analyst, deliverables coordinator and community manager will join the business this year. They’ll work closely with the UKTV commissioning team and Dave channel director when new short-form ideas are pitched for the channel’s social platforms.

Erina Jones, UKTV’s head of social and online, said: “Creating unique short-form series for Dave’s social platforms will increase our offering of entertaining, funny and relatable content in the online world. It’s an incredible opportunity to test out new formats, work with a new generation of talent and extend the enjoyment of our popular Dave Originals for existing fans, and hopefully entice a wave of new fans too. Dave’s mission is to be as funny on social media as it is on air and we want people to enjoy spending time with us wherever they are. Our followers can now look forward to these new and exclusive shows on a weekly basis over the coming months.”

Andrea Amey, who joined UKTV in December to lead the company’s digital strategy, said: “UKTV’s channels are incredibly strong but it’s important we have something on offer for viewers who might not watch our shows in the traditional way, on linear TV. Younger audiences are spending increasing amounts of time on social media, so by creating bespoke and bite-sized shows online, I hope they’ll find something they enjoy featuring Dave’s well-known witty tone. When editorially appropriate, we’ll also premiere the best of Dave’s short-form content on our on-demand service, UKTV Play.”

Mark Iddon, commissioning editor at UKTV, said: “Everyone knows that Big Zuu delivers the tightest raps, but can anyone beat him in the food truck and produce a better wrap? Big Zuu has been a huge hit with Dave viewers so it’s great that Big Zuu’s Wrap Clash is launching on YouTube to coincide with series two of Big Zuu’s Big Eats. I’m also excited for Dave fans to see all the other great shows we’ve commissioned for YouTube and Facebook coming soon.”