UKTV touts viewing share

UKTV has issued half-year viewing and market share results, claiming it is outperforming the wider British TV market and noting a 50% uptick in on-demand viewing.

UKTV, which is a joint venture between BBC Worldwide and Scripps Networks International, said it is now the fastest-growing channel operator in the UK.

Its share of commercial impacts, a measure used to quantify the number of people viewing commercials on a channel, increased 7%, giving UKTV a 9.7% market share in the UK. That total was 10%, UKTV said, for the duration of the second quarter.

It also noted a 50% increase in on-demand viewing. There was an 84% year-on-year increase in views via the expanded and updated UKTV Play service.

UKTV did not break out half-year financials, but the BBC’s commercial arm, BBCWW, highlighted a “particularly strong performance” from the company in its recent results. BBC programmes feature in about 40% of UKTV’s schedule.

The UKTV stable includes Dave, the most-watched non-PSB channel in the UK, Gold, and Drama.

It also has W, which was launched earlier this year in place of Watch. The new channel’s viewership is tracking 4% above the service it replaced, according to UKTV.

In other channel changes, Home moved from pay to free TV this year, resulting in a 167% increase in viewing.

“Our investment in bold, original programmes for our vibrant channel brands continues to chime with audiences – from Dynamo: Live to The Comic Strip Presents… to the David Haye fights and Taskmaster – the year so far has been outstanding,” said Darren Childs, UKTV CEO (pictured).

He added: “Our share of commercial impacts continues to grow so we can better serve British viewers and advertisers in this competitive market.”