UKTV is a multi-channel broadcaster, jointly owned by BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks Interactive. It was formed on 26th March 1992 through a joint venture between BBC and Thames Television. It is one of the United Kingdom’s largest television companies.
UKTV’s channels are available via satellite and cable subscriptions in the UK and Ireland. Dave, Drama, Home, Really and Yesterday channels are also available in the UK on Freeview, the free-to-air digital terrestrial television (DTT) service.
Most programmes on the channels are repeat broadcasts of BBC productions, although the entertainment channels also feature some programmes produced by other companies and UKTV have also in recent years, commissioned a tiny minority of their own exclusive programmes. The channels themselves are played out by Ericsson Broadcast and Media Services.
In the Republic of Ireland, all UKTV channels are available on the Sky platform.
Dave, W, Gold and Alibi are available on the UPC cable network. Some other cable and IPTV operators also carry some channels, contact your local operator for details.
Website: www.uktv.co.uk
UKTV Play
UKTV Play is a free catch-up TV service where you can watch the TV shows from Dave, Yesterday, Really and Drama wherever you want, whenever you want (UK & Ireland).
On UKTV Play you can stream your favourite TV during your spare time via your computer, tablet or smartphone.
On UKTV Play you can:
- Catch up with your favourite shows from Dave, Really, Drama and Yesterday anytime, anywhere.
- Access themed programme collections and boxsets, from comedy and drama to paranormal and history, to suit your tastes and your schedule.
- Browse hundreds of shows by channel, or search by programme.
- After watching the shows you love, discover similar programmes via staff picks and celebrity recommendations.
- Save your favourites to ‘My List’ to watch later. Bookmark them on the go, then catch-up at home.
UKTV Play website: http://uktvplay.uktv.co.uk
Channels
Alibi
Alibi is a television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel launched on 1 November 1997 and relaunched in its current format on 7 October 2008. The channel is available on satellite through Sky, on cable, primarily through Virgin Media and on IPTV through BT TV, TalkTalk TV and TVPlayer (When subscribed to TVPlayer Plus).
Alibi is the only TV channel dedicated to crime drama, promising the best selection from the genre premiering hit US series such as Rosewood and Quantico. The channel also features some of British TV’s best-known detectives such as Miss Marple and most-loved British crime dramas including Death in Paradise, Father Brown and Silent Witness. Plus, the original crime scene detective Doctor William Murdoch in the channel’s popular co-production, Murdoch Mysteries.
Alibi is a subscription-only channel, it is not available on Freeview and is encrypted on satellite.
Dave
Dave is a television channel owned by UKTV, the channel is available on cable, IPTV, Freeview and the Freesat and Sky satellite platforms.
A time-shifted version is also available named Dave ja vu instead of Dave +1.
The shows with the highest ratings are Mock the Week (over 420,000 viewers), QI (over 400,000), Top Gear (350,000) and Dragons’ Den (about 300,000).
The first episode of Red Dwarf: Back to Eart attracted 2,060,000 viewers on the first viewing, though over 4 million viewed the episode at some point over its debut weekend.
Dave is the UK’s most watched non-PSB channel broadcasting to over 27 million people per month, and viewers continue to enjoy the ludicrously addictive American Pickers and UK remake of Storage Hunters. The channel continues to grow its original commissioning slate with political show Unspun With Matt Forde, Red Dwarf XI, Dara O Briain’s Go8Bit, fantasy comedy Zapped! and Celebrity Storage Hunters.
Dave is available Free-To-Air on Freeview and satellite (Freesat & Sky).
Drama
Drama is a TV channel broadcasting drama and, to a lesser extent, comedy programming in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of the UKTV network of channels.
The channel is available on Sky, cable services primarily through Virgin Media, Freeview and Freesat, it is available free-to-air on satellite (UK Spotbeam).
The channel is positioned as a home for British dramas from the last 40 years. The channel features such shows as Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, The Cinder Path, Cranford, Lark Rise to Candleford, Pride & Prejudice, Sharpe and Tipping the Velvet.
Drama is a channel that is passionate about bringing Britain the best in quality drama. From period through to contemporary and comedy, the channel is a treasure trove of classic and modern drama which showcases the greatest stories ever told. With programmes including favourites Call the Midwife, Pride and Prejudice, New Tricks and Silent Witness, and new offerings such as Red Tent, The Brokenwood Mysteries and Mercy Street, viewers can indulge in a handpicked range of the nation’s most celebrated TV dramas.
Drama is available Free-To-Air on Freeview and satellite (Freesat & Sky).
