UKTV will move its family of free-to-air channels to its new U branding on 16 July.
The so-called Masterbrand will unite its family of free-to-air channels becoming U&Dave, U&DRAMA, U&YESTERDAY and U&W. Its free streaming service will transition from UKTV Play to U.
The broadcaster has been without a unifying brand since it removed UKTV from channel names in 2008. Subsequently there have been a number of changes in branding and ownership with the portfolio now held by BBC Studios following the split with Discovery in 2019.
“The launch of U on 16th July is an important step for UKTV, defining our age of transformation. U will present our viewers with an extraordinary range of free quality content, allowing them to connect the dots between the streaming service and our family of TV channels,” said Penny Brough, Chief Marketing Officer, UKTV.
There will also be around 1,500 of new content added to streaming service U, which will be home to almost 8,500 hours of free content, comprising new programming, exclusive shows, award-winning originals and premiere acquisitions.
These include Battle in the Box, a comedy reality gameshow based on a Korean format and hosted by Jimmy Carr. The second series of Whitstable Pearl will be available as a boxset on U from 16th July before launching on U&DRAMA and the free-to-air premiere of US scripted comedy sci-fi show Future Man starring Josh Hutcherson and Seth Rogan).
Last year, UKTV announced the launch of four Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) channels on Samsung TV Plus, Amazon Freevee and Pluto TV, which marked the broadcaster’s debut in the FAST market. These channels also launched on Virgin earlier this year. As part of the new masterbrand, UKTV’s FAST channels will be rebranded, with UKTV Play Heroes becoming U&Real Heroes; UKTV Play Laughs will move to U&Laughs; UKTV Play Full Throttle will transition to U&Transport; and UKTV Play Uncovered will be known as U&The Past.