Eden
Eden is a television channel broadcasting factual content in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel originally launched on 8 March 2004 and relaunched in its current format on 27 January 2009. The channel is available on Sky, Virgin Media, Smallworld Cable, TalkTalk Plus TV, BT TV, and TVPlayer (When subscribed to TVPlayer Plus).
From the scale and beauty of BBC blue chip series like Planet Earth, Human Planet and Madagascar to the premieres of Wild Colombia with Nigel Marven and Deserts And Life, Eden guarantees a daily shot of astonishment and high quality natural science programming, including David Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities which shines the spotlight on nature’s most extraordinary evolutionary anomalies.
Eden is a subscription-only channel, it is not available on Freeview and is encrypted on satellite.
Gold
Gold is a British classic comedy channel from the UKTV network, broadcasting to the United Kingdom and Ireland. It launched on 1 November 1992 as UK Gold
The channel is currently available as subscription-only on Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk TV, BT TV, and TVPlayer (When subscribed to TVPlayer Plus).
It shows repeats of classic programming from the BBC and other broadcasters.
With more successful original commissions than ever before, the likes of Marley’s Ghosts, Comic Strip Presents…Red Top and The Rebel sit comfortably alongside Britain’s much-loved series such as Only Fools and Horses, Mrs Brown’s Boys and Miranda. Famed for its retrospective hits, Gold has enjoyed successes with Bring Me Morecambe and Wise, The Two Ronnies Spectacle, The Interviews and most recently, Richard E. Grant on Ealing Comedies.
Gold continues to attract the finest comedy talent in Britain, with the live broadcast of the final ever performance of Monty Python Live (mostly): One Down Five To Go in 2014 becoming its most successful ever programme. And it doesn’t end there, Henry IX, the brand new series from legendary writers Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais, premieres exclusively on Gold in 2017.
Rarely-seen cult favourites such as Bridget & Eamon, Limmy’s Show and Gareth Marenghi’s Darkplace make up Gold After Dark every weekend, offering the very best in offbeat humour.
Gold is a subscription-only channel, it is not available on Freeview and is encrypted on satellite.
Good Food
Good Food is a British lifestyle channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel originally launched on 5 November 2001 and relaunched in its current format on 22 June 2009. Good Food is available on satellite through Sky, on cable services, primarily through Virgin Media, and through IPTV with TalkTalk TV, BT TV. It is available through TVPlayer (When subscribed to TVPlayer Plus). From 1 December 2015 to 26 December 2015, Good Food was temporarily rebranded as Christmas Food. This was repeated again from 26 November 2016 to 26 December 2016.
Good Food features all the biggest names in food, including Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, James Martin, Rachel Allen, Madhur Jaffrey and The Hairy Bikers. Appealing to both the expert cook and those who enjoy food-led entertainment, Good Food delivers exciting originations such as Choccywoccydoodah, The Roux Scholarship, Perfect?, Valentine Warner: Coast to Coast, Madhur Jaffrey’s Curry Nation and Monster Munchies! Alongside overseas titles such as Man v Food, Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam and Top Chef, Good Food is the UK’s leading pay-TV food channel with access to the best culinary talent and a passion for all things in the kitchen.
Good is a subscription-only channel, it is not available on Freeview and is encrypted on satellite.
W
W (formerly Watch) is a British general entertainment channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as part of the UKTV network. The channel launched on 7 October 2008 on satellite through Sky, Virgin Media, Smallworld Cable, BT TV, TalkTalk TV, and TVPlayer (When subscribed to TVPlayer Plus).
W is UKTV’s premium entertainment channel, offering audiences a dazzling mix of original factual entertainment formats – Get Me To The Church, Honey, I Bought the House – alongside hit shows from the US including Code Black, Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, CSI:NY, Grimm and The Strain plus the same day repeat of EastEnders.
W is a subscription-only channel, it is not available on Freeview and is encrypted on satellite.
Yesterday
Yesterday is a television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel originally launched on 30 October 2002 and relaunched in its current format on 2 March 2009. The channel is available on Sky, cable services primarily through Virgin Media, Freeview and Freesat, it is available free-to-air on satellite (UK Spotbeam).
Showcasing UK premieres series such as Impossible Engineering, Forbidden History, and Private Lives of the Tudors, Yesterday provides fascinating factual stories.
The channel also features dynamic nature and science programming including David Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities and Wonders of the Universe, and programmes which challenge expectations including Secrets of the Bible. Ancient history is also featured in series including Medieval Dead, plus seminal war documentaries such as World at War.
Yesterday is available Free-To-Air on Freeview and satellite (Freesat & Sky).
